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You are moving away from chasing after sleep, @PaulDykstra1970 — and, as a result, it is less likely to pull you into a struggle and it has a better opportunity to take care of itself!
You are making changes and you are learning from the changes you are making! Thanks for sharing and I wish you all the best as you continue to move forward!
—If you are ready to stop struggling with insomnia you can enroll in the online insomnia coaching course right now! If you would prefer ongoing phone or video coaching calls as part of a powerful three month program that will help you reclaim your life from insomnia, consider applying for the Insomnia Mastery program.
The content of this post is provided for informational and educational purposes only. It is not medical advice and is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease, disorder, or medical condition. It should never replace any advice given to you by your physician or any other licensed healthcare provider. Insomnia Coach LLC offers coaching services only and does not provide therapy, counseling, medical advice, or medical treatment. All content is provided “as is” and without warranties, either express or implied.
Sleep restriction can help reduce the opportunity for long periods of nighttime wakefulness but it can’t make a certain amount or type of sleep happen.
When you are awake during your sleep window, what do you do in response and what are you learning from that response?
—If you are ready to stop struggling with insomnia you can enroll in the online insomnia coaching course right now! If you would prefer ongoing phone or video coaching calls as part of a powerful three month program that will help you reclaim your life from insomnia, consider applying for the Insomnia Mastery program.
The content of this post is provided for informational and educational purposes only. It is not medical advice and is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease, disorder, or medical condition. It should never replace any advice given to you by your physician or any other licensed healthcare provider. Insomnia Coach LLC offers coaching services only and does not provide therapy, counseling, medical advice, or medical treatment. All content is provided “as is” and without warranties, either express or implied.
If you sleep during the day, you’ll technically need less sleep at night. Whether or not that is a problem or detrimental to the life you want to live, is something only you can decide!
What I will say is that a 20 minute nap taken early in the day is unlikely to have a huge influence on nighttime sleep. And, perhaps 20 minutes of downtime (whether or not sleep happens) is an act of self-kindness.
What might be helpful here is considering your intent and whether or not you might be putting more focus on sleep and reinforcing the idea that sleep is something you need to chase after or otherwise put effort into.
If you say “yes” to taking a nap, what — if anything — do you have to say “no” to, in order to give yourself the time to create a napping opportunity?
At the end of the day, there’s no black and white answer here! There are pros and cons to naps, just as there are with all behaviors and actions.
If you’re still unsure might ask yourself whether taking a 20 minute nap moves you closer to the life you want to live or pulls you away from the life you want to live.
—If you are ready to stop struggling with insomnia you can enroll in the online insomnia coaching course right now! If you would prefer ongoing phone or video coaching calls as part of a powerful three month program that will help you reclaim your life from insomnia, consider applying for the Insomnia Mastery program.
The content of this post is provided for informational and educational purposes only. It is not medical advice and is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease, disorder, or medical condition. It should never replace any advice given to you by your physician or any other licensed healthcare provider. Insomnia Coach LLC offers coaching services only and does not provide therapy, counseling, medical advice, or medical treatment. All content is provided “as is” and without warranties, either express or implied.
Your experience is telling you that you can have nights when sleep happens like you want it to happen and that you can have nights when sleep doesn’t happen like you want it to happen.
You have identified that having expectations when it comes to sleep each night doesn’t really serve you. Your sleep window is currently seven hours long. If you were to reduce your sleep window, what would your goal or intention be with that change?
—If you are ready to stop struggling with insomnia you can enroll in the online insomnia coaching course right now! If you would prefer ongoing phone or video coaching calls as part of a powerful three month program that will help you reclaim your life from insomnia, consider applying for the Insomnia Mastery program.
The content of this post is provided for informational and educational purposes only. It is not medical advice and is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease, disorder, or medical condition. It should never replace any advice given to you by your physician or any other licensed healthcare provider. Insomnia Coach LLC offers coaching services only and does not provide therapy, counseling, medical advice, or medical treatment. All content is provided “as is” and without warranties, either express or implied.
