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20 years of insomnia. Most self-medicating with bedtime wine (and later adding in Klonopin, Ambien or Lunesta). Diagnosed with sleep apnea 3 years ago. Gave up on CPAP quickly. Finally starting to comply with using DynaFlex dental appliance. I’m ready to stop dreaming of sleep and try CBT-i.
Welcome dreanminofsleep. I also use a dental appliance for my sleep apnea. As for the meds, Ambien never worked for me and I didn’t want to get addicted to the benzo Klonopin. So how are you going to try CBT-i? The free course on here or the paid course? Let us know how you’re doing.
If you can swing it, the paid course has been a game changer for me. Martin’s email support has carried me through some rough patches.
@karenp – did you use email or
phone coaching?
I just did the regular program, and if I had a question, I emailed Martin and he responded very promptly.
@KarenP – Hi Karen. Quick question for you. I am on my third day of sleep restriction tonight. I have read a lot about SR. In your experience, when was the hardest time? First week? 2nd week? 3rd week? And when did you start to notice results? The only thing I am really worried about is doing SR and my job but I have no other choice than to do it. My 1st night I only slept 45 minutes. Last night, I slept for about 4 1/4 hours. But I know it is going to go up and down for awhile.
Steve, it’s honestly never easy to do, but the success you will experience is well worth it. There will be ups and downs. I found that one big mistake I made from outset was checking my clock to time my 30/30 rule. It would make me anxious to know I only had x number of hours left in my sleep window. Another mistake I made was obsessing over all this, because we need to keep our anxiety levels down. If I’ve had bad night, I try to stay active next day, to avoid anxiety. It’s going to take time to reset our bodies, and minds. But take comfort that you are not alone. Praying for you Steve.
Hello @dreaminofsleep. I’m sure I don’t need to tell you that drinking alcohol to help you sleep isn’t a solution for insomnia. Although it can help you fall asleep, it ruins sleep quality and leads to more fragmented sleep. I did a short video about this on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8ijXVnrgW80
Is your sleep apnea currently under control? Can you tell us a bit more about your struggles with sleep? Do you tend to find it hard to fall asleep at the start of the night or stay asleep during the night (or both)?
—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.
Alcohol isn’t my friend. It’s years of this self-sabotaging cycle of drinking right before bed, leading to late night junk food snacking, leading to weight gain, which increases the sleep apnea.
I feel myself making progress. I’m 2 weeks without alcohol and 1 week straight with the apnea dental appliance (which I know I must use, but resisted wearing since I got it 2 years ago). I cut back on sleep meds to 1 mg Lunesta. I have always found it hard to fall asleep and gave up trying decades ago.
In recent months, even without alcohol, I’ve been waking up a few times a week 3-4 hours after falling asleep and find it difficult to return to deep sleep.
I’m ready and willing to give up the sleep meds. The few times in recent years that I tried and succeeded sleeping without meds or alcohol felt great. I’m typically anxious about being sleep deprived the next day to try it.
I was encouraged to read that you were two weeks without alcohol and you started using the apnea dental appliance. How are you getting on?
—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.
I broke my positive pattern, had alcohol 1 night, which led to 4 nights alcohol and no mouthguard on those nights. I’m going to course correct tonight.
I typically take 1 mg Lunesta 20 min before bedtime and it works. The only reason I had alcohol that night was because I had more caffeine that morning than I usually do, hadn’t exercised that day and the Lunesta wasn’t kicking in. I resorted to the old pattern — alcohol.
You know, I think you can use this as a learning experience — sleep efforts are not helpful!
You mentioned that you took alcohol because you had more caffeine than usual, hadn’t exercised during the day, and you felt that the Lunesta wasn’t kicking in. So, you drank alcohol in an effort to make sleep happen.
We cannot make sleep happen because sleep is a natural process. Drinking alcohol (or taking a sleeping pill) can help you relax and lead to sleep — but, even then, it is your body that is generating the sleep. Nothing can generate sleep for you. Your body generates sleep by itself.
Sleep happens when we abandon all sleep-related efforts.
Recognizing that your use of alcohol was an effort to make sleep happen — and that we can’t make sleep happen because we can’t control sleep — might help in the future if you are tempted to do something to make sleep happen.
I hope this helps!
—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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