[Lam123]

Hello,

I have been dealing with sleep issue since March. I have irrational and weird thoughts around sleeping every night before bed and they make me feel anxious. I also made a mistake of going to Reddit to figure out why I couldn’t sleep and read some horrific stories of people with insomnia, which freaks me out even more.

what are the things I should do now?…

[Sleepless in SSB]

I’m not sure. I have tried sleep machines, prescription meds, not eating before bed, getting out of bed if I can’t sleep after a half hour, only going to bed when I’m tired, I will be trying something called articular ear buds tomorrow, and maybe CBD. I also have been doing Martin’s free sleep course. Day 5. It’s hard but people swear by it.

[Martin Reed]

Welcome to the forum, Lam123.

First of all, I would suggest keeping a sleep diary for at least one week. Here’s a basic sleep diary you can use:

https://s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com/insomnia-coach/Short+Sleep+Diary.pdf

In one week, figure out what your average nightly sleep duration is. Add half an hour to this and you have a sleep window (make sure your sleep window is not less than five-and-a-half hours).

When you have the duration of your sleep window, figure out when you want your sleep window to start and end. So, let’s say you have a six-hour sleep window and you need to be out of bed at 6:00 AM every day, you would start your sleep window at midnight.

Next, make sure you don’t go to bed before your sleep window begins. When it does begin, only go to bed if you feel sleepy. However, no matter what happens during the night, make sure you are out of bed by the end of your sleep window every single day.

Keep doing this for at least two weeks, while continuing to keep a sleep diary. For best results, combine this with stimulus control techniques — if you can’t fall asleep, get out of bed until you feel sleepy, then go back to bed and repeat the process.

In the meantime, please be reassured that there is no evidence that chronic insomnia causes any health problem whatsoever. More on that in these videos:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RoX04HJihNI
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wnVHQpVmFLw

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 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.

[Author]

Posts