You are no longer measuring progress or success based on what’s out of your control (such as how many hours of sleep you might experience).
Instead, you are measuring progress or success based on what you can control — how you respond. When you respond with less battling, less resistance, and less struggle, sleep (and insomnia) loses its power and influence. It has the best opportunity to take care of itself, and you have more energy and attention and focus to do things that matter each day.
That doesn’t mean everything is always perfect or even great. It means you are not engaged in an ongoing battle with something that’s out of your control. A battle that only makes things more difficult and makes it harder for you to live the life you want to live.
Thanks for sharing your insights!
—If you are ready to stop struggling with insomnia you can enroll in the online insomnia coaching course right now! If you would prefer ongoing phone or video coaching calls as part of a powerful three month program that will help you reclaim your life from insomnia, consider applying for the Insomnia Mastery program.
The content of this post is provided for informational and educational purposes only. It is not medical advice and is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease, disorder, or medical condition. It should never replace any advice given to you by your physician or any other licensed healthcare provider. Insomnia Coach LLC offers coaching services only and does not provide therapy, counseling, medical advice, or medical treatment. All content is provided “as is” and without warranties, either express or implied.
Nothing unusual here, @Lschwenk — ups and downs are part of any journey, just as @trailrunner85 described.
A sleep window is effective for as long as you are using it to build skill in moving away from chasing after sleep. A sleep window cannot make a certain amount or type of sleep happen. Getting out of bed within half an hour of the end of your sleep window doesn’t mean you aren’t going to get anything from it.
You notice yourself focusing on certain thoughts and feelings after a night that didn’t happen as you wanted it to. You have been practicing the NOW exercise when this happens to help build skill in refocusing. As you shared, it’s harder to get that practice in on those days — and, perhaps that’s the most valuable time to get the practice in?
—If you are ready to stop struggling with insomnia you can enroll in the online insomnia coaching course right now! If you would prefer ongoing phone or video coaching calls as part of a powerful three month program that will help you reclaim your life from insomnia, consider applying for the Insomnia Mastery program.
The content of this post is provided for informational and educational purposes only. It is not medical advice and is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease, disorder, or medical condition. It should never replace any advice given to you by your physician or any other licensed healthcare provider. Insomnia Coach LLC offers coaching services only and does not provide therapy, counseling, medical advice, or medical treatment. All content is provided “as is” and without warranties, either express or implied.
Your experience seems to tell you that you cannot stop your brain from generating thoughts and, when you try, you get pulled into a struggle that only makes them even more difficult.
In what ways — if any — might things be different if you didn’t try to fight or avoid certain thoughts and feelings?
—If you are ready to stop struggling with insomnia you can enroll in the online insomnia coaching course right now! If you would prefer ongoing phone or video coaching calls as part of a powerful three month program that will help you reclaim your life from insomnia, consider applying for the Insomnia Mastery program.
The content of this post is provided for informational and educational purposes only. It is not medical advice and is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease, disorder, or medical condition. It should never replace any advice given to you by your physician or any other licensed healthcare provider. Insomnia Coach LLC offers coaching services only and does not provide therapy, counseling, medical advice, or medical treatment. All content is provided “as is” and without warranties, either express or implied.
Thanks for the update — how time flies!!!
Even though you’d been struggling for decades and had tried so many different things to fix your sleep, you didn’t give up. You found the stories of others in the podcast, took a leap of faith and invested in yourself again by taking my six-week course.
Your understanding of sleep has changed. Instead of trying to control sleep, you developed skill in experiencing wakefulness (and the thoughts and feelings that come with it) with less struggle. That shift has freed you from the insomnia struggle.
You’ve got your life back and that’s entirely down to your own actions and your own natural ability to sleep! I wish you all the best as you continue to move forward 🙂
—If you are ready to stop struggling with insomnia you can enroll in the online insomnia coaching course right now! If you would prefer ongoing phone or video coaching calls as part of a powerful three month program that will help you reclaim your life from insomnia, consider applying for the Insomnia Mastery program.
