[Bee]

Hi, i am currently pregnant and having chronic insomia. I have anxiety issue on sleep onset, as in if i dun fall asleep within 30mins i am panic. I feel sleepy earlier time but as bed time approaching, i am feeling more and more awake. I went through the video and i am thinking sleep restriction might be able to help me on this. May i know how hours i should allocate for my sleep window?

I am expecting newborn to be arrived in 5 weeks time, so im not sure if this is the time suitable to start the sleep restriction. Please advice

[Martin Reed]

Hello Bee and congratulations on the upcoming birth of your new baby! I would suggest discussing the suitability of sleep restriction with your doctor.

You might find it helpful to explore the thoughts that seem to generate anxiety if you don’t fall asleep within 30 minutes since you have identified that as being an obstacle to sleep.

What is going through your mind when you don’t fall asleep within 30 minutes? What is it about the idea of not falling asleep within 30 minutes that seems to generate anxiety?

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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.

[Chee2308]

Sleep disruption is extremely common during pregnancy! Some sleeping tips include (material copied from Alaska Sleep Clinic):

Pregnancy Sleep Tips

If you’re an expectant mother you shouldn’t let the potential for developing a sleep disorder scare you too much. For many pregnant women, sleep troubles can be fixed by following a few simple sleep hygiene practices to minimize the risk of sleep disorders and maximize the amount of nightly sleep. Furthermore, many of the tips for sleeping while pregnant are also very useful sleep tips for just about anybody suffering from sleep loss.

Maintain a regular sleep/wake cycle. Prioritizing sleep is key in getting sleep. Making sure that you’re going to bed and waking up at the same time every day (including weekends) goes a long way in feeling more awake and alert during the day.

Exercise regularly. Unless your doctor advises against it, regular exercise should be done at least 30 minutes a day. Getting out any pent up energy through exercise will increase circulation, improve mood, and help you fall asleep easier at night. However, no vigorous exercise should be done too close to bedtime. If you prefer to workout later in the day, some light exercises such as yoga are recommended.

Cutback on fluids at night. It’s very important to stay hydrated during pregnancy, but to help reduce late night trips to the bathroom avoid drinking large amounts in the hours leading up to bedtime.

Avoid Spicy Foods and heavy meals before bedtime. Eating spicy foods before bedtime can increase the chances and severity of heartburn at night. Eating heavy meals before bedtime makes the body work harder during sleep to digest your food, distracting it from working on the repairs your body needs for the next day’s activities. If you’re feeling hungry close to bedtime, try eating a light snack such as a banana, crackers and cheese, or a small bowl of cereal. For more information on foods and sleep click here.

Sleep on your left side. During the third trimester of sleep it is recommended that expecting mothers sleep on their left side. This increases the flow of blood and nutrients to the fetus, uterus, and kidneys. Also, try to avoid sleeping on your back for extended periods of time.

Use pillows. Special pregnancy pillows can go a long way towards nighttime comfort. Another pillow tip to reduce back pain is to lay on your left side with hips and knees bent and place pillows between your knees, under your abdomen, and behind your back.

When having trouble sleeping get out of bed. If sleep is alluding you, don’t lie in bed willing it to come. Get out of bed and do another relaxing activity such as reading, writing, take a warm bath, or any other relaxing activity before returning to bed.

Take short naps during the day. For the most part, naps are usually advised against as they tend to disrupt regular sleep cycles making going to sleep at night more difficult. However, studies have shown that napping while pregnant can prove beneficial. A poll by the National Sleep Foundation found that 51% of women reported at least one midweek nap and 60% reported napping on the weekends. However, if you choose to nap make sure they’re no more than 20-30 minutes long, and don’t nap too close to bedtime.

[Chee2308]

Recognise that the natural hormonal changes that occur during pregnancy and after giving birth are common and normal and therefore some sleep disruption is likely to happen to almost every expectant mother. As long as you don’t get panic or anxious and accept these changes as they happen will give you the best chance of tiding over the sleep disruption. Good luck and congratulations!

[Bee]

Thanks Martin & Hiung Yong for the feedback&advice..

I think my anxious is mainly the fear of wakefulness…since i had gone through quite some sleepless nights within these 4 months. So now if i am still awake for more than 30mins, i will start to feel worry that this might be another sleepless night, and it might end up a string of sleepless nights which i think i cant handle with my pregnant condition…

Any suggestion to challenge this thought and ease anxiety to sleep? I keep telling myself wakefulness will build the sleep drive for next day, its okay not to sleep but i can still rest, dont panic on things i cant control, relax…….. sometimes i no longer anxious with these self-talk, but somehow i just couldnt fall asleep 🙁

I understand insomnia is kind of common in pregnant woman, but somehow i developed the sleep anxiety which i really wan to get rid of it before baby arrived…

[Martin Reed]

What evidence do you have to support the idea that a sleepless night leads to more sleepless nights?

