[kho4874]

Hi Judi
I think what Alina is trying to say is that you can not control sleep and as long as you are trying to do that you will continue to struggle. To accept that fact is not the same as giving up all together, but to free yourself from unhelpful sleep efforts and preoccupation about sleep, which keep insomnia going because we give insomnia so much attention. Humans are problem solvers and it is hard to let go. I am working with this myself, to give insomnia less space in my life and to care less. It is not easy when sleep is on your top wishing list for Christmas. I wish you the best!

[kho4874]

Hi Grangers
I’m sorry to hear that you are struggling with sleep too!

There are no big changes in my situation since my last post, but I am feeling that I have a little bit more energy during the day, even if I am not sleeping more. I have decided to stay in bed if I can’t sleep, if that feel most comfortable so maybe that gives me some more energy than sitting up all night. I am now working on how I respond to wakefulness at night, but that is not easy. I am trying out some of the exercises from Guy Meadows sleep book to see if that can help me. I used a similar approach to get rid of my pain. Perhaps this exercises can be something to try out for you too Grangers? I also often feel calm and sleepy going to bed, but I still can’t sleep. I think that is because the sleep anxiety also exist on a sub conscious level. In my case it seems like sleep drive will not be stronger than my anxiety (except on a survival mode) so I need to work more with my fear to get out this awful situation. And being patient of course, which is difficult too when all you want is to sleep NOW.

And to you Jeremy5. The program you are trying to follow with 4 all nighters followed by a 5 hours sleep window sound like torture so I am hoping it will work out for you. And I have read the books you recommended.

[kho4874]

Thank you Martin, for your response. And thanks to Jeremy5 for the book recommendations.

After five weeks of CBT-i, and still no improvement I needed to take a step back to find out if this was the right approach for my insomnia. I found out that a five hour sleep window did not do it for me since this increased my worries of not sleeping to a high level. Now I am usually going to bed between 11 and 11.30.pm. and get out of bed around 6-6.30 am. The good thing about changing bedtime is that I’m now feeling sleepy in the evenings again and less anxious. But I’m am still not sleeping any better. Some days I fell asleep quite quickly, but my brain wakes me up 1-2 hour later and there is no chance of more sleep. If I don’t fall asleep right away I usually won’t have any sleep that night. The sleepless nights happens 2-3 times a week. When I wake up after a couple of hours I believe my subconscious brain is trying to tell me something. Concerning the nights when I can’t sleep at all, I think those are the nights I put most pressure on my self to sleep or hoping to get some sleep, usually because I’ve had so many bad days in a row that I think that I really need some more sleep tonight or I had one one my 4 hour nights the night before and I am hoping for one more night with some more sleep.

Even if I’m trying to convince myself that it doesn’t matter if I sleep or not, my brain doesn’t really believe it because what I often feel when I can’t sleep or if I wake up during the night is disappointment and sadness of not being able to sleep. I know that I can’t control sleep, but it’s difficult to have a positive view of wakefulness during the night when I am very fatigued and exhausted and this really impact my days. I think that is one of my biggest struggles, to not care.

And when it comes to sleep-efforts, I think it’s difficult to identify what these are and eliminate them. I am not taking any medication, and I do not have any sleep-rituals except brushing my teeth. But I guess my desire for sleep is a sleep effort in it selves? And my research of finding out what to do? Maybe even being on this forum? And I know that I am thinking to much about sleep during the days. Especially when I can’t focus at work.

And one other issue. What is improvement? What to look for in early stages?

[kho4874]

Thank you so much hiker, for your kind and reflected response! It made my day a little better. I will try to focus more on the present moment. I wish the best for you too.

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