The content of this post is provided for informational and educational purposes only. It is not medical advice and is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease, disorder, or medical condition. It should never replace any advice given to you by your physician or any other licensed healthcare provider. Insomnia Coach LLC offers coaching services only and does not provide therapy, counseling, medical advice, or medical treatment. All content is provided “as is” and without warranties, either express or implied.
The 7 day sleep diary is more interested in what your sleep routine looks like rather than just the amount of sleep that’s happening.
If you feel your sleep schedule (ie the time you go to bed and the time you get out of bed) will be a lot different when on holiday, I’d suggest waiting until you get back to finish it. If you feel your sleep schedule will be the same then you might want to just keep going with it while away.
Either way, you won’t get “kicked off”! Safe travels! ✈️
—If you are ready to stop struggling with insomnia you can enroll in the online insomnia coaching course right now! If you would prefer ongoing phone or video coaching calls as part of a powerful three month program that will help you reclaim your life from insomnia, consider applying for the Insomnia Mastery program.
The content of this post is provided for informational and educational purposes only. It is not medical advice and is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease, disorder, or medical condition. It should never replace any advice given to you by your physician or any other licensed healthcare provider. Insomnia Coach LLC offers coaching services only and does not provide therapy, counseling, medical advice, or medical treatment. All content is provided “as is” and without warranties, either express or implied.
Yes, the cycle can be broken. The first step to doing that might be to identify what is keeping you stuck in the cycle.
When hyperarousal shows up, how do you usually respond and what have you been learning from that response?
—If you are ready to stop struggling with insomnia you can enroll in the online insomnia coaching course right now! If you would prefer ongoing phone or video coaching calls as part of a powerful three month program that will help you reclaim your life from insomnia, consider applying for the Insomnia Mastery program.
The content of this post is provided for informational and educational purposes only. It is not medical advice and is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease, disorder, or medical condition. It should never replace any advice given to you by your physician or any other licensed healthcare provider. Insomnia Coach LLC offers coaching services only and does not provide therapy, counseling, medical advice, or medical treatment. All content is provided “as is” and without warranties, either express or implied.
Napping during the day means less sleep might be needed (and, therefore, generated) at night — whether or not that’s a problem is something only you can decide for yourself!
There’s no specific action you can take to guarantee that sleep will happen, other than being awake for long enough. Many people notice that the more they try to make sleep happen, the more of a struggle it becomes.
With that in mind, perhaps the intent behind your practice of NSDR might be the most important thing to consider here?
—If you are ready to stop struggling with insomnia you can enroll in the online insomnia coaching course right now! If you would prefer ongoing phone or video coaching calls as part of a powerful three month program that will help you reclaim your life from insomnia, consider applying for the Insomnia Mastery program.
The content of this post is provided for informational and educational purposes only. It is not medical advice and is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease, disorder, or medical condition. It should never replace any advice given to you by your physician or any other licensed healthcare provider. Insomnia Coach LLC offers coaching services only and does not provide therapy, counseling, medical advice, or medical treatment. All content is provided “as is” and without warranties, either express or implied.
Welcome to the forum @JenW!
Not taking medication is important to you. I am sorry that your doctor didn’t take that seriously and truly listen to what matters to you.
CBT-I cannot make a certain amount or type of sleep happen. It can address some of the common behaviors that perpetuate an ongoing struggle with sleep, though.
You can absolutely move forward and free yourself from an ongoing struggle with insomnia without strict rules and without medication — and there are many examples of this to be found in the Insomnia Coach podcast.
YOU are the expert on you. Only you know what the “best” way to move forward looks like for you. You clearly know what matters to you and that will stand you in good stead as you continue to move forward.
@PaulDykstra1970 — You are clearly taking action, even though that action is hard! Not checking the time during the night can be so helpful!It might also be worth reflecting on whether making medication use contingent on whether or not sleep happens on the first “attempt” might, in turn, create more pressure to make sleep happen — and where that kind of pressure gets you.
