[nette]

I really appreciated coming across Martin’s website after going through about two years of insomnia and have trouble both falling asleep and waking up early in the morning. I had tried a lot of different sleep hygiene techniques, was exercising about an hour a day and trying to tweak my before bed routine numerous times (it might work for a few days and then I would be unable to sleep again). There were periods where I would have only 3-4 hours (or sometimes no sleep) of sleep and felt that I had lost the ability to sleep. However, the CBT-I course with Martin was tremendously helpful. Almost one year after doing the course, I can fall asleep within about 15-30 mins and sleep through until morning. I get about 7 hours of sleep a night and can sleep in on the weekends without it affecting my sleep at night. The most helpful parts of the CBT-I for me were:
1) Sleep drive always wins: we cannot lose the ability to sleep (that really helped in staying calm and remembering that even if there was one or more bad nights, this would build up sleep drive for the next night);
2) Getting out of bed if I was tossing and turning and feeling uncomfortable in bed, doing something enjoyable and calming and then trying again;
3) Learning that even if I couldn’t sleep, I generally could still function enough to get through the day (which helped deal with the worry that no sleep would mean not being able to cope the next day);
4) Using the bedtime restriction technique to recondition the feeling that bedtime could be a time to look forward to, rather than a difficult time (it was challenging to implement at first but when it started to work, that really helped build confidence).
Overall, the course helped me realise that it is easy to develop a lot of unhelpful thinking about sleep. I think that was the great benefit of having a trainer during the process because Martin was always very reassuring and encouraging and offered reasonable and logical explanations and suggestions. For example, one suggestion that I really enjoyed was to have a treat after a bad night so that the bad night is associated with something positive instead of generating more worry. I also appreciated that CBT-I equips you with a tool-box of techniques so that if you encounter problems again, you have the tools to deal with it. Even though I had some set-backs after the course, when I applied the techniques, my sleep recovered. I would really like to take this opportunity to thank Martin again for patiently listening and sharing his experience and being very generous in providing continued advice and support through many podcasts and videos.

[Martin Reed]

Hello @nette! I am so glad you returned to the forum to share your story since we stopped working together over a year ago — this proves that everything you learned and the changes you made are helpful and effective for the long-term!

I am sure many people will identify with your experience of having tried sleep hygiene and all the other sleep rituals that serve only to add a burden to our lives while not making any difference to our sleep!

As you pointed out, sleep drive always wins in the end — we never lose our ability to sleep! Furthermore, getting out of bed when being in bed doesn’t feel good is usually a more appealing alternative to staying in bed and it comes with the added bonus of helping to address conditioned arousal while also improving the quality of the night.

Giving yourself the opportunity to recognize that you can still function and get through the day even if you don’t sleep is huge and it often requires a real leap of faith to continue the day (or even add to it!) after difficult nights. As you pointed out, the fact you did this allowed you to lower sleep-related worry and that contributed to better sleep!

I love how you described that building an intense level of sleep drive in the short-term really helped make bedtime a time you looked forward to, rather than dreaded!

As you pointed out, since you learned techniques that help address the thoughts and behaviors that perpetuate sleep disruption, they are now with you for life — so, any time you experience some temporary sleep disruption, you know exactly what to do!

Thanks again for sharing your story, @nette! You got results because of your own efforts and your own natural ability to sleep. I just know that your story is going to help a lot of people!

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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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