[jts]

Hi. I have started CBT-I and am on my second week. I have been averaging 5 hours a night and falling asleep within 30 minutes (used to take me an hour). Even with restricting my time in bed until I am passing out on the couch I find I still cant sleep beyond 5 hours and the quality of the sleep is not always good. This has been going on for some time and before I started cbt-i I noticed the quality of my sleep was better (I think anyway). There was one night during the first week where i got 6.25 hours without waking up. I am not sure how to repeat this result. I have contemplated taking a supplement before I get into bed to help improve the quality of my sleep (something like mganesium, inositol, glycine, or apigenin). Is this considered ok to do with cbt-i?

Also, my original insomnia problem was that I couldnt get to sleep early enough. for a few months now it has reversed and I am suffering from sleep maintenance insomnia. I am fighting the urge to sleep and getting into bed between between 1230 and 1 my first week of cbt-i. Once this change occurred and before cbt-i I was getting into bed between 11 and 1130. I’d fall asleep usually by 12 or 1230 and get 5 hours but it was usually better quality. Should I get into bed and try falling sleep more in line with this natural rhythm?

[Samannave]

I would say that be in tune with your body. Instead of focusing so much on the clock and what time it is, listen to your body. Maybe even try to cover up the clock for The next week and just be in tune with your body and natural circadian rhythm.

[Martin Reed]

You probably feel unsure how to repeat the result you described because, ultimately, you cannot — not through effort, at least! That’s because sleep doesn’t respond well to effort — it cannot be directly or permanently controlled.

For the best conditions for sleep, there needs to be enough sleep drive (we need to have been awake for long enough) and there needs to be an absence of effort to make sleep happen.

If there’s insufficient sleep drive or there’s too much effort being put into sleep, conditions are good for a struggle to happen.

As for the supplements — the human body doesn’t require any supplements to generate sleep. Perhaps supplements might be one of those “efforts” that can end up making things more difficult?

I hope there’s something useful here!

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[jts]

Thank you Martin. The last 2 days I have done what Coach Daniel has mentioned called the timeless sleep window. I don’t check my clock from 10pm-6am. I have basically “stopped trying” and it seems to be helping. I will update here after a week to see if it really is working.

[Author]

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