[johndreadssleep]

My sleep troubles began about ten years ago with the onset of a variety of chronic illnesses I have been suffering with to date. I have tried many prescription sleep aids with absolutely no success, and countless natural sleep aids with moderate success. I am 60. I am still searching. I cannot afford Martin’s course, otherwise I would sign up for it, as I am quite desperate. He has answered many emails I have sent him about my situation, so he cares. My current situation is this: I am taking a natural sleep aid called Somnapure. I have been taking this for a few years, as it is the only one I can see any help from, compared to many others I have tried. However, I can get to sleep quick, but pop awake after about 4 hours, almost every day. This is extremely frustrating. I am very sleepy when I awake, but have a very hard time getting back to sleep and it disrupts my whole next day’s schedule. I have had to extend my sleep window to 10 hours to try and get in enough sleep to feel reasonably well. I sometimes re-take one tablet of the Somnapure, or take 1mg clonazepam, which is for anxiety, and it sometimes helps me get back to sleep, but increases the chance for excessive daytime grogginess. I need to find something that keeps me asleep longer, even 6 hours would be a blessing. I don’t understand why I wake up after 4 hours like clockwork. Sometimes I have tried just getting up for the day, but am extremely tired. I use caffeine to help me get through the day. I exercise regularly, and eat a healthy diet and drink plenty of water. But due to my conditions, I am in bed a lot, and this seriously reduces the sleep drive, which may be a big reason for my lack of good sleep. Anyone go through this sort of thing? Please respond with any ideas to help, I would appreciate it….John

[Martin Reed]

Waking during the night is a normal part of sleep — so the fact you are waking after about four hours is not unusual. In fact, much of our struggle with these awakenings can stem from our desire and attempts to fight or prevent them!

When we try to fight or avoid nighttime wakefulness, we make sleep more difficult. When we find sleep more difficult we might then start chasing after sleep (by doing things like allotting ever-more time for sleep). The end result is often even more time spent awake, more fatigue, and the appearance of more difficult thoughts and feelings associated with insomnia.

This, in turn, can then lead us to exert more effort into sleep. We might start experimenting with medication, supplements, and other gadgets and gizmos. All these efforts can train the brain to believe that wakefulness is a threat — and when the brain thinks we are under threat, it goes into alert mode and that, of course, makes sleep more difficult.

In other words, it’s our (understandable but sometimes misguided) response to sleep disruption that gives insomnia the oxygen it needs to survive.

I hope there’s something useful here, John!

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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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