—If you are ready to stop struggling with insomnia you can enroll in the online insomnia coaching course right now! If you would prefer ongoing phone or video coaching calls as part of a powerful three month program that will help you reclaim your life from insomnia, consider applying for the Insomnia Mastery program.
The content of this post is provided for informational and educational purposes only. It is not medical advice and is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease, disorder, or medical condition. It should never replace any advice given to you by your physician or any other licensed healthcare provider. Insomnia Coach LLC offers coaching services only and does not provide therapy, counseling, medical advice, or medical treatment. All content is provided “as is” and without warranties, either express or implied.
Hello Liza and welcome to the forum. The last three months have been really difficult for you. Even when you take medication, you aren’t getting as much sleep as you want to get.
Whether or not it’s OK to continue taking meds is something only you have the answer to — and it might also be a discussion to have with your doctor.
What have you learned from your experience over the past three months?
—If you are ready to stop struggling with insomnia you can enroll in the online insomnia coaching course right now! If you would prefer ongoing phone or video coaching calls as part of a powerful three month program that will help you reclaim your life from insomnia, consider applying for the Insomnia Mastery program.
The content of this post is provided for informational and educational purposes only. It is not medical advice and is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease, disorder, or medical condition. It should never replace any advice given to you by your physician or any other licensed healthcare provider. Insomnia Coach LLC offers coaching services only and does not provide therapy, counseling, medical advice, or medical treatment. All content is provided “as is” and without warranties, either express or implied.
After 15 years of sleeping pills, you went an entire week of no sleeping pills whatsoever! What did you learn from that experience?
More recently, sleep hasn’t been happening as you want it to. You notice adrenalin rushing through you when you want sleep to happen. You know the pills are available as an option but you don’t want to take them.
Why is getting away from sleeping pills important to you? When you consider how to respond when sleep doesn’t show up, what options do you have other than medication?
—If you are ready to stop struggling with insomnia you can enroll in the online insomnia coaching course right now! If you would prefer ongoing phone or video coaching calls as part of a powerful three month program that will help you reclaim your life from insomnia, consider applying for the Insomnia Mastery program.
The content of this post is provided for informational and educational purposes only. It is not medical advice and is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease, disorder, or medical condition. It should never replace any advice given to you by your physician or any other licensed healthcare provider. Insomnia Coach LLC offers coaching services only and does not provide therapy, counseling, medical advice, or medical treatment. All content is provided “as is” and without warranties, either express or implied.
Thanks for sharing what you’ve been learning and that your practice of what you’ve been learning has been helping you deal with anxiety, fatigue, and nighttime wakefulness in a more workable way.
Through your actions, you’ve been reminded that your body knows how to generate multiple hours of sleep on multiple nights in a row. You’ve also been reminded that sleep doesn’t always happen as you might want it to — and when it doesn’t, you might be more likely to notice difficult thoughts and feelings like anxiety.
You know those thoughts and feelings come from your brain doing its job of looking out for you. Therefore, they cannot be stopped!
What matters is how you choose to respond to those thoughts and feelings and those nights when sleep doesn’t happen as you might want.
You’ve been responding by doing things that reflect who you are and who you want to be. You’ve been continuing to move toward the life you want to live, independently of sleep.
That sounds like the opposite of defeat to me!
—If you are ready to stop struggling with insomnia you can enroll in the online insomnia coaching course right now! If you would prefer ongoing phone or video coaching calls as part of a powerful three month program that will help you reclaim your life from insomnia, consider applying for the Insomnia Mastery program.
The content of this post is provided for informational and educational purposes only. It is not medical advice and is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease, disorder, or medical condition. It should never replace any advice given to you by your physician or any other licensed healthcare provider. Insomnia Coach LLC offers coaching services only and does not provide therapy, counseling, medical advice, or medical treatment. All content is provided “as is” and without warranties, either express or implied.
