[Jjill]

Hi everyone! So my insomnia started about a year ago in pregnancy and never went away.. I am not on meds but will have some normal nights here and there (normal for me still waking up a lot) and then I will crash and have a 0-3 hr night and the cycle will keep going. I started CBT-I a week ago and didn’t know what to expect and am unsure if the results I am seeing. I had about a 51/2hr average in my logs so they started me at 61/2 hrs since I still have baby waking once. The first week I crashed right away from anxiety and got 2 hrs and slowly worked my way up to 5 by the end of the week. My sleep onset time also went from about 21/2 hrs to the last night I finally fell asleep right away and slept most of the night. I was super encouraged and the my sleep coach gave me anxiety at our week meeting and I literally didn’t sleep at all last night. I thought my sleep would gradually grow and get better not crash? It’s odd because before I started I would have nights I would sleep 7 hrs and this week even being exhausted was 3 or 4. Is this how it typically works? How long can I expect until I see a shift? She had told me if it takes 7 months that’s how long we will work at it and that comment alone spiraled me. This last week has been awful!!!!

[Chee2308]

Hello there, I certainly can relate with your experience. I too had good nights where I slept 7 hours then would crash right back into sleepless nights where I got 2 or none. I would encourage u to stay committed to the course and give your body a chance to adapt. Some people started seeing results rightaway and some took months, everyone is different. I had insomnia for just under a month, so when I started bedtime restriction and cognitive therapy where I changed my mindset about my sleep, I started seeing results almost immediately. I am now into my second week of therapy and am able to consistently sleep at the start of my sleep window. It could be your insomnia is chronic so that’s why your body needs time to adjust. Be patient and u should see improvements down the road.

[Scott]

Hey Jjill! Welcome to the forum! Thanks for posing those questions and to Chee for the insightful information. As Chee stated, people respond differently when implementing the evidence-based techniques and those ups and downs you experience are completely normal. I sometimes use the diet analogy – everyone on the same diet will have varying results. Persistent practice of those proven techniques, combined with a consistent bedtime and awakening (getting out of bed) to help build your sleep drive can bring meaningful improvement in your sleep and, subsequently, reduce your anxiety towards sleep.

As you mentioned, you have experienced success in accomplishing restful sleep but when we experience a night of disrupted sleep, we tend to place our focus on that instead of our past achievements. When that occurs, we place all of our effort into “fixing” our sleep the next night but sleep responds negatively in our attempts and usually perpetuates the issue.

I truly believe you were on the right path before your weekly meeting that caused some anxiety so I encourage you to continue implementing the cognitive and behavioral theories. You’ve got this, Jjill!

Scott

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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.

[Martin Reed]

Sorry to hear your coach gave you anxiety — with that in mind, it’s no surprise at all that you found it really hard to sleep that night! If you don’t mind sharing, what did your coach say that generated the anxiety?

It sounds as though you were starting to experience improvements in your sleep before that difficult night which, upon reflection, was normal and to be expected! So, I would encourage you to keep moving forward because what you were doing seemed to be helping!

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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.

[Jjill]

2nd week started out a lot better. First 4 nights getting 5-61/2 hrs sleep… would either fall asleep right away and wake before alarm or still take about 60-90 min to fall asleep but would then sleep thru to my alarm. (Marked improvement from being up 4-5 hrs some nights) First time I’ve had zero awakenings besides if my baby woke me. Last night I decided to quit taking a couple calming herbs I usually take at night..they aren’t sedative but I want to be sure the progress is all mine and not feel like I’m still having to take stuff to help sleep. I wasn’t as tired upon going to bed which was a little disappointing and then backtracked a bit on my night. However my baby did have a horrible night and cried for 45 minutes when we first got in bed and then woke thru the night. (Wonderful timing for a sleep regression) it took me about an hour after she finally fell asleep and then I woke once on my own and then once with her again so only got about 3 hrs. Trying to just roll with the ups and downs. Still having pretty bad anxiety from starting the program too… more so than before I started and not sure if that’s normal? Better than last week tho since I’ve gotten a little more sleep lately. I’m going to keep with not taking the herbs and just hope that next week gets a little better as well. What do you guys think? Normal progress? I don’t really know when I should start to see results but my coach said normally around the 3rd week things start to come together. Fingers crossed!!

[Author]

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