It sounds as though you have come up with a number of more accurate ways of thinking that probably generate less anxiety, too — for example:

* Sleep becomes more likely after difficult nights
* If I don’t fall asleep, I can still enjoy some restful time in bed
* I cannot control sleep, but I can create better conditions for sleep

I think you are close to uncovering the thought that is truly generating anxiety. What is it about wakefulness that generates anxiety? If you are keen to explore this further you might ask yourself what would happen if one night did lead to a string of sleepless nights. If that happened, then what (and how likely is that to happen)?

—

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.

[Bee]

Thanks Martin for the feedback!

I think i fear of wakefulness because i couldnt find any enjoyable activities at night, as in i wil keep monitor if i am sleepy enough to return to bed, and backpain if i am not resting in bed after one whole day ( the anxiety gets worse if i stay in bed, so i just get off frm bed)… then next day i will just feel awful and might end up going into the depression loop (worrying, crying, nonstop permutations on how many more sleepless nights im going to get in future, not having interest on anything else all day long). I had been out frm this depression loop for quite sometime after went through your online video, and i fear all these sleepless nights would trigger this again which is really mentally tired and scary.

So far the sleep pattern i had is:- my 2nd bad night is always worse than my 1st bad night.. as in first bad night i might get 3-5hrs, and 2nd bad night i usually get 0-2hrs. By the time of 3rd night, i usually scared myself enough that i will increase back my sleep-aid dosage. I understand i have to sit with the discomfort of sleepless nights, somehow i lost the mind game battle. The above pattern happened 3x last month…

Kind of disappointed with myself on my mental strength to proceed further..
I tried to just let the thought be there not doing anything, but it seems it will not go away even though i told myself theres nothing i can permutate further since i cant control sleep…

Please advice…

[Bee]

Need some help here to reduce the onset insomnia mentioned above.

The only different than i mentioned above a week ago is that i am no longer increase back my medication even if i didnt sleep properly for 2 days. Just sit with the discomfort and i will eventually sleep after days of sleep drive build up. However, after multiple days of proper sleep, the pattern repeats till i build up the sleep drive again, which is really tiring.

I would really wan to overcome the sleep anxiety if i am not able to fall asleep within 30mins. The anxious feeling is like automatically happened and it’s hard to calm myself down with all the self-talks/let it be there as suggested. I am lost on how to breakthrough this plateau.
Please advice…

[Chee2308]

Hello!
Question is why within 30 mins must be able sleep? This creates unnecessary pressure to sleep which can drive further sleeplessness and is entirely self-imposed because there is no fixed rule on this. What is the worst that can happen if you just took longer to fall asleep? Why cant you fall asleep on your own terms instead of being dictated to, out of nowhere, like this 30 minutes rule? And what do you do if you cant sleep within the self-imposed 30 mins? Do you get out of bed? And how do you know it’s been 30 mins? Are you constantly checking the clock? Go timeless with your nights. You don’t check the time anymore so you don’t know how long you’ve slept or not sleeping, no need to obesses over it therefore you remove all the pressure to sleep. You are just creating unnecessary conditions for yourself. Just let it go…if your body won’t let you sleep then fine, think about the activities you can do, like reading books on parenting, or you can think about what names to give your child, what activities you would like to do with your child, what schools to send your child to, what kind of qualities or personalities you want to instill onto your child and much more. There are so many other things to think about or do as a parent other than sleep. Which is more important to you: being a better parent or the best sleeper in the world? And so what if you’ve become the world’s best sleeper or even the best sleeper in your own town. Is there even a reward or prize to be won for that?? If there is nothing to be gained, why bother? Just let it be and sleep will take care of itself, all by itself. Be the better parent first. Good luck!

[Bee]

Thanks hiung yong for your feedback and advice, appreciated!

Somehow i don’t really understand why i have such a 30mins criteria…. But it just seems if i wake up and realize its been already 1hr or more…i feel relief and go back to sleep fairly quickly, otherwise i will start to toss and turn for hours…
I understand that i shouldnt clock watch, but somehow not watching the clock makes me even more anxious…

I also notice that once i have a string of good nights, my sleep drive weaken and then i will have some bad nights again… the pattern repeats…….Is that normal? Any advice to overcome this psychologically? Or just working harder to build the sleep drive during daytime is the only solution here?

[Author]

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