[Helen B]

I’ve done the free stuff but not any paid. I found the emails really useful and the information on here great. But whilst I’ve improved its very up and down and this week is more down, regressed pretty much?

[Helen B]

Thanks Phil. I tried about a month ago to do the sleep restriction on my own, managed 10 nights with variable results but stopped as it seemed to be taking a long time for me to reach over 85 percent efficiency to enable me to start bringing my bedtime forward. I feel like I’m OK with the thoughts/thinking side of things (I just don’t think of anything when I go to bed but can still be awake the whole night ?) so need to focus on building sleep drive.

[Helen B]

I sympathise with the original poster here as it is very scary when you read about the long term impact of chronic insomnia. The support of recovered insomniacs on this forum can be helpful but I do get a bit irritated by the way people say getting over insomnia is easy, I’m finding it not the case.

Mentally I have learnt to disregard and stop thinking and worrying about the long term effects and how I will cope with little sleep. This has worked to a certain extent as I’m no longer fixating on them like I used to and I did see improvement in my sleep because of this. But it’s so up and down. After doing well for a couple of weeks, I’ve now started back with a vengeance my old pattern of barely getting 2 hours a night. Now my body has learned this behaviour over a couple of nights, it’s stuck back in the pattern and it’s like I’ve got to start all over again…

[Helen B]

Did you do the sleep restriction part of the programme?

[Helen B]

Thanks Martin. I have had a much better week by not trying as you suggested. So it does work even though i was skeptical. However having a bad night tonight for some reason. Just hoping this doesnt set me back. But you help and advice on here and emails has been really helpful.

[Helen B]

Hi KayJ
I don’t have any answers for you but just wanted to say the exact same thing has happened to me over the last 3 months. Was a month into a new job and had one really bad night and that was it. Got myself into a rubbish cycle of bad sleeping. I’ve got better at not panicking and accepting that I’m not sleeping well and that I will still function the next day. Things are a bit better but I’m still not falling asleep quickly like I used to do before all this. It is often 1 or 2am by the time I drift off. It’s very frustrating when you have been a good sleeper, I do sympathise with you.

[Helen B]

It varies. Sometimes I stay in bed and just continue to try to fall asleep. I’m usually quite relaxed and don’t have any anxious racing thoughts so this feels OK. But often I still don’t fall asleep so then will get up, read in the living room for a bit and then go back to bed. I started to do very strict stimulus control for a bit but was up and down like a yo yo much to my husbands frustration! So I now do a bit of a half and half approach…

[Helen B]

Most nights I can’t keep my eyes open past 9pm. I am so sleepy and am often sleepy in the day. If I’m working on a report or reading for work I often feel I need to lie down for a nap. The issue is when I get into bed, having been so sleepy, I can’t get off to sleep and after about 30 minutes or so, the sleepy feeling will disappear, meaning I then struggle to get to sleep at all.

[Helen B]

I am minded to think my insomnia is more learned behaviour than hormones. I think it would have come on more slowly and intermittently if it was my hormones.

[Helen B]

Hi, I’ve been doing 1am until 7am although have lapsed over the last couple of nights. I have real trouble getting to sleep each night. It’s often 2,3,4am by the time I get to sleep. I have no issue once I’ve been asleep if I wake getting back to sleep.

The SR has been really varied, some nights getting the 6 hours, some nights no sleep at all and some nights, about 3 hours. There is no pattern to it or linear progression.

[Helen B]

I’d like to know if the balance of hormones affects sleep too. I’m 43 and when I tell people I have recently started with insomnia a lot say oh it’s probably perimenopause. I just don’t see how hormones would make me unable to sleep suddenly overnight!!

• This reply was modified 2 years, 8 months ago by Helen B.

[Helen B]

Thanks Scott J. I will keep going with the sleep restriction but it’s so hard. The sleepiness I have throughout the day is difficult to deal with and focusing on my job can be challenging.

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