[Steve]

Hi gsdmom – I’m glad you are getting better. At least it sounds like you are. I think I am too as I am getting mostly in the 5 to 6 hours of sleep a night, with a couple of wake-ups in there, although the wake-ups might be just normal ones that even good sleepers get. I try to do my breathing exercises but I find a lot of times I am tired enough that I go to sleep while doing them! Therefore, I do them but for short periods of time. I concentrate mostly on welcoming during the day as well as Noticing My Senses and Noticing My Sensations & Urges. I also do Everyday Mindfulness but probably not as much as I should as I work during the day and it’s hard to do that when I’m working. Anyway, glad to hear you are getting better.

[Steve]

Hi Bluesky. Welcome to this thread in the forum. SR stands for Sleep Restriction which is what you learn in CBT-i. Act stands for Acceptance and Commit Therapy. That is an alternative to doing SR and SC (Stimulus Control) for those of us who have high anxiety. The best way to learn about ACT is to order the book The Sleep Book by Dr. Guy Meadows. It’s a quick read and has helped a lot of us with our anxiety that has resulted in our insomnia. If after reading the book you have any questions, you can ask them here in this thread. Good luck to you.

[burn]

Steve,

How often do you do noticing and welcoming during the day? Only when feeling anxious or more often? Sometimes, I don’t have any anxiety during the day but still practicing body scans. Maybe I overuse the tools.

[Steve]

I do the noticing and welcoming 3 to 4 times a day. But when I am out walking or on the motorcycle, I will “notice” a lot then. It keeps me centered and keeps my mind off of the bad thoughts. I don’t think you can overuse the tools. it’s always good to notice what is around you. Now as for the body scans, I usually only do those twice a day. Once during the day and once after I get into bed. And as for the everyday mindfulness, I just do that once a day during a repetitious activity. The breathing exercises help me because they slow my breathing down which can promote sleep. Otherwise, I would be in bed quickly breathing in and out which can cause anxiety.

[Deb]

Bluesky – You mentioned in another thread that you’re not a great reader. You can also go to the sleep school’s website and order the online course. Just google sleep school and Guy Meadows and you’ll find it. Of course the book is the best deal and it’s an easy read.

[Pam1129]

Wow Steve that’s awesome!!
I’m thrilled for you! How great is it to read about so many successes of late!?! Ya I hear ya on the ‘wakes’ I look forward to someday waking to
An alarm, just to say I slept ALL night, straight through ha! However , just the fact that Sleep ‘has’ returned is an absolute delight!, and feels
More Like a miracle’ As many of us have shared at one time or another , we thought we truly were Broken and there was no cure for us… I’m feeling pretty positive now!!! Yes I know there will be some rough nights, But he mentioned ‘normal people’ struggle , on occasion sooo I’ guess I’m close to Normal again lol!!
I’ve been out of the country for several days and heading home today … I haven’t yet shared with my husband , that Ive finished my book and have been sleeping…He has been SO wonderful and supportive to me
Through all of these years, and has felt so helpless in what he could do for me…and he also knew , that I didn’t like talking about it much… I would tell him, so he wouldn’t ask how my night was ‘ when I have a good night , you will be the first to know, I promise ‘
BUT ….. today I get to share the GOOD NEWS!!! I can’t wait!! He will be blown away!!!?sorry this is so long… I just want all of you to get some sleep ….hang in there for those that are still struggling , please if you haven’t done so I would encourage you to read Guys book

[Steve]

Congratulations Pam. It must feel good to be doing so well. So approximately how many hours of sleep are you getting on an average night? Hope those wake-ups go away for you soon, although as I said, they may just be normal wake-ups that normal sleepers get.

[Steve]

Ok, first bad night in four nights. Last night I woke up after approximately 3.5 hours of sleep and no matter how much welcoming and tools I used, I could not get back to sleep. But, that can be expected. I just move on from here. I really need to catch my unwelcome thoughts sooner than what I am doing. I am pondering on them and becoming involved in them too long before I realize it and then have to detach from them.

[KarenP]

All, I haven’t posted here in a very long time but have been following the thread. Initially I was very skeptical and was experiencing some success with SR and SC. My insomnia began In January after 2 tragic deaths in my family within 3 months. I started seeing a therapist to deal with grief and anxiety. That’s where I was first introduced to mindfulness.

I was doing it on my own, then I came upon a Mindfulness App, 10% Happier. It has been life changing! There are all kinds of guided mindfulness meditations, 25 of them for sleep alone!!! The App is free for 1 week, then $99a year. It has been a God send!

I do one 15 min meditation a day. I have been doing this now for over 2 months. There is online support, if you want to ask questions. Simultaneously, I read Dr. Guy’s book and started incorporating the mindfulness exercises I learned from 10% Happier. When I started using the App and doing their guided meditations, my sleep became so much better! I’m using the mindfulness to deal with anxiety during the day, as well as at night. Consequently, my insomnia has improved dramatically along with anxiety levels during the day.

Please check out 10% Happier. It has really helped control my anxiety and racing thoughts at night.

I’m still doing moderate SR, but no more SC. I’m so appreciative of Martin for all he’s done for me. I will be forever grateful. God bless you all!

[Steve]

Hi Karen. Two quick questions. How long do you ssleep for on an average night now and what is your SW? Thanks.

[KarenP]

Usually, 10:30 pm to 6 am. Allowing for more flexibility. Last night went to bed at 10, but I woke up at 5:15. I stayed in bed till about 5:45 and got up. I’m not setting my alarm anymore, because I’m waking up at 6 am or before, on my own. For the last 3 weeks I’ve averaged around 7 hours sleep. My last bad night was 3 weeks ago. I am fastidious about my sleep hygiene, wind down etc.

[Steve]

Glad to hear it. You sound “cured”!

[KarenP]

No! Not cured. Night before last when the anxiety came as I went to bed, I said to myself “Enough “! I had welcomed anxiety earlier. This was a method I learned in one of the guided meditations to stop reoccurring and intrusive thoughts. It helped. I’m not taking anything for granted.

[Borgesbi]

Hi everyone! For the ones practicing ACT – what has been your attitude in terms of activities in bed? While practicing ACT, do you all still restrict bed only for sleep and sex or have you been flexible about it?
Since starting ACT every now and then I’ll hang out in bed to watch something on my computer or read (not in the middle of the night), which helps me see my bed as a “friend”, not as a forbidden place as it happened for me when I was practicing strict SC. However, I’m wondering if that’s promoting awakenings and difficulty of going back to sleep which have been happening more often these last few days even though sleep had been pretty decent for about 3 weeks.

This association between bed and wakefulness talked about in CBTI – I can’t tell what to think of it. With ACT not much is mentioned about that. We’re practicing staying in quiet wakefulness in bed when we can’t sleep, so that would be associating bed with wakefulness as well, no? I’m getting a little confused with the 2 techniques..

[Deb]

Borgesbi – here’s my understanding. Both methods break the association between going to bed and anxiety. SC does it by getting out of bed when you can’t sleep. ACT does it by learning to relax in bed instead of being anxious. Although there is short-term wakefulness with ACT, over time the wakefulness in bed decreases as sleeping increases. I used to worry that I was training my brain to stay in bed awake, but the relaxation more and more led to sleep. I don’t see any problem doing other things in bed. ACT is much more relaxed about things like that. Then again if you worry about it creating a problem then it probably will.

Karen – so sorry for your losses. So glad that you are sleeping better!

[Author]

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