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There are countless triggers for sleep disruption and temporary periods of sleep disruption come with being a human being.
If it sticks around when the trigger is no longer relevant (or obvious) that’s usually because of the changes we might have made in our approach to sleep — the things we’re doing to try to fix sleep or get rid of wakefulness.
With sleep, the more we try, the more difficult it can become!
—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. Moving away from chasing after sleep can be a helpful way of freeing ourselves from the struggle. And, sleep can still happen even if we use screens and even if we experience difficult thoughts and feelings such as stress, worry, or anxiety. Trying to fight or avoid this difficult stuff is what can make sleep really difficult!
—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’re definitely not alone!
It sounds as though you’ve tried lots of different things in an attempt to get rid of insomnia and make sleep happen — perhaps all the trying might be contributing to the problem you are experiencing? I wonder if your experience suggests that sleep cannot be controlled?
How did you make sleep happen before you experienced insomnia and how was your approach back then different to your approach today?
—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 are falling asleep without warning during the day (especially if this happens at times when you need to be awake) I would encourage you to discuss that with your doctor.
What might be happening is that before your sleep window begins, there’s no effort to make sleep happen — and perhaps you aren’t putting any pressure on yourself to sleep. As a result, you experience a strong sense of sleepiness (and are also more likely to experience sleep). Perhaps there might be a useful insight in that experience?
—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 difficult, no doubt about it. As you know from experience, you cannot control sleep — and, like all human beings, there are things in your life that you wish weren’t there and that you cannot control, either.
So, you have a choice. Do you continue to do the same things over and over again, things that you know from experience do not work, that can create a struggle that can make things even more difficult, that can consume more of your energy and attention and make it harder to do things that matter?
Or, do you acknowledge the presence of difficult stuff that cannot be controlled, be kind to yourself in return, and then do things that keep you moving toward the life you want to live — even after difficult nights and even if you have dark circles under your eyes?
Your mind will always think — thinking isn’t the cause of struggle. Trying to fight or avoid certain thoughts and feelings sure can create struggle and make things more difficult, though!
Have you picked up any ideas from the course that might help you continue to practice responding to this difficult stuff in a workable way?
—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! Shifting your focus (and identity) toward actions you can control, that are aligned with your values, and that keep you moving toward the person you want to be and the life you want to live sure can be helpful 🙂
—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.
Do you think there’s a possibility that you feel really sleepy earlier in the night because, at that time, you aren’t trying to make sleep happen or perhaps putting pressure on yourself to sleep?
I only asked about your use of medication since, from reading your post, it sounded as though it wasn’t doing anything for you. You are the expert on you, Norm!
—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’ve moved your post from the public forum to the Week 1 client forum, Norm 🙂
How long have you been following that sleep window of 1:00 AM to 7:00 AM?
Do you have any idea why you might feel so sleepy earlier in the night and then that sleepiness seems to disappear when you go to bed?
Based on what you shared in your post, how is the zopiclone helping 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 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.
