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Many sleep-related phobias and concerns are down to mistaken beliefs about sleep. To help with that, I’d recommend this podcast with Dr. Jade Wu:
—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 tried implementing cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia (CBT-I) techniques, mrtrout? Since these techniques help address the perpetuating factors behind insomnia, you might find them to be a more helpful long-term solution!
—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 not unusual to experience sleep disruption after such an injury! Usually, sleep recovers as we adapt to the initial trigger of sleep disruption or, in your case, as you start to heal from your injury. If you continue to struggle, it’s almost always because the way we think about sleep changes — and also, we often implement behaviors in a bid to improve our sleep that actually perpetuate the problem.
I suspect that you’ll find it very helpful to implement cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia (CBT-I) techniques. Is this something you’ve tried or 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.
If you are typically sleeping well when you go to bed at 8:00 AM in the morning and sleeping through until 5:00 PM, this suggests that your issue may be more to do with a circadian rhythm issue rather than insomnia. I would suggest trying to find a sleep specialist with expertise in circadian rhythm sleep disorders since they will be in the best position to help you adjust your sleep schedule to something that you would feel happier with.
I hope this helps, and good luck!
—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 Lucy and welcome to the forum.
It sounds as though at the current time you go to bed without taking medication but if you struggle, you end up taking medication. Do you find this strategy helpful, or do you find that it means your mind has to stay more alert as it monitors for sleep and tries to figure out if and when to take medication? If it’s the latter, you might find it helpful to decide in advance if each night will be a medication night or not — but, as a reminder, I am not a doctor so be sure to discuss this with your prescribing physician.
As you’ve pointed out, it’s not unusual for sleep to be disrupted because of the pandemic — our sleep is sensitive to our overall sense of well-being. It would be unusual to be sleeping without disruption at a time of uncertainty!
When it comes to keeping a sleep diary, everything other than the time you go to bed and the time you get out of bed to start your day should just be an estimate!
There’s nothing wrong with meditating in bed as long as your goal is relaxation, rather than sleep. Any time you make sleep the goal of something, you activate the arousal system and this can make sleep more difficult.
The start time of your sleep window isn’t very important. What matters more is that you allot an appropriate amount of time for sleep, get out of bed at a consistent time each day, and try to avoid going to bed before the start of your chosen sleep window.
When we struggle with sleep, it’s completely normal for us to end up spending a lot of time during the day thinking (and likely worrying) about sleep. This doesn’t feel good and actually perpetuates insomnia. So, with this in mind, you might find it helpful to distract your mind while improving the quality of your days but adding some enriching, enjoyable activities to your days whenever possible.
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 am so encouraged to hear that you’ve found the “3P” model of insomnia to be relevant — when you can recognize that your insomnia isn’t unique then you might feel more encouraged and confident that you don’t need to live with insomnia forever and that by addressing the perpetuating factors behind insomnia you might be able to help set the stage for sleep and rediscover deep, restorative, natural sleep!
It’s good to hear that you continue going to work regardless of how you slept — this gives you the opportunity to enjoy positive and productive moments even after a difficult night, which helps you recognize that sleep doesn’t completely determine the outcome of our days. Furthermore, being active means less time for the mind to focus and dwell on 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.
Waking during the night is quite normal — however, if we become worried by the awakening this can make it harder to fall back to sleep. One technique that can often reduce the amount of time spent awake during the night is sleep restriction — 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.
There are lots of testimonials in the insomnia success stories forum, on the Insomnia Coach Podcast, and in the case studies section!
—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 Karin! You are doing so much right! You are getting out of bed when being in bed doesn’t feel good and you aren’t checking the time during the night! So, in many ways, you are ahead of the game and making great progress!
Are you also allotting an appropriate amount of time for sleep and getting out of bed by the same time every day?
What is it about the idea that you might only get two hours of sleep that generates anxiety? Have you ever experienced two hours (or maybe even less) sleep before?
Were you able to make it through the day after that amount of sleep? Upon reflection, have you ever noticed some good moments (or at least some OK moments) during the day even after a small amount of 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.
It’s impossible to know for sure since the algorithms are usually proprietary and there isn’t much transparency when it comes to how they collect and interpret data.
Ultimately, all that matters is how well you feel you slept. Using sleep trackers can heighten sleep-related arousal and lead to more time thinking and worrying about sleep — and if you have chronic insomnia, this isn’t 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.
Since chronic insomnia is perpetuated by thoughts and behaviors that disrupt sleep drive, disrupt the body clock, and generate arousal, we can see that sleep being disturbed by anxiety (arousal) is not unusual and is quite typical!
Therefore, we can also see that implementing evidence-based techniques designed to change the way you think about sleep and help you implement behaviors that will strengthen sleep drive, strengthen the body clock, and reduce arousal, will be appropriate and helpful!
Since you recently enrolled in my online course, I’d encourage you to contact me directly with any ongoing concerns or questions!
—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.
As you pointed out, Dazzio, it’s early days. You’ve *set* your sleep window, now *forget* about making any changes or evaluating it for at least two weeks. Eliminate all the mental gymnastics and keep looking forward. Consistent implementation of the process will lead to more consistent 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.
For best results with the sleep window, it can be so helpful to take an attitude of “set it and forget it”. If you engage in ongoing experimentation and modifications, it can be difficult to make progress.
Ultimately, if you want to enjoy consistent sleep, a consistent sleep window is really helpful. This means sticking to a consistent and appropriate sleep window for at least two weeks before even thinking about drawing any conclusions!
It can be helpful to think of the start of your sleep window as simply your earliest possible bedtime. If you don’t feel sleepy enough for sleep when your sleep window begins, it can be a good idea to avoid going to bed until you do feel sleepy enough for sleep.
Regardless of how well or how poorly you sleep, it’s quite important to try to get out of bed by the end of your sleep window every single day. This gives your body clock a strong morning anchor and helps ensure you are allowing enough time for sleep drive to build during the day to help you sleep at night.
It’s usually a more appealing alternative to get out of bed and do something relaxing and somewhat enjoyable when being in bed during your sleep window doesn’t feel good. You aren’t going to become more awake, because awake is awake! However, you will shift that unpleasant wakefulness away from the bed and this will prevent you from reinforcing a negative association between the bed and unpleasant wakefulness.
Getting out of bed instead of struggling in bed can also reduce anxiety since it gives your mind something else to focus on. If nothing else, getting out of bed and doing something else can be a good mental distraction.
Finally, since medication doesn’t generate sleep, any sleep you get when you take medication is still sleep you are generating. So ultimately, it’s not going to have much of an effect on your progress.
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.
It’s not unusual to develop sleep disruption at the current time since sleep is very sensitive to our overall well-being. So, when we are stressed, worried, anxious, or at times of uncertainty, it’s completely normal and to be expected for sleep to be disrupted.
As long as you can avoid the temptation to try to compensate for sleep disruption by doing things like spending more time in bed and canceling daytime plans (for example), your sleep will recover all by itself as you adapt to the current circumstances.
You might find this video helpful: What to do when stress, worry, and uncertainty lead to sleep disruption and 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.
Thank you for offering such positive encouragement, @Jworbhsd!
You have not failed, @Dazzio — you just had a particularly challenging night. Try to use this as a positive learning experience, and keep looking forward!
—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.
