Sleep, Trauma, and the Body: Why Night Is Hard & How Somatic Rituals Can Help

Rebecca Rinnert
Oct 28, 2025
4 min read

Watercolor illustration of a person lying awake in bed, surrounded by calming blue tones symbolizing trauma-related insomnia and an overactive nervous system.

Why Night Feels Unsafe When You’ve Experienced Trauma

If you live with trauma, night can feel like the hardest time of day. When the world gets quiet, your body might do the opposite — staying alert, tense, and ready for something to happen. Even when your mind knows you’re safe, your nervous system may still be in survival mode.

This is not “just stress” — it’s a body remembering.

After trauma, the amygdala (your brain’s alarm system) becomes overactive, while the prefrontal cortex, which helps calm the body, becomes less effective (Shin et al., 2006; van der Kolk, 2014). The autonomic nervous system (ANS)may stay stuck in fight, flight, or freeze.

When night comes and external distractions fade, these unresolved signals rise to the surface. Thoughts race, muscles tighten, and sleep feels unsafe. Understanding this physiology is the first step to healing trauma-related insomnia.

The Science Behind Trauma and Sleep Problems

Research shows a strong link between trauma, insomnia, and sleep anxiety. For trauma survivors, disrupted sleep is one of the most persistent symptoms — even long after therapy or medication has started to help.

Scientific insights:

Hyperarousal blocks rest. People with trauma show increased heart rate and cortisol levels at night (Mellman et al., 2002).
Sleep affects healing. Poor sleep increases emotional reactivity and reduces resilience, which can worsen PTSD symptoms (Kleim et al., 2016).
The body speaks first. Physical sensations like tightness, restlessness, or rapid heartbeat often appear before anxious thoughts.

These findings confirm that trauma-related sleep issues aren’t psychological alone — they’re somatic. That means your body needs to be part of the solution.

What Are Somatic Sleep Rituals?

Somatic sleep rituals are gentle, body-based practices that prepare your nervous system for rest. Instead of trying to “quiet the mind,” they teach the body what safety feels like.

Grounded in Somatic Experiencing (Levine, 2010), polyvagal theory (Porges, 2011), and mindfulness, these rituals engage the senses, breath, and movement to support nervous system regulation and deep sleep.

Illustration of a person practicing a somatic bedtime ritual by placing hands on chest and abdomen, symbolizing self-soothing and nervous system regulation before sleep

Examples of somatic sleep rituals:

Grounding touch: Place one hand on your chest and one on your belly. Feel warmth, rhythm, and weight.
Orienting to safety: Gently look around the room. Let your body notice colors, light, and stillness.
Gentle rocking or swaying: Activates the vestibular system, promoting parasympathetic calm.
Weighted blankets or pressure: Research shows deep pressure reduces cortisol and supports relaxation (Chen et al., 2013).
Vagus-nerve breathing: Inhale for 4 counts, exhale for 6. Longer exhales signal the body it’s safe to rest.

Practiced regularly, somatic rituals retrain your system to associate nighttime with calm rather than threat — turning the body into an ally in sleep recovery.

How to Build a Somatic Nighttime Routine

Consistency matters more than perfection. Start small — five minutes a night can already shift your baseline.

Mark the transition from day to night. Dim lights, switch off screens, and create a clear sensory boundary (e.g., candlelight, soothing scent).
Engage the senses. Notice texture, temperature, and sound. Let your body feel where it is, right now.
Release pressure to sleep. Focus on resting, not sleeping. Sleep happens naturally once safety returns.
Track subtle shifts. A slower breath, a small yawn, or softer shoulders means your system is responding.
If anxiety spikes, orient again. Look around, name five objects, and remind yourself: “I’m here now.”

These body-based sleep techniques support the ventral vagal system, the part of your nervous system responsible for safety and connection (Porges, 2011).

Somatic Healing and Nervous System Rest

True nervous system rest isn’t just physical stillness — it’s a state where your body trusts that it can let go. Through repetition, somatic sleep rituals rewire the body’s memory of nighttime.

Bessel van der Kolk puts it simply:

“You can’t fully calm your mind if your body is stuck in the past.”

Healing trauma insomnia takes patience, but each moment of safety builds new neural pathways. Over time, your system learns: Night can be safe again.

When to Seek Professional Support

If sleep anxiety, nightmares, or hypervigilance make nights unbearable, you don’t have to face it alone. Somatic therapy, EMDR, and trauma-informed yoga can help regulate the nervous system at a deeper level.

Professional co-regulation allows your body to experience safety in connection — often the missing piece for trauma-related insomnia.

If you’d like to explore this work, consider booking a consultation or visiting the Somatic Experiencing page on my website.

Abstract watercolor art showing a relaxed body with gentle flowing lines, representing nervous system rest and the healing effects of somatic sleep rituals.

FAQ: Trauma, Insomnia, and Somatic Sleep

1. Why do I feel anxious when everything gets quiet at night?

Because silence removes distractions. Your nervous system can finally feel what it’s been holding — tension, alertness, or fear. Gentle movement and orienting can help the body settle.

2. Can mindfulness or meditation help trauma-related sleep problems?

Yes, but start with body-based awareness rather than traditional meditation. Somatic grounding is safer for nervous systems that fear stillness.

3. What are the best sleeping positions for trauma or anxiety?

Side-lying with a pillow between your knees or using a weighted blanket provides physical containment that signals safety.

4. How long does somatic retraining for sleep take?

Results vary — some notice calmer nights within weeks, others after months. The key is regularity and self-compassion.

5. Can I combine somatic sleep rituals with therapy or medication?

Absolutely. These rituals support the body’s regulation, enhancing the effects of other treatments.

References

Chen, H., Yang, C., Chi, H., & Chen, H. (2013). Physiological effects of deep pressure stimulation on anxiety and heart rate. Journal of Medical and Biological Engineering, 33(6), 463–470.
Germain, A. (2013). Sleep disturbances as the hallmark of PTSD: where are we now? American Journal of Psychiatry, 170(4), 372–382.
Kleim, B., Wilhelm, F. H., Temp, L., et al. (2016). Sleep enhances exposure therapy. Psychological Medicine, 46(8), 1711–1719.
Levine, P. (2010). In an Unspoken Voice: How the Body Releases Trauma and Restores Goodness. North Atlantic Books.
Mellman, T. A., Bustamante, V., Fins, A. I., et al. (2002). REM sleep and the early development of posttraumatic stress disorder. American Journal of Psychiatry, 159(10), 1696–1701.
Porges, S. (2011). The Polyvagal Theory: Neurophysiological Foundations of Emotions, Attachment, Communication, and Self-Regulation. Norton.
Shin, L. M., Rauch, S. L., & Pitman, R. K. (2006). Amygdala, medial prefrontal cortex, and hippocampal function in PTSD. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, 1071, 67–79.
van der Kolk, B. (2014). The Body Keeps the Score. Viking.