[no1220]

My struggle with insomnia began a year ago for no reason. I get it under control and then sooner or later a bad night creeps in, sometimes just for one night, or like last week several days. I can sometimes go months with good sleep and sometimes just weeks or days before I bad night happens. I have tried all the sleep hygiene techniques and when I have a bad night I try getting out of bed and going into another room 3 times, but it does not seem to work well. Melatonin seems to help, but I worry that I should not stay on it. I discovered Insomnia Coach while desperately searching the internet for solutions. I hope to pick something up that may help.

[Chee2308]

Greetings!
Occasional bad nights are very common and normal, even to people who purportedly “never” have sleeping problems. The difference is reaction to them. Some people just shrug it off and never think of it then their sleep pretty much go back to normal, while others start to get worried and then go on an endless exercise of remedies to “fix” the problem like taking melatonin, sleeping pills, going to bed earlier all of which only makes the problem worse. The best course of action after having difficult nights is always do nothing. Just go to and get out of bed at your normal times and that’s it. This is the only way to get out of the vicious cycle of insomnia and/or prevent yourself from getting into one in the first place.

[no1220]

Thank you so much for posting this. Funny you should say that about Melatonin. I was thinking of taking some tonight which is my usual pattern to right the ship but I guess I can give it a try “aid free”. Thanks again. It’s nice to hear encouragement and stories of hope.

[Chee2308]

Hello.
Would like to add that sleep works a lot like hunger, they both build up the longer you go without sleeping or eating. The normal period of wakefulness for most people is about 16-18 hours to generate 6-8 hours of sleep, provided you are not anxious or worried or doubt your own ability to sleep unaided. From now on, just go to bed based on the amount of hours spent awake continuously and not what time it is, you can try 17-18 hours at first and then slowly reduce that to 16 hours by going to bed earlier in 15 minutes increments while keeping your out of bed time the same. Keeping to a consistent bedtime schedule is paramount to sleeping well, the most important of which is your out of bed time. You must get up from bed at the same time every day regardless of how you slept because this is how you can get that 16-18 hours of wakefulness in a 24-hour day which then produces the sufficient amount of sleep drive needed to fall asleep and stay asleep for 6-8 hours. Once you understand sleep and how it works, it gets pretty easy. Good luck!

[no1220]

Unfortunately, last night did not work out. I was certain I was going to have
a great night as I was exhausted and not fully rested from the other night,
but as soon as I went to bed after feeling sleepy the overpowering nervous
feeling of not falling asleep instantly kicked in. I tried getting out of bed several
times but that didn’t really work for me. I sit in another room and pretty much
just think about the sleep I am missing and really don’t feel like doing anything like reading, etc.

[Chee2308]

Hello
I am sorry you experienced a poor night sleep. Everyone gets them once in a while. Not going to write a long post here but all I can say is you can only get out of your insomnia by developing the right mindset. It is the key to everything as mindset determines your attitude and behavior towards sleep. Read the success stories here and find out what they did or more importantly what they thought to get past their insomnia. Everyone has what it takes to overcome their insomnia and you too! Good luck and may you find relief soon!

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