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I wanted to post an update.
I am sleeping an average of 7.30 – 8 hours.There have been 3 or 4 days in the past 5 months that i could not get a good enough sleep, Most of those days correlate to having slept beyond my wakeup time the previous day.
So for me these are working best :
1) consistent wakeup time – i set an alarm to force a consistent wakeup time, no matter what kind of sleep i had previous day. Everytime i slip on this, i see that next day it takes longer than usual to fall asleep.
2) I get the occasional sleepless night and a nagging worry whether i am slipping back. But i remember/reinforce that i have slept so many other days without putting effort. That keeps the anxiety down and soon enough, i sleep off.
3) I am extremely sensitive to light, so i do need to block lights off in my sleep area.
4) I am prone to obsessive thinking, so i listen to (mostly science) podcasts as i drift off.Everything else in life you have to try harder when you dont get it. However sleep becomes more elusive the harder you try. I think this is the gist behind martin’s videos emphasiszing carrying a normal next day.
I am so thankful for martin’s youtube videos (i am not even a client).
I had insomnia for about 20 years now.
To all those in the early stage of CBTi dont lose hope.
It takes few weeks, but you will see a positive change.hth,
-jloganHello,
I found that when i try too hard to sleep, it worked against me, by building up more anxiety. I would feel very sleepy and yet when i decide to drift, anxiety would build up and few minutes later i would be very alert (and frustrated). For some reason they call it an arousal – i wish.What worked for me is to not forcing the issue and take focus away from not being able to sleep.
hth
-jloganHi,
How consistent are you with wake up time?
I followed the wake up time very strictly – even during days of poor (<few hours to 0 hours) of sleep. I found that if i ever try to catchup (say sleep off the wake up time), it creates a setback.Please note that i have no expertise, just a fellow sufferrer offering my experience in hope it helps others.
Hope you are able to stick to this and get better!
-jloganI wanted to post a 4 month update in hopes it helps someone.
1) I average about 7- 7.5 hours of sleep almost everyday now.
2) my sleep time is from 1.30-2.00 to 9 am. I tried moving it early, but could not.
3) I had one day of almost no sleep. This was marked by returning back to work after a long vacation. So i guess i have anxiety issues that build up. But i was able to sleep well the next day.
There were few days of not so great sleep. But this helped hugely :
a) going through next day doing usual routine things and maintain as much normalcy i could muster – example keep the workouts the same or even increase it when i was feeling it.
b) when mild anxiety of sleep strkes the following day, i reassure myself not to bother trying to sleep, and just listen to some podcast with lights off until sleep comes. It invariably did.I am so so thankful for martin’s youtube videos, every one of those helped reduce my anxiety. The key for me was to realize that one can try too hard at the sleep problem, that everyone has capacity to sleep, not to fixate on few troblesome nights. It was tricky that you have to stop forcing yourself to crack the issue to actually crack the issue.
hth, i will be happy to answer any follow up question- if it helps anyone i would be paying it forward.
-jlogan
oh i forgot to add
4) i have been listening to loads of science podcast and that helps me avoid late time tv completely.
5) I am very sensitive to light and wear a blue light filtering glass few hours before bed time – note that this did not help much before i started cbt-i so i wouldnt attribute anything to it other than something that lessens my anxiety about being sensitive to light.Hi,
I wanted to update on my progress. I will share what helped for me. I think i do have a bit of undiagnosed ocd that was adding to the problem.1) I was getting hung up counting minutes so i can return to living room away from bed. (“stimulus control”) The advice to stay in bed as long as i dont feel frustrated was spot on. It helped me not get anxious and drift to sleep.
2) I stopped looking at clock nearer my window time and just go to bed when i feel sleepy.(as suggested by martin).
3) I did have 1 or 2 days of struggle past my sleep window. Again, the confidence about to being able to sleep kicked in and no longer felt anxious.I confess i wasnt updating my CBT diary after a month of rigorously maintaining. i should get back to it.
I picked 2-9 as a window, now i am trying to pull it early from 1(or)12 – (8) or 7.
I am very happy and greatful for cbt-i. . I hope this helps others who are discouraged to persist with their cbt-i. I too had my very bad days in the initial week or so. Now even when i do have a one off day, i am not too anxious about it and i suppose that helps.
-jay
It has been 16 days since i started cbt-i and i wanted to share some update and follow up with some questions.
i have completely kept off any sleeping pill (antihistamine) and melatonin that i used to take.
I am having a pattern repeat, few good days (> 6 hours of deep sleep) followed by a day of poor sleep.
My belief that i can sleep without any pills is getting stronger. I am perisisting through days of poor sleep (as low as 3 hours) by keeping up with workouts and trying to carry a normal day.
BTW, i started out watching tv until my sleep window. But lately i moved to podcast that i listen in the dark in the living room. This makes me quite sleepy just before the sleep window arrives.
Questions :
1) sometimes i feel very sleepy and could not stop dozing off in living room before my sleep window. like yesterday night i went 30 minutes before my sleep window. How do i combat this (or) how strict do i have to be?
2) In days of poor sleep (< 4 hours), during the day, i have to close my eyes and try for a nap (mostly unsuccessful) to function properly. I know this is a no-no, but i dont see an alternative? Any thoughts?
3) my biggest problem has been the alertness (arousal) i feel once i get to bed that leads to subsequent poor sleep. like if i dont sleep at the first try, the rest of the night is shot… I am reminding myself that it will be a matter of time….thanks,
-jayWelcome aboard.
I am new here too, trying to share my experience and hope that helps others. I found martin’s youtube videos very enlightening and hence signed up here…
Best wishes.
-jay
Ken,
Thanks. Just an update :I went through one more day of little sleep. but yesterday things were different. I could not wait until my sleep window since i was very sleepy and went to bed 1 hour earlier. I did feel an initial bit of anxiety, but i think 3 days of sleep pressure must have built up, slept in matter of minutes. (1am – 9am). There were moments of wakefulness but quickly drifted back to sleep.
Few things i did 1) i didnt ‘anticipate or actively plan’ to be back in the living room. 2) i skipped tv and used an audiobook until sleep arrived. 3) i did my usual workouts through all three days of poor sleep just so i could maintain a semblance of normalcy – one of suggestions from martin’s videos.
Whether this day repeats or not, i keep telling myself that i haven’t lost touch with ability to sleep…
-jay
