[WeddingFilmmaker]

Hey folks,

Have on and off insomnia for about 4-5 years. No stranger to insomnia coach, his podcasts have really helped me change my perspective on sleep in a really positive way.

Recently got a whoop [health band] that helps me track my sleep. I’m getting on average 6.5 hours of sleep with around an 8.5 sleep window.

Curious if folks have suggestions for sleep restriction. Just rejoined the free sleep training email list [did it about a year before but lacked the discipline I have now]. Curious what advice this forum might hold as well.

My sleep hygiene is pretty good, could be better at a consistent bedtime and consistent dinner schedule. Besides that, my wake up time is pretty consistent.

All the best,
Niko

[Chee2308]

Hello and welcome. I don’t think you need to do sleep restriction at all! You are doing great and 6.5 hours is a healthy amount of sleep. My curiosity is what do you really expect to achieve from doing sleep restriction anyways, and if you don’t get it or in fact, got the opposite result, how would you feel? Would you get upset, dejected or depressed, and this is exactly when people start getting into problems and they start doing more and more stuff in an effort to control their sleep, which is uncontrollable in the first place, because it is your body that is in total control to determine what type of sleep you get and how much and not you or your efforts.

[Scott]

Hey Niko! Great to see you’re finding the site, podcasts, and email sleep training helpful!

What’s your current sleep window, and are you aiming for a specific number of hours of sleep because it’s been marketed as the necessary amount?

Personally, I refrain from wearing smartwatches, Whoop bands, or other health monitors to bed because I’d tend to overanalyze the data and worry unnecessarily. Plus, I’d question the accuracy of the device’s data. I wonder if wearing the Whoop band could be seen as another effort to improve sleep, much like any other sleep-improvement activity. As you know, the more effort we put into getting a good night’s sleep, the more elusive it becomes because it doesn’t necessarily reward our hard work. Perhaps the best measure of sleep quality is simply asking ourselves, “how do I feel when I wake up in the morning?”

You might find Martin’s video regarding sleep monitoring devices helpful: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L0R7uOEKfEg

Or his video on sleep efforts: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YJiUkAQL-2k

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 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.

[WeddingFilmmaker]

Thanks Scott!

Honestly, the whoop has made sleep easier for me. Never could get into sleep diaries and I think honestly filing out a diary about sleep gives me more anxiety than a sleep band.

Originally looking into sleep restriction to get rid of middle of the night wake ups, retrain my brain to sleep through an entire night. [middle of the night wake ups that last a while give me anxiety]

Original sleep: In bed 11:30 to 8. Slept 6.5

This week: In bed 12 to 7. Slept 5.5

[Based on whoop data]

Subjectively, this week’s sleep, while more tiring, felt relieving to be waking up closer to my actual wake up time. My body wasn’t losing out on much deep sleep as well [at least according to whoop]

My question is about next steps. Do I just adjust the going to bed time or the wake up time? How efficient should I be before I move my times around?

Appreciate any feedback and/or resources!

[Scott]

Waking during the night isn’t uncommon, since most of wake for a brief moment while transitioning to the next sleep phase, but we usually aren’t aware that we wake. How we react to those awakenings can determine our quickly we’re able to return to sleep though. Do you feel like you’re putting pressure on yourself to fall back to sleep?

It can take time to see noticeable results from a sleep window. What time are you wanting to wake in the morning, 7am? If you’re currently getting 5.5 hours of sleep, it’s ideal to calculate your sleep window by subtracting 6 hours from your wake time. Based on the data you provided, if you want to wake at 7am, then the sleep window start time would be around 1am. However, only go to bed if you genuinely feel sleepy, even if it’s the designated start time of your sleep window. Once you consistently achieve ~90% sleep efficiency, you can explore adding 30 mins to the beginning of your sleep window.

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 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.

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