[Jess84]

I recently moved to a new city and during the process of moving I stayed at my property that I own as a getaway and while there for a week my sleep was messed up in the sense that I did sleep but I was sleeping at all different times and not getting a full 8 hours.

Fast forward to a week later and I’m in the new place on aug,3 and am able to sleep fully all the way up to aug,14 ever since then I have not been able to sleep fully and am waking up feeling exhausted every day and despite all this I still have a really hard time even getting a little sleep if any,I’d also like to mention that I suffer from anxiety stuff like panic attacks but I’m pretty good at containing my fears including what’s happening now with my sleep and know this is playing a part so I’ve been meditating and taking it easy to burn off any adrenaline and sometimes it works to where I get some sleep but nothing like a full night or anything.

Now I have to admit that I’m starting to get a little concerned about this to the point where I’m really considering taking Ativan or Trazadone which the idea of taking one of these to get sleep I absolutely detest but its looking like I have no choice and I’m afraid of the side effects or becoming addicted to them,so if anyone has had any experience with taking those kinds of
drugs to get sleep or break out of a cycle like this please let me know.

• This topic was modified 4 years, 6 months ago by Jess84.

[Martin Reed]

Hello Jess. Ativan or Trazodone are unlikely to be the answer, if your goal is to improve your sleep for the long term.

I suspect that you would find it very helpful to implement CBT-I techniques to help get your sleep back on track. When do you currently go to bed at night, when do you get out of bed to start your day in the morning, and roughly how many hours of sleep do you get on a typical night?

—

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 Clarity 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.

[Jess84]

I have anxiety as well so that is most likely playing a role here with my body being flooded with stress hormones that makes it all the more difficult to sleep but as far as whats been happening well I usually go to bed at around 2:00 am and get up at 2:00 pm and I get different amounts of sleep each night sometimes its good like maybe 5 or 6 hours of decent not really deep sleep to whats going on now it feels like I’m getting none at all like I’m literally just lying there until its time to get up which has happened the last two nights so now my body is building up some sleep deprivation so maybe it will be easier to fall asleep tonight.

What usually has been happening the times I haven’t been able to get sleep is at the moment I begin to get up and walk to my bedroom I start getting an adrenaline feeling in my stomach almost like a surge and once that happens I find it extremely hard if not impossible to sleep,
last night though I was able to suppress it and remain calm enough to enter my room and get
into bed without the surge happening but because of my high state of anxiety from the previous weeks I had some breathing symptoms with my anxiety like a very dry throat which
kept me awake.

The times of gotten to sleep during all of this has been when I’ve been able to calmly walk to
my room without any anxiety and when I don’t have the breathing symptoms,I just don’t try
and think of anything and concentrate on my body becoming comfortable and relaxed and
while it takes maybe an hour or more I have gotten sleep that way.

The problem is these barriers to getting where I need to get to fall asleep are hard to overcome every night if I could just get sleep for maybe 4 nights in a row I would probably be out of this vicious cycle I’m going through so any insight or ideas as to how to get back to regular sleep would be greatly appreciated and thank you for responding to me.

• This reply was modified 4 years, 6 months ago by Jess84.
• This reply was modified 4 years, 6 months ago by Jess84.

[Martin Reed]

I think you will find it very helpful to allot less time for sleep — you mentioned that you go to bed at 2:00 AM and get out of bed at 2:00 PM. So, you are allotting 12 hours for sleep.

Let’s say your average nightly sleep duration is around five hours — by spending 12 hours in bed, all you are doing is guaranteeing yourself seven hours of wakefulness. This is not only unpleasant but it activates the arousal system and leads to all the symptoms of anxiety that you have described.

I would suggest that you read the page on sleep restriction and start to observe a regular and appropriate sleep window. This will help build sleep drive, give the body clock an appropriate morning anchor, reduce the amount of time you spend awake, consolidate your sleep, and reduce sleep-related worry and anxiety.

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 Clarity 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.

[Jess84]

So do you think that the first time I wake up maybe after 5 hours that I should get up and start my day at that point because even though I do stay in bed for the extra time later on in the day
at around 8:00 PM I’ll be exhausted and be thinking I should go and sleep now while I actually
feel that it is possible to get some restful sleep but instead what I’ve done is to meditate instead
so what do you think about that,should I sleep then or just stay up until my original bedtime.

• This reply was modified 4 years, 6 months ago by Jess84.

[Martin Reed]

I think you’d find it helpful to observe an appropriate sleep window that more closely matches your average nightly sleep duration. Then, try to make sure you are always out of bed by the end of your sleep window. If your chosen sleep window ends at 6:00 AM, for example, then you would want to be getting out of bed by 6:00 AM every day.

—

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 Clarity 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.

[Jess84]

Just an update that my sleep has gotten worse to the point where I literally don’t sleep at all and wake up tired and with anxiety symptoms it is so strange because I can say consciously that I don’t worry about this problem or that I at least think I don’t,subconsciously though it is there no doubt I think this is anxiety driven for sure and I am gonna be connecting with a therapist I have worked with before who deals with anxiety and insomnia so hopefully something good happens there.

As for what has worked lately the times I have gotten sleep have been when I have went out and did something I enjoyed like seeing a movie or the library this usually takes up about 3 or 4 hours and I find that during this time I am very relaxed even though while at the library I was
actually reading up on sleep disorders it gave me a calming effect and I slept that night almost as if caused a gap in my subconscious worry or something say thing while at the movie I’m sure my mind wasn’t completely switched off from my problem but I was not stuck at home in the same pattern so that is definitely a clue for me.

[Martin Reed]

If you don’t sleep at all, how are you waking up? Waking up means that you are getting some sleep, even if only a little!

In the short-term, observing a regular and appropriate sleep window might lead to less sleep due to the novelty of the new window but sleep drive ALWAYS wins. If you are awake for long enough, you will sleep — and if you only allow yourself to sleep during a predetermined and appropriate sleep window, that is when you will start to sleep.

Pursuing enjoyable activities is so important. If nothing else, these activities help you recognize that you can still do enjoyable things after a bad night of sleep and they serve as a distraction so you aren’t endlessly thinking and worrying about sleep.

—

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 Clarity 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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