[kat2667]

I struggled with insomnia for months in 2021, and with Martin’s advice was able to finally put sleeping issues behind me. Now, in 2023, I had one difficult night due to switching medications. I was awake the entire night. This night made me start to think about how difficult that period of insomnia used to be for me, and I almost “relapsed” into the cycle again. This time, it is almost worse than it was before. I often get little to no sleep, and after teaching first graders for 8 hours and attending grad school classes in the evenings, I am so fatigued I can barely move by 7pm. I know that if I get into bed that early, I will lay awake and get anxious/not sleep. I want to start implementing sleep restriction/a sleep window. I get up at 6:30 every day. If I consistently get no hours of sleep, how long should my sleep window be? Also, what should I do to stay motivated to stay out of bed until my sleep window begins, as I am a zombie by the evening?

Any thoughts or advice would be greatly appreciated

[Hyhan]

Wow that sounds terrible. I am very sorry. I’ve had similar experience (relapse) and I am still struggling. Have you considered taken the full course? I am on day 5 of the free course right now after trying CBTi with a sleep specialist and struggled with insomnia on and off for over 10 years.

[Chee2308]

Hello and welcome to this forum! If you are unsure where to start, I recommend you start with a minimum 6 hours window and by selecting a consistent wake-up that works for you, by subtracting 6 hours from that, you get your bed time. It’s that simple! You may or may not utilize all of that 6 hours sleeping but that’s okay! You are not in a race to be the best sleeper and neither do you win any prize being one. Set your times and forget it. Learn not to attach too much importance on the result. Because it doesn’t really matter. Over time, everything will settle down and eventually you just get used to sleeping or not sleeping. You get super relaxed with your sleep times, and you go to bed with wide ranging hours and you don’t get caught up in the finest details because you realize sleep is self-regulating, any sleep you lose the previous night will almost eventually be recovered on the next one or soon after, so you don’t worry because you just know YOU CAN SLEEP.

[kat2667]

Thank you so much for your thoughtful advice- I will implement a 6 hour window to start- Bed at 12:30AM, wake up at 6:30AM.

I have lots of hope from reading posts on this forum knowing I am not alone
Thanks again

[kat2667]

Thank you for your response-

It is comforting to know we are not alone here!
I used the two week free course two years ago, and eventually my sleep went back to normal! I believe the techniques Martin taught, along with his personalized advice, really helped me calm down about sleep. When I took the two week course, I was averaging less than 2-3 hours a night for about three months in a row. I went back to getting 6-7 hours a night and not thinking about sleep within a month.

In this relapse, I am back to the anxious place I used to be, and really in my head about it. I’m struggling a bit financially right now to pay for the graduate courses, so I am not in place to try it, but if I was, I think I would! Perhaps see what you can get out of the two week course, and give it a month or so, but if you are deeply suffering for a long time, I would try the full course. Martin really cares about people, and I’ve seen a lot of success stories.

We will get the exact amount of sleep we need, and eventually, we will enjoy restful nights again. I truly wish you all the best! Feel free to keep chatting if it helps-
-Kat

[Hyhan]

Hi Kat. Thanks for replying. I am feeling more hopeful. My sleep did improve some (it varies day by day) by implementing the techniques that Martin advices in the 7 days free courses. I am continuing to finish the rest. Actually I already learned about many tips from my CBTi training with the sleep specialist. I barely think about sleep during the day and I don’t feel fearful about my bed. However, I still cannot fall asleep sometimes and have frequent awakenings at night. I really like Martin’s method, and reading/listening all the materials/podcast are very reassuring. I hope you get through this and get your normal sleep back!

[Author]

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