[Dazzio]

So this is my third attempt at cbt-i and just need some advice from others currently doing it. I am off all medication but am stuck in a rut- when I implement cbt-i, I don’t sleep at all the first night, the second night I sleep really well at get up after 5.5hrs the next night I don’t sleep again and this pattern has just continued for the past 6 nights. Should I get up after 4hrs instead of 5.5hrs to increase sleep pressure? Also is there anyone else currently starting cbt-i that wants to work through it together?

[Alice]

Hi Dazzio,
I’m in a similar situation, this is my second attempt at CBTI and I’m on my first week. If you want, we can work through this together (but I’m not sure how to contact you privately?). Regarding your questionm if you should lower your timeframe to 4 hours, I’m not sure. I read everywhere (and also Martin said so I think), that you should not go lower than 5,5 hours, as it might cause too many side effects. I started with 6 hours and I’m planning on lowering it to 5,5, too, because there’s hardly any improvement.

But like I said, maybe Martin can help with that question.

[Dazzio]

HI Alice
Yes I think you are right, i am going to stick to 5.5hr window for a while longer before I start making changes. Would be great to check in and support each other and hopefully in few months we will be well passed this

[Martin Reed]

Sleep restriction can take a bit longer than six nights so I’d encourage you to stick with that sleep window and stay as consistent as possible! Are you implementing any cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia (CBT-I) techniques other than sleep restriction?

If the two of you would like to connect, if you contact me and give me explicit permission, I can share your email addresses with one another. To protect you from spam, I remove email addresses that are posted in the forum.

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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.

[MonicaJ]

Hi Dazzio and Alice, could I join your group as well? Also going through my first week and have had some highs and lows.

[Dazzio]

Hi Alice & Monica,
Hope things are going well for you guys! Cbti is hard going and definitely a lot of ups and downs. I found my first week and half very challenging. Unfortunately after 10 nights of a cycle of pretty much one good night and one bad night following each other, I had a moment of weakness and drank 3 glasses of wine- got a few hours sleep that night and have done the same thing the last three nights now. Anyway determined to get back on track tonight and cut out the wine. While the wine puts me to sleep it always causes me to wake after about 4hrs.
The main positive I did take from my first 10days is that I always get to sleep the next night following a night of no sleep at all.
We are currently on lockdown here due to covid19. I thought this would be a good time to start cbti. However I must admit I have found the fact that I am not in work or engaging in my usual activities, has caused me to spend much more time obssessing on sleep and cbt-i. Just wondering if you guys find that too?

[Dazzio]

Hi Martin
Thanks for your reply, other than srt and sc, are there other cbt-i techniques that is should be utilising to stop my good night and bad night pattern?

[Alice]

Hi Dazzio,

unfortunately, for me, SRT is not going well. I’m on my third week with a 5,5h sleep window. But the last days I started to lay in bed longer than that, resting. So I guess I kinda gave up…I was just SO tired during the day, that I could not keep my eyes open and I even started drinking coffee, and I was never a coffee drinker. My sleep got even worse with SRT. I always had terminal insomnia, feel asleep easily, but after 3 hours I was alway awake, unable to sleep again. With SRT I developed sleep onset insomnia und completely sleepless nights. However I’m planning to start the 4th week “fresh” and continue doing SRT, even though I might lost all “progress”.

How do you guys manage the unbearable sleepiness during the day??

Also a question for you Dazzio, you mentioned that this is not your first attempt at SRT, how long did your other attempts last and why did you give up? I’m really struggling to get motivation right now…

[Dazzio]

Hey Alice,
Really sorry to hear you struggling. I don’t think you have lost your progress though. As someone on this forum once said, cbti is gradual rather than linear proccess, and that always stuck with. So I am sure you have learned a lot in the first three weeks.
I’m struggling myself just up from a night of absolutely no sleep. Got out of bed 4 times to practice stimulus control but no success. My biggest difficulty is when my sleep window ends at 6. I go downstairs and lie on the couch and still try to sleep(it never works and I know I need to stop doing it as I only get more frustrated).
I do find the sleepiness difficult the next day and am not very productive, however I don’t mind it to much as I know I will sleep the next night.
My first attempt at cbti was my most successful, I done it for 4 weeks last November. I had huge improvement in my sleep, however I found myself getting extremely anxious. As a result I went to the Doctor, who prescribed me mirtzapine. I wish now I hadn’t gone on it and just stuck out the cbti proccess. However I started taking mirtzapine and it gave me amazing sleep for the first couple of weeks and I stopped cbti. But after a couple of weeks it just stopped working and I was left completely back at square one!
We really have no other option than to keep going with this Alice, I do believe it will work

[Dazzio]

Hi Martin
This might sound like a bit of an odd question. But here go’s- The end of my sleep window is 6am. When I have a zero hour night sleep, i get out of bed at this time. But I often go downstairs and lie on the couch just resting for an hour or two(especially now during lockdown). I close my eyes but I am not trying to sleep. Is it ok to do this or do I need to get going with the day once I get up?

[Martin Reed]

Wine can definitely help with sleep onset but alcohol disrupts sleep and reduces sleep quality — so it’s not that surprising that you’ve found it causes you to wake after four hours or so. It’s also, of course, not a healthy or a long-term insomnia solution.

As pointed out, being inactive during the day and not pursuing enjoyable or enriching activities is a major perpetuating factor of sleep disruption because it means more time spent thinking and worrying about sleep, more sedentary behavior that doesn’t help build sleep drive or help regulate the body clock, heightened fatigue, and the development/reinforcement of a mistaken belief that the quality of our day is completely dependent on the quality of our sleep.

So with this in mind, we can see that beyond the core components of cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia (CBT-I), adding as many enriching and enjoyable activities to our daily lives is one of the best things we can do to reduce sleep-related arousal, reduce sleep effort, and improve sleep.

I hope this helps!

—

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.

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