[Jacki]

I have a question about the use of sleep aids, and fully acknowledge that many don’t seem to work but I am finding two of them to be helpful, but I am not sure if they compliment or detract from the CBT-i approach. I have been listening to the podcasts and have started implementing some of these CBT-i techniques, mainly the sleep restriction. I use a couple of sleep aids in conjunction with sleep restriction. Firstly once I feel sleepy, I get into bed, have a little read of my book and then listen to a sleep hypnotherapy audio that makes me feel ‘heavy’ and less alert – more often than not I fall asleep before it ends. I still wake up for extended times in the night though. Secondly I am a really light sleeper and I cannot sleep through any noise, especially snoring. I have noise-masking earbuds that I use all night, every night. I still have my insomnia issues during the night and wake up a couple of times but these earbuds just remove one of the barriers, which is to be woken up by a noise rather than my insomnia/active mind. Also when I do wake up in the night and feel sleepy enough to go back to sleep (which takes ages), if i am distracted by noises/snoring, I feel wide awake again so the sleepbuds have been great for that.

[Scott]

Hi Jacki,

In general, any efforts we put in place to generate sleep can be difficult because sleep simply doesn’t reward our effort and, most of the time, perpetuates our sleep issue even more. Sleep meds don’t tackle the root cause of insomnia – our thoughts and behaviors – and usually aren’t a beneficial long-term strategy. It’s not unusual for us to wake in the middle of the night, but our reaction to that awakening could determine if we return to sleep easily or become frustrated, making sleep more difficult. When you wake during the night, are you anxious about falling back to sleep or calm and relaxed?

Scott J

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[Author]

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