[WideAwake]

This is my first post, as requested.

For several years I have had trouble getting a good night’s sleep. To me this is illogical as I’m retired (no real stress), keep physically busy and mentally stimulated during the day so should get to sleep and stay there a good while.

Unless I take a phenergan 25mg tablet my night takes a depressingly repetitive path. Typically I retire at 11PM and invariably will be asleep inside 5 minutes. I will awake typically at 1am, hopefully regain sleep until 2 or maybe 3 am then lie awake for hours. Getting up and doing something during this time seems to have little or no effect. I usually get back to sleep sometime after 6am and will manage 1 or maximum 2 hours sleep before waking.

To date I’ve not found any tips that have helped me sleep. I resort to the phenergan on nights preceding days when I have to be alert all day or am in a social environment. This tablet has the effect of usually letting me go straight back to sleep when I wake up every few hours during the night.

Lack of progress on my own made me try the Insomnia Coach course.

My worry is that I rarely feel restored after a night in bed, consequently feel lethargic, don’t enjoy life to the full and worry what this is doing to my health and life expectancy.

[Martin Reed]

Welcome to the forum.

It’s actually not unusual for sleep to continue to be disrupted upon retirement — and this is often down to the fact that there’s even less enforced structure or routine in our lives. So, we can easily end up spending more time in bed, spending more time thinking and worrying about sleep, and spending more time being inactive and sedentary. Unfortunately, all these things can perpetuate insomnia.

From your description of your current sleep pattern, it sounds as though you are allotting up to nine hours for sleep — you go to bed around 11:00 PM and get your day started an hour or two after 6:00 AM.

At the same time, it sounds as though you are typically getting around five to six hours of sleep each night — does this sound about right?

If so, you are probably allotting too much time for sleep — and this is one reason why you are spending so much time awake during the night.

I think you would find it helpful to reduce the amount of time you allot for sleep to more closely match your average nightly sleep duration. This will help build sleep drive and reduce the amount of time you spend awake during the night. Observing a regular sleep window will also give you a consistent out of bed time in the morning — and this benefits sleep drive and serves as a strong anchor for your body clock.

Finally, please be reassured that there is no evidence that chronic insomnia causes any health problem whatsoever. You might find my podcast episode on busting sleep and insomnia myths with Dr. Jade Wu helpful.

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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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