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It sounds as though heightened arousal might be making sleep more difficult for you, Stu. This arousal can take a number of forms, the three most prominent forms being:
1. Cognitive arousal (eg thinking/worrying about sleep, monitoring for sleep)
2. Physiological arousal (eg racing heart, cold sweats, etc)
3. Conditioned arousal (we can learn to associate our bed with wakefulness)So, it might be helpful to see if we can help lower any arousal that might be present.
Often, a good place to start is building sleep drive (this can also help overpower arousal) and reducing the amount of time available for prolonged nighttime wakefulness by allotting an appropriate amount of time for sleep.
At what time do you usually go to bed at night, and when do you usually get out of bed to start your day in the morning?
You might also find it helpful to get out of bed and do something a little bit more enjoyable whenever being in bed feels unpleasant. This helps make nighttime wakefulness a bit more pleasant and prevents you from reinforcing a negative association between the bed and unpleasant wakefulness (conditioned arousal).
Do you ever have issues with waking during the night and finding it hard to fall back to sleep, or is your biggest challenge at the current time just falling asleep when you first get into bed?
I will end this post by emphasizing that nobody here (myself included) is qualified to assist with depression or psychosis since they require medical intervention.
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.
Sometimes sleep is temporarily disrupted for obvious reasons — and it sounds like starting to use a steroid inhaler might be the obvious cause here.
Have you discussed your concerns about this with your doctor? Since it has only been a couple of days, it might just be a case of giving yourself time to adjust. Sleep is often temporarily disrupted whenever there’s a change in our lives, and starting a new medication would definitely be considered a life 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.
Thanks for dropping by to share your story, AFriend! It can definitely take time and quite a few ups and downs for us to build and strengthen our sleep confidence — and you continue to be successful because of your own efforts to implement behavioral techniques that build sleep drive and lower arousal while also exploring the thoughts and beliefs that can generate anxiety and make sleep more 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.
Thanks for sharing! Taking time to unwind before going to bed can be so helpful — and the activities we do as bedtime approaches will vary from person to person since what one person might find stimulating and unhelpful, someone else might find relaxing!
Not going to bed until you feel sleepy for sleep can certainly make it easier to fall asleep when you first get into bed — as I like to say, the clock doesn’t know when you’re sleepy!
I appreciate you pointing out that you still have difficult nights from time to time because they are a part of life and part of the human experience! Nobody has a perfect night of sleep every single night — ultimately it’s how we react to any difficult nights that often determines how long they stick around for. The less we react, the faster they tend to disappear!
—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.
Glad to hear that what you’ve been doing seems to be working — would you like to share those techniques with us?
The phrase “sleep restriction” is confusing since it implies we are restricting sleep but we are not! Rather, we are restricting prolonged wakefulness by allotting an appropriate amount of time for sleep. Since the amount of time we allot for sleep should always be a little longer than our average nightly sleep duration, it shouldn’t restrict sleep.
It sounds as though you settled on a sleep window that is seven hours long. If you think about your sleep over the past couple of weeks, what would you say your average nightly sleep duration was?
—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! First, let me reassure you that there is no evidence whatsoever that chronic insomnia causes any health problem. So, hopefully, this is one less thing for you to be worried about.
It sounds as though your sleep disruption might be driven primarily by sleep-related anxiety — by thoughts that lead you to think your situation will never get better. You might find it helpful to explore these thoughts since often they are not as accurate as they seem when we first think them. Recognizing this can help lower the amount of anxiety they generate.
Let’s say your insomnia does stick around. What is the catastrophic outcome that seems likely to happen? In other words, what is it about the idea of having insomnia that generates anxiety? How accurate or likely is that outcome — is there, perhaps, any possible alternative outcome — maybe one that is more likely or more realistic?
—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, Sairana — I am glad to hear that you have discovered sleep restriction since that is one technique that can help build sleep drive and reduce the amount of time available for prolonged nighttime wakefulness. It is, however, only one technique in the “CBT-I toolbox” so it’s good to hear that you are also working on techniques such as getting out of bed during the night and ensuring you remain active and engaged during the days!
It can take some time and consistent implementation of an appropriate sleep window before you notice consistent improvements in sleep — and this is why many people give up if they don’t notice results within a week or two. I would encourage you to keep going!
What is your current sleep window? What’s your earliest possible bedtime and final out of bed time in the morning?
—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. I believe that going through a course of cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia (CBT-I) while tapering-off sleeping pills can be very helpful since you gain a new set of skills that build sleep drive, strengthen the body clock, and lower arousal at the same time as you slowly eliminate an external sleep crutch from your life.
It’s not too surprising you haven’t found medication helpful over the long-term since pills don’t address the underlying thoughts and behaviors that perpetuate sleep disruption.
I am so encouraged that you have found out about CBT-I and have realized that medication and supplements probably aren’t an effective long-term solution for your insomnia!
—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 isn’t much out there that looks at ACT within the context of insomnia, beyond what Guy Meadows has released, unfortunately — have you read his book? I believe his company also offers consulting services, too.
There is a very long discussion thread about ACT for insomnia right here in the forum. Perhaps that might 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.
This is great to hear — you’ve got this, @fontanias!
—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.
Although these setbacks can be disappointing, it can be helpful to recognize that they’re all part of the process — ups and downs are completely normal and are not unusual.
As you suggested, it might be helpful to tighten up your sleep window a little so there’s less opportunity for extended periods of nighttime wakefulness. The other benefit to this is you’ll build more sleep drive and this can help overpower arousal.
You aren’t going backward if you tighten up the sleep window, you are simply adapting to how you are sleeping at the current time and giving yourself a better opportunity to experience improvements in your sleep, just as you experienced before!
Are you checking the time when you wake? Sometimes it can be helpful to avoid doing that since the best outcome is usually neutral, but the worst outcome is more anxiety/arousal — and that can make falling back to sleep more difficult.
Are you getting out of bed when being in bed doesn’t feel good? That can often be helpful at reducing arousal, too — especially if you can do something a bit more enjoyable than remaining in bed when being in bed doesn’t feel good.
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, @Faith55!
You said you’ve tried every “trick” but are still struggling — you certainly aren’t alone! Many people with insomnia have tried countless things to improve their sleep, without getting results. However, when they find (and implement) cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia (CBT-I) techniques, things usually change for the better.
Is this something you’ve tried?
—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 that you got around six to seven hours of sleep last night, Alexander — this proves that you CAN sleep! It also sounds like you have a good plan in place for improving your sleep over the long-term!
—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 not uncommon among people with insomnia and I suspect it could be a symptom of hyperarousal.
In my experience, people who find themselves being very sensitive to sound sometimes don’t give themselves enough time to adjust or adapt to being in a new environment with new sounds, and the result is frequent moving or even fear of moving, and this can lead to more sleep-related worry and anxiety, and that further fuels insomnia.
You might find it helpful to implement techniques that can help build sleep drive, strengthen the body clock, and lower arousal since these can strengthen your sleep system and increase sleep confidence — and that might make concern about sound (or the sounds themselves) less of an ongoing issue.
Have you looked into 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.
Inaccurate sleep-related thoughts can be such a big driver of sleep disruption! Would you like to share any of the inaccurate and unhelpful thoughts you were able to identify and change/abandon (and how you were able to do 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.
