[Ko]

If sleep quality was only measured by how fast one falls asleep, I’d be the healthiest sleeper in the world.

I’ve had insomnia for three years, but never had trouble falling asleep. Instead, I keep waking up after around 4 hours of sleep. A few weeks ago I’ve reduced my sleep window to 6 hours. I am going to bed at 1 AM and getting out of bed at 7 AM. Since I’m doing sleep restriction therapy I’m falling asleep even faster. (Literally, it takes me seconds! But as I said, I never had trouble falling sleep.) Unfortunately, I keep waking up between 5 and 6 AM. After I’ve slept for 4-5 hours I do not feel sleepy anymore, and find it very difficult to fall back to sleep.

I understand that SRT can help us to build sleep pressure throughout the day. Thus, it could be helpful to people with sleep onset insomnia. But what about those of us with sleep maintenance insomnia? When I wake up after 4 hours of sleep my sleep pressure is virtually gone, just when I need it the most. Any tips?

• This topic was modified 5 years, 5 months ago by Ko.

[Martin Reed]

How are you feeling during the day? If you wake and feel as though you aren’t falling asleep because you don’t feel sleepy anymore, maybe you just don’t need more sleep?

If you feel you do need more sleep then arousal might be making it difficult for you to fall back to sleep when you wake during the night. So, working on reducing arousal can be helpful. There are three types of arousal that typically perpetuate insomnia. These are:

1. Cognitive arousal (the sleep-related thoughts we have)
2. Conditioned arousal (we associate the bed with unpleasant wakefulness rather than sleep or associate waking during the night with remaining awake)
3. Physiological arousal/hyperarousal (this can involve self-monitoring for the effects of poor sleep — and sleep itself — and refers to the physical symptoms associated with arousal such as a racing heart, feeling cold, sweating, etc)

If you’re able to recognize any of these, you might find it helpful to work on addressing them! Over time, this might make it easier to fall back to sleep when you wake if your body wants to get more sleep.

—

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.

[Author]

Posts