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For the past ten years, I’ve woken up in the middle of the night. That’s why I chose 12-6 as my window. I never sleep more than 6 hours, and typically only 4-5 for the last few months.
I guess I am a bit confused because the sleep window makes me feel like I am putting in a lot of effort in the opposite direction – to stay awake. I know we want to avoid stress or any effort around sleep in general. How do I find that balance of following a protocol without feeling stressed about keeping my eyes open? (Even sitting on the couch or talking on the phone makes me sleepy after 9pm to the point where I automatically doze – I have really strong sleep drive, apparently. I just wish it came at the right time)
I’ve had insomnia for over ten years and I was in my 20s/early 30s then, so my sleep needs were different, but I think I generally went to bed around 11 and woke up around 7. To your point, I never thought about it much except for having to wake up for school or work.
Thank you! This makes me understand more about the need to shift my relationship to anxiety. I’ve been listening to your podcast almost daily for inspiration (which I’m wondering if at this point is putting more attention on sleep than I should, lol) and I am going to start up again today with a meditation practice early in the day, and keep living my life.
Much of yours and other CBT-I advice is to stay awake until sleepy. However, my problem is different from many others – I feel extremely sleepy at 8:30 or 9pm, which is way before my sleep window of 12. Three hours is a long time to stay awake every single night when I’m super sleepy. I essentially can’t do anything sitting down or even talk on the phone or else my eyes will close and I’ll fall asleep. I have some house/organizing projects I can do but they won’t last that many nights, plus I’m mentally fatigued and don’t have much mental focus at that time. Prepping veggies, cleaning, walking the dog are all good activities – mindless and require physical movement. But like I said, three hours is a long time every night.
Any suggestions for how to be successful with sleep restriction in this particular situation?
And is there any idea how long it takes to shift the pattern? I know it varies by person, but it would be good to know a general timeline so I can prepare myself.
Thanks Martin! I really appreciate your reply and your podcasts. The success stories keep me motivated. I like the question of what can all the energy and effort go toward in my life?
Something that’s been really hard is intense anxiety when I wake up in the middle of the night. I have no problem getting out of bed (I trained myself to do that a long time ago), but my mind is racing and I have a lot of physical tension. It’s hard to feel sleepy again with so much anxiety.
