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Welcome to the forum! What time do you usually go to bed at night and what time do you usually get out of bed in the morning to start your day? On an average night, how many hours of sleep would you say you’ve been getting over the past couple of weeks?
Ironically, sometimes having medication available can make sleep more difficult since when we are awake we might start engaging in “mental gymnastics” as we try to decide if/when to reach for the medicine cabinet. Sometimes it can be more helpful to stick to a specific medication routine rather than use it contingently — however, this should always be discussed 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.
Welcome, Amy! It sounds as though you’re off to a great start — it’s good to have you 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.
Hello Martina! When you wake after three or four hours of sleep, why do you think you find it hard to fall back to sleep? What do you do when you wake after those three or four hours of sleep? Finally, can you share the time you usually go to bed and the time you usually get out of bed to start your day in the mornings?
—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.
First of all, let me tell you that you aren’t alone! Everything you’ve described is common among people with chronic insomnia — so, all the things that others with chronic insomnia have done to improve their sleep will likely work to improve your sleep, too!
Spending a lot of time awake during the night on a consistent basis is often associated with allotting too much time for bed or spending too much time in bed each night. If there’s a big difference between our average nightly sleep duration and how much time we usually spend in bed at night, we can end up setting ourselves up for long periods of nighttime wakefulness.
If this sounds as though this might be something that’s contributing to your sleep issues, you might want to start by allotting a more appropriate amount of time for sleep. This page on sleep restriction might be helpful.
Finally, please be assured that there’s no evidence chronic insomnia causes any health problem, reduces life expectancy, or increases the risk of death.
—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.
There’s always light at the end of the tunnel! What kind of practices and new techniques have you been implementing in response to your acute sleep disruption?
—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.
All those difficult thoughts, feelings, and emotions are normal — because what you are going through is difficult. Can you think of anything you might be able to do during the day that might help improve the quality of your days? Of course, things are going to be more challenging because of the sleep difficulties — however, I wonder if there might be some activities you can engage in that are aligned with your values and help move you toward the kind of life you want to live even after difficult nights and even in the presence of difficult thoughts, feelings, and emotions?
—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.
My apologies for the delay in getting back to you — did you receive an email back from me yet? As mentioned by Mel, in early January I fell ill and was admitted to hospital. I have been home for a few weeks now and am continuing to work with new and existing clients. I am also continuing to respond to emails from non-clients that were sent in January. If you haven’t had a response from me yet, please email me again and I’ll get back to 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.
You can find a number of success stories in these places:
1. The Insomnia Coach Podcast
2. The Insomnia Success Stories Forum
3. Insomnia Coach ReviewsAs Chee suggested, a common theme running through all success stories is the shift away from trying to control sleep and bringing more focus onto the things we can control — the actions we can engage in that help us live the kind of life we want to live (independently of sleep) and help create and maintain good conditions for sleep.
—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.
This is great to hear — do you feel there were any specific changes you made that proved to be most 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.
Unfortunately, sleep issues other than chronic insomnia are outside my area of expertise — and when a psychotic illness is also present, medical advice should always be sought.
I would suggest seeking advice from someone who specializes in circadian rhythm sleep disorders.
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.
I always think it’s interesting that when our challenge is sleep, we might implement a sleep window and then find it really hard to stay awake! What a powerful reminder of the power of sleep drive!
Often, the more sedentary we are the more likely we are to fall asleep. Some kind of movement can be helpful since it’s hard to fall asleep when we are moving.
One thing you might want to try is to make the hour before the start of your sleep window the last time you check the clock at night and then to simply go to bed whenever you feel a strong sense of sleepiness. This will give you the opportunity to “extend” your sleep window if conditions feel right for sleep.
Finally, it can be worth recognizing that waking during the night is a normal part of sleep — and the goal of getting out of bed during the night isn’t to make sleep happen. It’s simply a technique that prevents us from reinforcing an association between the bed and unpleasant wakefulness.
So, if you are awake in bed but it feels good to be in bed, there’s probably no need to get out of bed. If being in bed starts to feel really unpleasant, that can be a good cue to get out of bed and do something a bit more appealing until conditions feel better for 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.
Wow, what a fast transformation! What do you feel were the key techniques that helped you improve your sleep and your relationship with sleep?
—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.
Have you asked your doctor if they think you might be a good candidate for cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia (CBT-I)?
—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 six hours of sleep there isn’t going to be much sleep pressure remaining, so falling back to sleep after six hours of sleep is going to be less likely compared to waking after one or two hours of sleep!
Falling back to sleep can also become more difficult if we put pressure on ourselves to fall back to sleep or put effort into falling back to sleep — since these actions increase arousal and, after a good amount of sleep, we don’t have enough sleep drive to overpower that arousal.
You might find it helpful to implement a sleep window since this can help reduce the amount of time available for wakefulness, help strengthen the body clock, and ensure sufficient sleep drive for sleep at night.
At the end of the day, we have no control over sleep. We can’t make ourselves fall asleep, fall back to sleep, or get a certain amount of sleep. All we can do is create and maintain good conditions for sleep, live the kind of life we want to live, and trust our body’s natural ability to sleep. The body will always generate, at the very least, the minimum amount of sleep we need.
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.
Welcome to the forum. You might find it helpful to spend a bit less than 12 hours in bed since that usually serves only to generate more wakefulness and more fatigue. Spending 12 hours in bed also means less time available to do things that might add real meaning and value to our lives.
I’d suggest reading this overview of cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia (CBT-I) techniques since they can help address the thought processes and behaviors (such as spending long periods of time in bed) that can perpetuate sleep disruption.
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.
