[Bell]

Glad to find out about this support group. I started having issues with sleep about a year ago after having some stressful physical issues. I took sleep medication for several months then transitioned to an antidepressant that helped me sleep. I stopped taking that medication about 2 months ago and my sleep was fine for the first 2 weeks until other stressors popped up. I have been doing the sleep restriction for the past 6 weeks and trying to get my 5.5 hours of core sleep each night. A local psychology student has been acting as my sleep counselor and has me calculating my sleep efficiency. Week before last, it was at 80%; last week, 87%. I still have occasional nights where I only get 2-3 hours of sleep. It's all I can do to stay up until 12:30 or 1:00 AM but then I get in bed and i am wide awake! I often have to get back up at least one time and read for 15-20 minutes. I am getting ready to make a couple of trips so doing the sleep restriction while traveling should be interesting . . . . . Luckily, my husband is a very sound sleeper and it not bothered by my restlessness.

[karens2020]

The new link Martin gave us apparently debunks sleep restriction. http://www.insomnialand.com/new-research-identifies-some-interesting-global-sleep-patterns/ It did work once for me, but not lately.

[Martin Reed]

Hello Bell, and welcome!

'karens2020' wrote:

The new link Martin gave us apparently debunks sleep restriction. http://www.insomnialand.com/new-research-identifies-some-interesting-global-sleep-patterns/ It did work once for me, but not lately.

I don't think that post debunks sleep restriction – if it comes across that way I think I need to make some edits!

Sleep restriction is often misunderstood. It's not about restricting the amount of time you spend asleep, it's about restricting the amount of time you spend in bed, not sleeping!

For example, if you average six hours of sleep each night but spend ten hours in bed then you should restrict the amount of time you spend in bed so it's closer to the amount of time you spend sleeping. Sticking with the six hours of sleep example, someone like this shouldn't be in bed for more than seven hours each night.

This 'time allotted for sleep restriction' will help associate the bed with sleeping, reduce sleep anxiety and strengthen the sleep system.

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