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If you’re falling asleep within around 20 minutes of getting into bed, this does suggest that you’re sleepy enough for sleep when you go to bed — it could be that your arousal system is hiding sleepiness cues from you. This will likely improve over time as you continue to consistently implement that sleep window and other CBT-I techniques.
If you’re tossing and turning during your sleep window, this suggests that being in bed at that time doesn’t feel good — so, I would suggest getting out of bed and doing something more relaxing and enjoyable instead. This way, your mind has something to focus on other than sleep, you eliminate the temptation to put effort into sleep, you improve the quality of the night, and you prevent yourself from reinforcing a negative association between your bed and unpleasant wakefulness.
It could be that your desire and wish for more results is an obstacle to you getting more results — because desire is a goal that requires effort, and sleep does not respond well to effort!
Sometimes focussing on the process and making all goals connected to process is more helpful than focussing on the outcome and making all goals connected to outcome. You have no control over outcome, but you have full control over process and implementation!
—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, Gabriele! It sounds as though you’re doing really well — it’s definitely a process and takes time to weaken that anxiety and worry, and that makes sense because it also was a process and took time for that anxiety and worry to reach a high enough level to disrupt your sleep!
Keep moving forward, stay consistent, and I am sure you’ll continue to do well!
—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 expect someone who gets roughly seven hours of sleep to be spending roughly seven-and-a-half hours in bed. If you feel that you’re getting less than seven hours of sleep, allotting less time for sleep might be helpful since it will mean less time awake and deeper, more consolidated, and better quality sleep.
What kind of things are you doing during the day to add enrichment and enjoyment to your life, lower fatigue, and direct attention away from 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.
Not a whole lot happens until you ask questions or get involved in existing conversations! It’s good to have you as a member here, though!
—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 @Insomniac12 and welcome to the forum! @hiker shared some great tips! It might take some time for you to adjust to the lack of construction noise, as ironic as that may sound!
In the meantime, when you wake after four hours and find it hard to fall back to sleep, what is going through your mind? You might find it helpful to make sure you aren’t allotting too much time for sleep, and you might find it helpful to get out of bed during the night if 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.
I would suggest starting by reading about cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia (CBT-I) and considering whether you might find it helpful — particularly if you recognize yourself in this video, “Watch me use my mystical powers to reveal how your sleep issues began and why you now have insomnia“.
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.
Thinking and worrying about sleep at 4:38 AM is natural but probably not helpful when it comes to reducing sleep-related worry — and this alone could be a perpetuating factor behind your insomnia.
If and when you wake during the night, you might find it helpful to get out of bed and do something you find relaxing and enjoyable if being in bed starts to feel unpleasant. The more you can enjoy your nights, independently of sleep, the less you might worry about sleep.
How are your days, @Maryam? Are they enriching and enjoyable? Are you regularly pursuing fun and pleasant activities so you can enjoy your days? The more you can enjoy your days, independently of sleep, the less you might worry about sleep.
I am sorry to hear about your struggles and hope this post 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.
Are the panic attacks caused by thoughts and worries about sleep, or something else? If they’re about sleep then you might find cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia (CBT-I) techniques helpful. If they’re connected to a past trauma, I’d suggest seeking the help of a licensed healthcare provider.
—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, @Recovery.
I am so glad to hear that you’ve finally been told about cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia (CBT-I) techniques such as sleep restriction. This technique, when implemented correctly and consistently, helps build sleep drive, strengthens the body clock, and reduces the amount of time available for unpleasant nighttime wakefulness.
Two-and-a-half weeks is a short period of time to be expecting consistent results, so I would encourage you to keep going with the sleep window. There’s no reason to believe that taking medication while implementing a sleep window will affect your progress. As you start to experience improvements in your sleep and start to feel more confident in your own ability to sleep, you might then discuss a tapering-off plan with your prescribing physician.
I am not sure why you have been told to stay in bed if you wake during the night and find it really unpleasant to be in bed. It’s often considered a good idea to get out of bed whenever being in bed doesn’t feel good so you have a more appealing alternative to tossing and turning and to prevent you from reinforcing a negative association between your bed and unpleasant wakefulness. This might be something worth discussing with your psychologist.
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 it can be helpful to remind yourself of any times in the past when you’ve had to be somewhere first thing in the morning and made it, regardless of how you slept!
—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 does your mind seem to be saying when you want to be sleeping, Tee?
—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 you’re experiencing isn’t unusual, KAH! Sleep disruption often occurs when we are unwell.
Usually, sleep recovers when we feel better — but sometimes it doesn’t.
When it doesn’t, it’s almost always because of the way we think about sleep changes (for example we might start worrying about sleep) and we start to implement behaviors in an attempt to improve our sleep but actually have the opposite effect (for example, we might start to spend a lot of time researching sleep, spending more time in bed, napping during the day, canceling daytime plans, etc).
I’m encouraged to see that you’re aware of sleep restriction as a way to build sleep drive. If you don’t find knitting something you can do, is there anything else you can do instead? Are there any enjoyable activities you might also be able to add to your day or things that keep you moving? The more “good stuff” we can do during the day, and the more we are able to physically move about, the less intense fatigue can feel.
—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 can definitely feel as though you aren’t getting any sleep at all, but it’s impossible to go without any sleep whatsoever because the body will always give us — at the very least — the bare minimum amount of sleep we need.
Very often, if we have a lot of concern and worry about sleep, we not only get less sleep than we want, but we can also believe we are getting less sleep than we actually are. In any case, taking steps to reduce arousal can be really helpful.
Here’s a short video about paradoxical insomnia if you think this might be something worth exploring further!
—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, Rod! When you wake during the night, why do you think you find it hard to fall back to sleep? What time do you typically go to bed at night, what time do you get out of bed to start your day, and how many hours of sleep would you say you get on an average night?
—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 can be so empowering to recognize that it’s our own thoughts and behaviors that perpetuate sleep disruption! Knowing that our sleep system isn’t broken and that we can change the thoughts and behaviors that perpetuate sleep disruption and, therefore, improve our sleep, can be truly liberating and reassuring!
—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.
