[ahryan2011]

Hi, I’ve been implementing CBT-I techniques for several weeks, and have seen a great improvement in time it takes to fall asleep and in the quality of my sleep. But I’m still dealing with early morning waking, usually and hour to hour and a half before my alarm is set to go off. Will this get better with time? It’s pretty frustrating!

[Martin Reed]

What would you be doing differently in your life if you woke to your alarm each day rather than waking an hour or so before it went off?

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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.

[ahryan2011]

I would be much better rested and less irritable. My current sleep window is about 10:00-5:30. I’ve been waking consistently somewhere in the 4:00 hour, and this morning even earlier – about 3:30. I’m still trying to keep my days the same, getting exercise, not cancelling plans, etc. I’m just so sleepy throughout the day.

I’m working with another CBT-I coach (I’d rather be working with you, but this was more in our budget currently). She’s suggesting getting morning and afternoon light for about 20 minutes (I’m doing this most days already), doing something to keep me calm when I wake, and possibly taking slow release melatonin. Which I really don’t want to do because I’ve taken that in the past and it makes me very tired the next day.

[Martin Reed]

What I think can be really helpful is recognizing what we can control and what we cannot control.

Things we can’t control include sleep, our thoughts, our feelings, and our emotions. The more we try to control what we cannot control, the more we will struggle (and that struggle can be exhausting!).

Fortunately, we can always control our actions — and if we can shift attention here, all the difficult stuff that exists as part of being a human being might start to have less of an influence over us.

So, for example, it can be helpful to acknowledge difficult thoughts, feelings, and emotions (such as fatigue and irritability) rather than trying to eliminate them. Then, while making space for that difficult stuff to exist, we might engage in activities that are aligned with our values and help us move toward the kind of life we want to live.

I hope there’s something helpful here!

—

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.

[Chee2308]

You can’t control when and how many times you wake up either. Be realistic with your goals. Do you think following cbti devoutly was going to make to sleep straight 10pm-530am every single night? Were you already sleeping like this before insomnia? Be perfectly honest with yourself. In sleep, the end result is not the ultimate goal here, because nobody can control that directly but we can influence the things that help make sleeping easier, such as getting in and out of bed at regular times, a wind down period before bed, creating a good environment for rest and overall, not stressing over it. To achieve that final step, you have to completely abandon all attachments and goal settings. In this mindset, the sleep you want becomes the sleep you get, there is no more distinction between them. Good luck!

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