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Hello, I am new to this forum. I am not doing well right now.
I am at the beginning of my 4th week of CBT-I Sleep Restriction, with a local therapist. The first two weeks went more or less as expected, with a sleep efficiency average of 82% and 86%. The third week also started ok as well with the first 5 days averaging about 83%. But then the bottom dropped out and I have had 4 days in a row of horrible sleep, averaging less than 3 hours each night. I am in panic mode. I am trying to wean off of ambien that I have been taking since the insomnia started two months ago. I am down to a third of the 10mg tablet each night. However I panicked and took a 10mg night before last after two days of horrible sleep. I have been good at sticking to my sleep window.
I also have the added stress of being on CPAP and having extremely bad nasal congestion that I am trying to manage with 4 different OTC and Prescription medications. But it is kind of hit and miss as to being able to breathe normally on any given night.
If you can give me any advice that would be greatly appreciated. I feel like I am spiraling down right now and don’t know what to do.
Hi, I am also new to this forum and have been struggling for years. I’ve tried CBTi with a sleep specialist as well but didn’t find it very useful, because I stress about the sleep window (feeling tired and sleepy but had to hold it off til later, and by the time it was time for me to sleep, I was wired and couldn’t fall asleep). I am not sure if that’s what happened to you. My specialist then adjusted it a little so I don’t have the schedule as strict as before. Also I think it’s the best that you don’t use sleeping aid while you are doing CBTi. You should talk to your therapist though.
Thanks for the reply Hyhan. I’m still trying to figure my issues out. Did reducing the window work for you?
Hello @RoadWorn and welcome to the forum!
From reading your post, it sounds as though you might be getting a bit tangled up in trying to control your sleep. This is something that trips a lot of people up.
If we implement sleep restriction with the intent of making a certain amount or type of sleep happen, we can end up struggling as we “chase the numbers” or otherwise put pressure on ourselves to make sleep happen.
Ultimately, we cannot make a certain amount or type of sleep happen through effort. The more we try, the more we can struggle.
It might be helpful to think of sleep restriction as a single tool that is intended to help you move away from chasing after sleep — from doing things like going to bed earlier or staying in bed later in an effort to make more sleep happen.
If it’s used in an attempt to achieve a specific sleep efficiency or a certain amount of sleep, it has the potential to create more struggle — not less.
Have you discussed your concerns with your therapist? Perhaps it might be time to explore or practice some additional tools that might help you respond to wakefulness and difficult nights in a different way if you find they’re currently creating a lot of struggle?
I hope there’s something useful here and I wish you all the best.
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