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Ok need some advice.
Heres a brief synopsis of my experience with insomnia. Been living with insomnia for approx 3yrs. Developed it when working in a stressful work enviornment. However even when i left insomnia stuck with me. Initially i used sleeping tabs & xanax. 6months ago stopped using these. But then found myself having a bottle of wine each night so as to sleep! I kept telling myself i am going to deal with this, but then always found a reason why i should wait till next month?. Anyway i first tried CBTI, a month ago- first night i didnt sleep, 2nd night i slept for 4.5hrs, 3rd night i didnt sleep, 4th night i slept for 5hrs, 5th night i didnt sleep and by the 6th night i felt so mentally drained i popped open a bottle of wine and gave up!
So i am now trying again and am fully commited to achieving it this time! I started on monday night and as i expected i got no sleep, on tuesday night i had given myself a sleep window of 12-5am. However i ended up sleeping from 12-6.30am. On wednesday night(last night) i gave myself a sleep window of 12-5am but again i got no sleep!
So i am really struggling as i feel its going just like the last time where i get into a cycle of sleeping one night and not the next- starting to feel likevthis is a cycle that i cant break!!! I know i have only just begun, but please would anyone have any advice for me or thoughts on how i can prevent this cycle????? I really need to succeed this timeSorry to be posting so much but here is my plan for tonight: go to bed at 12am and force myself to wake at 3am. So my sleep drive is high for the next night and try again for 12am-3am sleep. I feel like if i can just break my second day no sleep cycle i will have passed a major hurdle….. please help with any thoughts
Dazzio,
It’s not recommended to go below 5-5.5 hours sleep window. Just stick with 5-5.5 hours window CONSISTENTLY for a while, couple weeks at least. As you can find in CBTI success stories on this forum, it may take some time to see the results, definitely more than few days. Just STICK with 5-5.5 hours window, use alarm clock to raise you up, and your sleep drive will be building up. Do not go for 3 hours sleep window.
And read CBTI success stories on this forum. You will see that for many people it takes time to see the results.And Dazzio,
Most importantly stop striving to sleep. It seems from your writing that you are very very tense now, which is understandable. Just go to bed and try to rest, do not actively try to sleep, do not try to force sleep upon yourself. Just try to calm down and aim to get some rest in your bed. With short sleep window, like 5.5 hours, you still soon start getting more consistent sleep. Expanding this sleep window will be another challenge, but you should at least be getting consistent core 5 hour sleep if 1) you stick with this sleep window; 2) if you are more or less calm in bed and 3) you not trying to force sleep mentally. CBTI is not just about sleep restriction, it also includes sleep education. You can sign up for Martin free sleep education emails to learn more.
Hey Burn,
Thanks a million for your advice. Yeah it all makes sense and i will definitly follow it. Your right im just starting out on my journey and really nervous at the moment about my progress, literally obsessing on it! But know i need to stop. When you first started cbt-i, did you experience good night followed by no sleep followed by good night etc or was your initial experience (first 2 weeks) different? I really appreciate the time you have taken to help meDazzio,
When I tried it first time, I was super tense and was not sleeping every other night even with short sleep window. When I tried it again, I was a bit more relaxed and started getting some more consistent sleep, but my anxiety about short sleep window very still quite high, so I now try a different approach (you can ACT thread on this forum).
So for starter, ease your tension a little bit and maintain fixed 5.5 hours sleep window for a couple weeks and see how it works for you. CBTI works for many people and it may help you.Some great advice in this thread — thanks for contributing, @burn!
It does take time, and consistent implementation, to get results from sleep restriction. The key is to be very consistent with your sleep window and to focus attention on implementation rather than continuously monitoring for results and making constant adjustments.
Sleep drive always wins — we cannot stay awake indefinitely. As long as you only give yourself the opportunity to sleep during your sleep window, you will start to sleep during your sleep window.
I am so glad to hear that you have recognized that medication and alcohol are not a solution!
—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 Clarity 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.
Hey Burn, Martin
Thank you so much for your advice, it was invaluable to just get some encouragement and perspective at a point when i was starting to over analyse and make rash adjustments. On thursday night i slept from 11.30-5am and last night i slept 11.30-4am. I am absolutely delighted!! I had it in my head i would never sleep 2 nights in a row! I can feel my confidence build and i really wouldnt mind if i got 5hrs sleep for rest of my life- better than zero hr nights anyway! Again i just want to say thanks. I can understand why- when people defeat insomnia they do not return to the forum, as it probably reminds them of a dark time in their life that they just want to put behind them. However i just want to thank those people who have been so good to return and support other people through it. Insomnia is a really lonely place, no matter how many friends and family you have, they are no use if they have not been through the actual experience.Hey guys
So i had 3 good nights where i slept 5.5hrs, however the final night i slept 7hrs and so over slept by an hour and half. Anyway last night i could not sleep at all and got zero sleep. I can handle getting 1 or 2hrs sleep but i just feel so down when i get zero. At 3am this morning i was so tempted to take a xanax as i knew i would be able to then get 2hrs sleep before my alarm went off. I guess my question is when there is only 2hrs left of my sleep window and i know im not going to sleep am i just cheating myself by taking a xanax to get me the 2hrs sleep?It’s perhaps not too surprising that you had a hard night after getting an additional one-and-a-half hours of sleep the previous night. What likely happened is that you went to bed before you were sleepy enough for sleep (due to reduced sleep drive because of the additional sleep the previous night) and when you started to struggle, you began to feel anxious and frustrated. This triggered the arousal system and made it very hard for you to fall asleep.
If you only have two hours of your sleep window left, I suspect that it would usually be a good idea not to take a pill since this will only lead to you reinforcing the idea that you can’t sleep without a pill (and, after only two hours of sleep, you’d be dealing with the potential side-effects of the medication while awake).
It can be helpful to simply get out of bed and do something relaxing and enjoyable when you feel anxious during the night. Wait until you feel calm again, and then return to bed and see what happens.
In my opinion, I think it’s better to chalk up the bad night, get through the day (as you’ve done countless times before) and use your natural sleep drive to your advantage.
Sleep always becomes more likely after a night of bad 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 Clarity 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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