[Jcasey]

Hi guys, 

I Need some advice. Any input will be of greatful help.

I have had insomnia in the  past and it would disappear if I changed my lifestyle I. E moving towns etc. This seemed to break it. However, I am not in a position to do that now.

I used to be a creature of habit up to January. I would get very sleepy at night and most nights I would be sleep bu 10pm no matter what I did during the day on weekends and workdays.

Since January, randomly, one night I tried to sleep but my brain wouldn’t settle. I didn’t get any hours and I am sure you can see how unusual this was all of a sudden. And since then it has been the same. Prehaps I have formed a new “habit” and my body believes this is how things are to be??

I have some severe anxiety due to this but it seems to have slightly calmed down recently. The doctor hasn’t prescribed me anything yet other then some temporary zoplicane which is about to run out and has also referred me to therapy.

My biggest issue is not falling asleep and when I do sleep I wake up! Sometimes when I try to sleep my head either slightly aches or feels swollen? I have also noticed as soon as I have my head hit the pillow, it’s as if an “internal” light has switxhed on also preventing me to sleep. I find it difficult to nap during the day too.

Sorry if the message is a bit choppy but I am getting very low about this and I feel like I have lost a part of me…..

[Martin Reed]

Hello Jcasey. Welcome to the forum and I am sorry to hear about the trouble you are having with sleep. The good news is, there are a few things I notice from your post that could be targeted to improve your sleep.

First of all, you mentioned that you are finding it difficult to nap during the day. This suggests you are trying to nap during the day. If you want to sleep at night, it’s best to avoid napping during the day since this reduces sleep drive.

It also sounds as though you sometimes go to bed before you are truly sleepy. In order to sleep well at night, it’s important you only go to bed when you feel sleepy enough for sleep.

Finally, it seems as though you have associated your bed with wakefulness and anxiety rather than sleep and relaxation — and this is to be expected when we consider the struggles you have faced when trying to sleep.

The best way to break this association and make the bed a strong trigger for sleep is to get out of bed when you can’t sleep. Then, when you feel sleepy again, get back into bed and repeat the process.

What kind of therapy has your doctor referred you to? I am hoping that it is cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia (CBT-I) because, from what you’ve said in your opening post, it sounds as though you’d be a great candidate and would respond very well to it.

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