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Hello Brad!
If setting an alarm for 5:15 AM helps you live the kind of life you want to live and if the only reason you don’t want to set an alarm is because you’re trying to avoid feeling anxious, you might want to ask yourself whether that’s a workable behavior (we’ll explore “workable behaviors” in more detail as you continue to work through the course).
If you’re waking naturally at the time when you want to be starting your day and the lack of an alarm isn’t preventing you from doing things that matter or that move you toward the kind of life you want to live, then there’s probably no need to start setting an alarm now.
Does this help?
—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.
Great questions, Frank!
You can spend as long as you like on each letter — it’s not possible to spend “too long” on one part of the exercise. It’s all good practice for building skill in moving away from the struggle.
You can practice the AWAKE exercise in bed or out of bed, whichever you feel most comfortable with. I think that most people probably practice it mainly when in bed.
—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.
I’d suggest discussing this with your doctor. In terms of the approach of when/how to move away from medication, I don’t usually see a big influence in terms of the chosen process or timeline — some clients go cold turkey immediately, others taper immediately, others go cold turkey a bit later on, others taper a bit later on. Some taper quickly, others slowly.
The only time I see it posing more of a challenge is when medication is used contingently — when no clear plan is in place and medication use varies according to how each night goes, what happened on previous nights, what is coming up on future days, etc.
So, having a clear plan in place (whatever that might be for you) is usually more important than the plan itself.
I hope this helps!
—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 great questions! It sounds as though you’ve really been through a tough time with it all and I hope you find the approach we’ll be exploring over the coming weeks more useful.
If you feel comfortable with a sleep window of 11:30 PM to 6:30 AM then I’d suggest sticking with that for Week 1. You can always adjust this for Week 2 if you feel that would be useful.
I don’t usually suggest adjusting the sleep window because of a one-day change to a routine. What you might want to do is allow yourself to go to bed a bit earlier the night before IF you feel sleepy enough for sleep before 11:30 PM.
Does this help?
—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 Rubylight!
That discouragement is natural and normal — it’s your brain doing its job and looking out for you!
What’s your goal with sleep compression, and how are you implementing it? Are you finding that keeping a sleep diary is helping you shift attention away from sleep (something that you cannot directly control anyway) or is it perhaps making sleep more of a focus of your attention, at the expense of all the other stuff that’s also present in your life?
For as long as our goal is to make sleep happen, get rid of wakefulness when it shows up, or to fight or avoid the difficult thoughts and feelings that can come with insomnia, we are setting ourselves up for a struggle (which can make everything more difficult) since we cannot directly or permanently control any of that stuff (as you likely know from your own experience).
The goal with a sleep window (whether you are implementing sleep restriction or sleep compression) is to help you move away from chasing after sleep — because the more we try to make sleep happen, the more difficult it usually becomes. It’s not something that can make sleep happen since sleep cannot be controlled.
In short, we cannot control sleep and we cannot permanently get rid of wakefulness or difficult thoughts and feelings. For as long as we try, we’ll likely struggle. What we can control is our response to this difficult stuff — and our response can make things more difficult (by adding struggle on top), or it can help us move away from the endless and exhausting struggle so we can use our energy and attention in a way that will help us do more of what matters.
The AWAKE exercise is something I share in my online course as a way of moving away from struggling with nighttime wakefulness and all the difficult thoughts and feelings that often come with it.
I hope there’s something helpful 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.
Thanks for the great question! If reading a book in bed is something you enjoy, then go for it! What we’re looking to do here is move away from struggling with nighttime wakefulness — from seeing the bed as a battleground!
So, if reading in bed is pleasant then there’s no need to take that away from your life in an effort to control or protect sleep (something that can’t be directly or permanently controlled anyway!
I hope this helps 🙂
—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.
From what you’re saying, it sounds as though medication might not be proving to be a long-term solution. Would that be accurate, from your own experience?
Many people have found sleep disruption and issues with sleep got worse (or even started for the first time) upon retirement and I suspect that might be because there’s often less structure to our days and less opportunity to expand our focus so we are more aware and engaged in things other than sleep. What are your thoughts on that?
—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 — and I wish you all the best on your journey! If you have any questions, please feel free to post them here. You are not alone!
—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.
What’s your current approach to sleep since you decided to move away from sleeping pills? Did you discuss that with your doctor?
—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.
Wow, thank you so much for sharing, Laura!
When we stop chasing after sleep, when we aren’t engaged in the struggle, when it’s no longer the focus of our attention or the boss of our actions, things typically start to get a bit easier — just as you described!
—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.
I moved your post here to the client forum, kml 🙂
Thanks for sharing how liberating it felt to move away from all those rituals! Your evenings sound far more pleasant and how much nicer is it not having to track sleep or analyze numbers that you have no control over anyway?!
It sounds as though you’ve freed up more energy and attention to do things that matter to you and you’re moving away from the insomnia struggle!
—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.
I think it can be helpful to acknowledge all the thoughts and feelings your mind is generating as it does its job of looking out for you and allowing them to come and go as they choose. Trying to fight or avoid them is not only futile (since we can’t directly or permanently control the mind) but it’s exhausting and it can end up consuming all your energy and attention!
I think it’s perfectly OK to change your sleep window when your lifestyle is going to be changing. Ultimately, we want our focus to be on living the life we want to live rather than trying to protect or otherwise control what cannot be controlled (like sleep)!
I hope this helps!
—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! Remember that the sleep window is only one tool that can be used to help move us away from chasing after sleep. It cannot generate sleep or control sleep since sleep cannot be controlled!
—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.
It’s amazing how much power all this difficult stuff loses, once we stop engaging in a struggle with it!
—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.
How did you make sleep happen before you retired? What’s different in your approach now, compared to back then? Any insights there?
—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.
