[hiker]

Does your schedule allow you to go to bed earlier, so that you will get enough sleep by 3:30 am when you wake up? Another tip could be not to check the clock to confirm, which might in turn reaffirm that this is what you do, leading to a mindset of this is the way it has been, the way it is, the way it will always be……I think that would be part of the “sleep hygiene” answer.

But I have had early morning awakening for a long time, and the above has not been enough for me. An additional help some of the time has been when I can go to bed and acknowledge that OK, it seems that I wake up in the middle of the night. So if it happens tonight, I do not have to be automatically disappointed or anxious about it. It could be that if I get up and stretch a bit or read something which is sort of interesting but not a page-turner, that I will go back to bed and back to sleep. Or maybe I won’t and I’ll just get up. And I’ll get tired later and acknowledge that ideally I would have gotten back to sleep.

And the next night, the same thing. And if I did not sleep well the previous night, well, maybe I will sleep better tonight. Or maybe I won’t.

If this sounds fatalistic, well, I guess it could sound that way. But it is rather an approach to something which ultimately just happens, where trying harder or worrying about it does not help. I haven’t always remembered all this when I have had a bad run of poor sleep–and it can get harder to remember when your mind is scrambled from fatigue. But it is true.

[hiker]

Hi Jennifer, I can definitely relate to your story. I have been dealing with insomnia on a consistent basis for 40+ years. Tried, let’s see….sleep studies, CPAP, 20+ Rx antidepressants /sleep meds, psychotherapy, cognitive behavioral therapy, sleep restriction, continued good sleep hygiene, etc etc. And I do best when I just accept it: “Okay, I’m tired, I’ll just do the best I can.”

So it is encouraging that someone like you, who has travelled a similar long road, got help from Martin’s course.
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Hi Martin, I am sure you can understand why I am skeptical that your course will help me, though I must say Jennifer’s account is impressive. My wife is very sympathetic but understandably not enthusiastic about my spending yet more money to find a cure which has seemed non-existent.

Many people offer a “money back guarantee” if a product doesn’t work. But maybe you mean it. You do offer a free seminar and work hard to respond on the forum. I do want to believe your course can help.

[hiker]

I believe that what you are describing is referred to as “early morning awakening” and is considered a classic symptom of depression. At least in a physiological sense, even if you are not feeling bummed out.

Looks like Martin responds to a lot of posts, and you’d want to get his take on this.

btw, I take an antidepressant which does help keep me from getting depressed about insomnia. I wish I could say it relieves the insomnia itself, but no. Like Martin says (I think I am paraphrasing accurately here?), there is no pill you can take which will cure insomnia forever.

But maybe in your case, an antidepressant would help relieve an underlying depression, which in turn might resolve early morning awakening? Best to consult with Martin et al on this. I have a long anecdotal history about insomnia, but I am not a professional.

[hiker]

Hi Martin, I wrote the above (“Accepting that you can’t sleep right now”) before checking out your site in more detail. It certainly looks like you have helped a lot of people. Maybe me, too.

[Author]

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