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It sounds as though you might be focussing a lot of attention on the nights when sleep is a bit more difficult rather than on all the nights when you are sleeping well. So, sleep restriction might be working a little better than you think!
When it comes to the sleep window we aren’t really concerned with what happens on individual nights — we are more interested in the bigger picture. So, when calculating the sleep window against your average nightly sleep duration it’s helpful to look at your sleep over a period of around two weeks. You can then figure out if your current sleep window is appropriate or not.
If you are finding Sunday nights particularly difficult, you might find this video helpful: How to get rid of “Sunday Night 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.
Ultimately, we use our natural biological sleep mechanisms to our advantage. So, we build sleep drive by allotting an appropriate amount of time for sleep and we help regulate the body clock by remaining active during the day and getting out of bed by the same time each day.
We can also reduce sleep anxiety by learning more about sleep (to correct inappropriate and/or incorrect sleep-related beliefs) and implementing behaviors that give sleep the best chance possible.
Then, as sleep starts to improve, anxiety falls, and this leads to further improvements in sleep and less anxiety.
This process is typical if you implement cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia (CBT-I) techniques.
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.
You mentioned that you have tried cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia (CBT-I) techniques but they didn’t work — how long were you implementing CBT-I techniques for and what specific techniques did you implement?
—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.
The best way to build sleep drive is to be awake for long enough! So, I am glad to hear you are practicing sleep restriction. To a lesser extent, daytime activity also helps but there is no specific type of activity or exercise that is better at generating sleep because the only thing that can generate sleep is sufficient wakefulness!
—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.
How are you getting on since you posted? Have you discussed your concerns with your doctor? If you are not feeling sleepy this could be because you are either getting enough sleep or you are experiencing hyperarousal. When do you currently go to bed at night, when do you get out of bed to start your day, and roughly how many hours of sleep do 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.
Welcome to the forum, Nate. How are you doing since you posted? Exercise is good for sleep (and our overall health) but it can’t generate sleep. What time do you usually go to bed at night, what time do you start your day in the morning, and roughly how many hours of sleep do 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.
Sleeping medications rarely influence the effectiveness of cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia (CBT-I) techniques unless you take medication contingently. Here’s a short video about this: Does cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia (CBT-I) work if you are taking sleeping pills?
When you tried CBT-I, how long were you trying it for and why do you think it didn’t work? Were you following a sleep window? If so, when did your sleep window start and when did it end? How much sleep do you get on a typical night? Do you tend to struggle with falling asleep or staying asleep (or both)? Why do you think you find sleep 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.
How are you getting on since you first posted? Have you tried advancing your sleep window so it starts and ends a bit earlier? This might be helpful if you are (or have been) a bit of a morning lark since your body clock might be naturally inclined to send wake signals through your body in the early hours of the morning.
Since you are currently working with a therapist, I would encourage you to discuss your current concerns with them. Since they are far more familiar with your history and individual circumstances, they will be in the best position to advise, guide, and support 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.
Welcome to the forum, Chris! I don’t think a 15-minute swing in your out of bed time in the morning is going to make much difference to your chances for success with CBT-I, so if that natural alarm is going to help you get out of bed at a relatively consistent time, I think you should go for it!
—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 suemac and sorry to hear about your current issues with sleep. Have you been diagnosed with any particular medical condition? If you are experiencing big swings in sleep duration, this often suggests that you don’t have a stable or appropriate sleep schedule. At the current time, do you have an earliest possible bedtime or latest possible out of bed time?
—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, Riley! Are you currently being treated for your restless leg syndrome? Menopause can definitely disrupt sleep over the long term but if sleep issues become a longer-term problem this is almost always down to the thoughts we develop about sleep and the behaviors we implement in a bid to improve our sleep that actually perpetuate the problem.
When do you currently go to bed at night, when do you get out of bed in the morning, and how many hours of sleep are you getting on an average night? When you wake during the night, what do you think is stopping you from falling back to 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.
Welcome to the forum, Alexa! Can you tell us a bit more about your 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.
Remember that your initial sleep window is just that — an initial sleep window. It isn’t something you will be following indefinitely!
If you are currently averaging four hours of sleep each night and you are allotting five-and-a-half hours for sleep, you will be reducing the amount of time you spend awake, building sleep drive, and still giving yourself the opportunity for up to one-and-a-half hours of additional sleep.
As you start to fill your initial sleep window with sleep, you’ll be gradually extending the sleep window so you will always have the opportunity for a bit more 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.
Your experience is a typical symptom of conditioned arousal — you are recognizing sleepiness when there is no pressure to sleep because it’s not time for bed yet. However, when bedtime arrives and you get into bed, your body prepares you for a difficult night because it has experienced so many of them in the past. This leads to a feeling of being wide awake and the loss of sleepiness cues.
Ultimately, the only way you can retrain yourself to see the bed as a place for sleep rather than wakefulness is to get out of bed when you are in bed, awake, and feeling worried, anxious, frustrated, or highly alert. Return to bed when you feel calm and relaxed and see what happens. You may need to repeat the process many times during the night, especially in the short term.
When you combine this technique (part of stimulus control therapy for insomnia) with an appropriate sleep window you will be building sleep drive. If you only allow yourself to sleep during your sleep window and in your own bed, this is when and where you will sleep.
Over time, you will associate your bed with sleep and this will prevent you from feeling wide awake as soon as you get into bed.
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.
How much sleep are you typically getting before you wake and then find yourself unable to fall back to sleep? Is it possible that you have simply got enough sleep and don’t need any more? When do you typically go to bed at night and when do you get out of bed to start your day?
—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.
