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Hi everyone, Although I worked night shifts as a Nurse and Midwife since I was 19, I was able to sleep when I needed to. When I had my second baby at the age of 42, I continued to work as an on-call Midwife. This is when insomnia hit, I remember clearly the feeling of anxiety in my gut, as I realized I hadn’t yet slept, the sun would be coming up in an hour or 2, and I was likely going to get called to attend a birth. Since that night 14.5 years ago I have dealt with insomnia every night. I eventually started taking sleeping pills, and becoming dependant on a drug to be able to sleep is just devastating. My mental health has suffered, I find I can’t concentrate like before, I forget important things my family friends and colleagues tell me, and I’m easily frustrated or angered. I want desperately to sleep naturally. The idea of sleep restriction stresses me out. I’m so excited to find Martin’s videos. but afraid of sleep restriction. Martin says that if we are awake long enough, we will feel sleepy and fall asleep.
One time I ran out of sleeping pills while away from home, on vacation, and I did not sleep even for one minute, for a whole 7 days and nights. I spent many hours in bad trying to sleep of course. I was anxious and even suicidal. I didn’t care if I lived or died, I just wanted to sleep, forever.
I have a hunch that here I will find people that understand. Thank you for reading my story.Hello Marie and welcome to the forum. You know, after reading your post I had to check your username because your experience sounded so familiar to me! I have worked with so many clients who can trace the start of their insomnia to working shifts, being on call, and/or having children.
This sleep disruption is normal and natural — and usually goes away when those sleep disruptors are no longer an issue/no longer relevant. However, it can linger even if we no longer work night shifts, even if we are no longer on call, and even if our kids are grown and more independent — and that’s usually because of a change in our relationship with sleep (and all the thoughts, feelings, and emotions our brain generates) and because we have implemented behaviors in an attempt to improve our sleep that, unfortunately, serve only to perpetuate sleep disruption.
Common perpetuating behaviors include spending more time in bed, going to bed earlier, staying in bed later, canceling plans or modifying our days in response to sleep, being more sedentary during the day, taking (or attempting to take) naps, engaging in more sleep-related research, experimenting with medication and supplements, etc.
It’s completely natural for you to feel some fear when considering sleep restriction — and yet, you are still considering it, even in the presence of fear!
Sleep restriction has a scary name, but all it really does is reduce the amount of time available for nighttime wakefulness. Really, it should be renamed “wake restriction”. When implementing sleep restriction, the amount of time allotted for sleep is always longer than your average nightly sleep duration — so, it never takes sleep away from you. Instead, it reduces the amount of time available for nighttime wakefulness, builds sleep drive, and strengthens the body clock.
Perhaps it might be worth implementing the technique as an experiment, just for a couple of weeks, to see how you get on with it?
—If you are ready to stop struggling with insomnia you can enroll in the online insomnia coaching course right now! If you would prefer ongoing phone or video coaching calls as part of a powerful three month program that will help you reclaim your life from insomnia, consider applying for the Insomnia Mastery program.
The content of this post is provided for informational and educational purposes only. It is not medical advice and is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease, disorder, or medical condition. It should never replace any advice given to you by your physician or any other licensed healthcare provider. Insomnia Coach LLC offers coaching services only and does not provide therapy, counseling, medical advice, or medical treatment. All content is provided “as is” and without warranties, either express or implied.
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