Vipassana and sleep quality disturbance

When going to bed (as a Vipassana meditator) its a good idea, to try to not have a too concentrated mindfulness but instead a more general or relaxed form of mindfulness of The Four Satipatthana.

i used to follow my belly for the inhale exhale

If you follow anapasathi meditation, Buddha said to do it by concentrating on the breath air touch in the end of your nostrils, that is a better way to do anapanasathi than concentrating on belly.. If you need more details read Anapanasati Sutta.. If your sleep was disturbed by meditation, try to chage the time you meditate, Sleep early and awake early in morning, Then your mind and body is fresh, not tired also..For anapanasathi meditation you need a empty place of sounds and other outer obstacles according to anapanasati sutta,That may be a empty hall/room or place under a tree as suitable..

certain meditations release energy. it could be this energy is still flowing when you're in bed so you can't sleep as well.

I know a regular meditator who gets up at 4am every night because of this, then sleeps again later in the day.

According to the sutta below, it is one's state of mind which determines one's quality of sleep and not the comfort of the bed and bedroom.

Hence, if vipassana meditation improves the quality of your mind, then it should improve the quality of your sleep.

From AN 3.35:

“Well then, prince, I’ll ask you about this in return, and you can answer as you like. What do you think? Take the case of a householder or his son, who lives in a bungalow, plastered inside and out, draft-free, with latches fastened and windows shuttered. His couch is spread with woolen covers—shag-piled, pure white, or embroidered with flowers—and spread with a fine deer hide. It has a canopy above and red pillows at both ends. An oil lamp is burning there, while his four wives attend to him in all manner of agreeable ways. What do you think, prince, would he sleep well, or not? Or how do you see this?”

“He would sleep well, sir. Of those who sleep well in the world, he would be one.”

“What do you think, prince? Is it not possible that a fever born of greed—physical or mental—might arise in that householder or householder’s son, burning him so he sleeps badly?”

“Yes, sir.”

“The greed that burns that householder or householder’s son, making them sleep badly, has been cut off at the root by the Realized One, made like a palm stump, obliterated, and unable to arise in the future. That’s why I sleep well.

What do you think, prince? Is it not possible that a fever born of hate … or a fever born of delusion—physical or mental—might arise in that householder or householder’s son, burning him so he sleeps badly?”

“Yes, sir.”

“The delusion that burns that householder or householder’s son, making them sleep badly, has been cut off at the root by the Realized One, made like a palm stump, obliterated, and unable to arise in the future. That’s why I sleep well.

What happens when you observe the lying position (not focused but more in a relaxed way, as Lanka describes) instead of rising/falling?

Addition: I thought about it a bit. What came to mind is that due to vipassana your awareness increases. Which means that it's possible that you can become more aware of all sorts of conditions. For instance: temperature. What I find myself is that when I'm more aware of let's say temperature I can't sleep like when I'm not. My sleep is more disturbed too due to this (as an example).

But sleep is not always disturbed when practising vipassana before sleep. It depends also on the meditation object. You could try to switch to a different object.

Also, you could do metta instead of vipassana right before sleep.

It supposedly brings better sleep.

Eleven benefits to practicing Metta (loving kindness meditation:

1. You will sleep easily
2. You will wake easily
3. You will have pleasant dreams
4. People will love you
5. Devas (gods or angels) and animals will love you
6. Devas will protect you
7. External dangers, such as poisons, weapons, and fire, will not harm you
8. Your face will be radiant
9. Your mind will be serene
10. You will die unconfused
11. You will be re-born in happy realms

https://dhammawiki.com/index.php?title=11_benefits_to_practicing_Metta http://www.vipassana.com/meditation/facets_of_metta.php