[Horadedormir]

Hello Insomnia Coach community,

This is an 8-week check in. I couldn’t predict how this journey back to sleeping naturally without medication was going to go. I didn’t know how long it would take or what I would go through. For me though after 8 weeks, I’m happy to report that I’m sleeping basically like I used to when I was on that magic pink pill (Benadryl), somewhere between 6 and 7 hours per night. Every so often I have a night in which I wake up early (my main sleep issue) but I don’t have any anxiety about it now and I know just what to do. It’s very freeing.

While the sleep window was very helpful, I relaxed it at week 5 of the course. For me, the struggle was staying awake until the sleep window began and waking up WELL before it ended. When I started to allow myself to go to bed whenever I got sleepy, it really impacted when I woke up in the morning and it was quite inconsistent. So, I went back to keeping myself awake until 1030pm but allowing myself to wake up in the morning at any time. I did this to reduce the anticipatory anxiety about the wake time that seemed to unconsciously be streaming in my mind somewhere and wake me up too early. For whatever reason, this experiment worked well for me. I would go to bed around 1030pm and slowly I started automatically waking up later and later. Over several weeks, I went from waking up at 415am to 430am to 5am to 515am and now I’m waking up often at 530am.

In addition to the sleep window, I also really benefited from getting out of bed whenever I woke up if I didn’t fall back asleep in 30 minutes (which I almost never did). I would just rest on the couch under a blanket and eventually read until I was ready to get up. Having that ritual really reduced my anxiety a lot. I really liked the transition also. It was a plan that released me from ruminating. It became, if X happens do Y and just move on.

In conjunction with using a part of the NOW exercise which I will mention in a moment, moving toward things that are important to me helped tremendously. I loved this idea from the beginning. Why not do things that matter to me and make my life richer rather than preserve energy and just be sedentary waiting for the day to end. It took a little time to get comfortable with being fatigued while doing things I care about or simply productive things… but because I was waking up so early, I had extra time anyways so I went on early morning walks, studied my Spanish, took care of paperwork and cleaned. I applied that idea to things later in the day as well. The evolution went from just staying busy and not being sedentary to looking for things to do like going to movies, doing errands to making plans with old friends and seeing shows, concerts and going out to bars to meet friends. It was all fine even when I was fatigued. Often times I stopped focusing on the fatigue and engaged and somehow the fatigue melted away. It was always better than just staying at home.

Lastly, the part of the journey I struggled with the most at the beginning was with the physical fatigue, headaches, soreness in the eyes, tension in my body and just not feeling like myself because I couldn’t react spontaneously. I was like one beat behind for a while. I didn’t always use the NOW exercise fully. But I really liked to simply acknowledge the thoughts and feelings– there is the thought that I am quite upset about the fatigue I am experiencing and there is the worry that this is permanent. There is the anger that my body is suffering right now. There is the pain in my shoulders. And then I would say. And maybe it’s not permanent and let’s just keep up this experiment and see what happens. Let’s see what happens if I leave the house and engage in life. So, I acknowledged the parts that were struggling and also the hopeful parts. That loosened everything up and gave me more space to relax.

I think there are lots of other little details and realizations throughout this process but those are the highlights that made big differences for me. Martin, you’ve developed a great course and program. Thanks a MILLION. I’m going to continue applying this idea that I can do difficult things to others parts of my life. I’m definitely going to find some books on Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) and keep reinforcing those great ideas. I’ve been notoriously avoidant of discomfort in my life in the last 2 decades. When I was younger I wanted to try everything. ACT is a great model to reinforce making choices that align with what’s important to me and tolerating the accompanying difficult thoughts and feelings that arise. This sleep course really modeled that I could do difficult things even though I didn’t believe I could and it can be generalized to all kinds of other things in life that are difficult. I can always lean on my sleep journey as a reminder that the process can be ambiguous, difficult and unclear for a while, but it will clarify and come together at some point so why not try to aim for the things that make me feel alive and excited about life.

[Chee2308]

Beautifully written success story. Thanks for sharing and I wish you the best.

[Horadedormir]

Thank you Chee2308 I appreciate that.

[Martin Reed]

Thanks for sharing this part of your journey with us all 🙂

You have a clear plan in place for how to approach sleep, how to respond when sleep doesn’t happen as you might want it to, and how to deal with the difficult thoughts and feelings that might show up for as long as you are a human being.

Your actions better reflect who you are and the life you want to live. Your focus has shifted away from sleep and toward living your life. As a result, the stage has been set for sleep to take care of itself and difficult thoughts and feelings do not rule over your life.

Thank you for sharing the specific nuances and changes you made that you found particularly beneficial. This demonstrates that everyone’s journey is their own and that everyone is the expert on themselves!

What matters more than any exercise or tool shared in this course is whether your actions are creating more struggle, leaving you feeling stuck, or moving you in the direction you want to be heading.

I appreciate your kind words. I was merely your guide. You took the action. You did the work. You drew on your growth mindset, your problem-solving abilities, and your superpowers of self-reflection, self-awareness, commitment, and resilience to move forward and gain the insights you shared.

I wish you all the best as you continue to move forward!

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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.

[susantej]

Thank you so much for sharing your positive story. Just knowing that there are others out there struggling with the same thing and that there are tools available gives me great hope. I am excited to go through this program and learn some new strategies.

[Neilson72]

Thanks for this inspirational story. It is very encouraging.
I too struggle with staying awake at night , trying to get to even 9 o’clock feels hard most days.
What did you do to help you stay awake? Was this just planning in actives that were important to you?
Thanks
H x

[Horadedormir]

Great questions Neilson72,
I noticed that if I went to the gym to ride the bike or take a walk after dinner around 730 or 8pm, it helped a lot. The exercise/movement would wake me up for a couple of hours and I could more easily stay awake until 1030pm. Also doing the dishes or cooking and food prepping for the next day helped….but exercise was the best. I also noticed that I slept more soundly after the movement.

Hope that helps.

[Author]

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