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There is still hope for you! Ann struggled with insomnia for 30 years and now sleeps well.
Ultimately, if you want to enjoy consistently good sleep you need to observe a consistent out of bed time in the morning. Staying in bed after your chosen wake-up time might feel good at the time, but it reduces sleep drive and disrupts the body clock.
The good news is, you haven’t irreversibly damaged your circadian rhythm with those late wake-ups. If you are determined to improve your sleep, I’d suggest starting by allotting an appropriate amount of time for sleep by creating a sleep window with an earliest possible bedtime and a latest possible out of bed time.
You might also find this video helpful: Why an inconsistent out of bed time can perpetuate insomnia even when you have a strong sleep drive.
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 can be helpful to write down all the thoughts that are racing through your mind before going to bed — and to make sure that you only go to bed when you are feeling calm, relaxed, and sleepy.
If your mind starts to race and you are finding it hard to fall asleep it can often be helpful to get out of bed and do something you find relaxing and enjoyable until you feel calm and relaxed again before returning to bed.
At the same time, use sleep drive to your advantage — make sure you aren’t allotting too much time for sleep each night.
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.
Sleep is not a cause of death, just as insomnia isn’t a cause of death. The human body is designed to sleep — once we are awake for long enough, we will sleep. Sleep is a natural biological process that is nothing to fear or worry about.
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 very encouraged to hear that you are implementing sleep restriction and stimulus control techniques. These will help build sleep drive, reduce the amount of time you spend awake during the night, and help make your bed a long-term trigger for sleep.
These techniques do require consistent implementation, over time, to work. Some people notice improvements very quickly, other people don’t notice any change for a few weeks.
Sleep restriction usually leads to a noticeable increase in sleepiness quite quickly, whereas stimulus control tends to take longer for results to become noticeable since you are effectively relearning to see the bed as a place for sleep rather than wakefulness.
When does your current sleep window start and end, 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.
Sorry to hear about your difficult night. How long have you been experiencing sleep difficulties? The only thing that can make you sleep is being awake for long enough — sleep always happens in the end, as you have experienced for yourself.
In order to enjoy more consistent sleep, it can be helpful to implement consistent (and appropriate) behaviors around sleep. When do you typically go to bed at night, when do you get out of bed to start your day, and — if you look at your sleep over a couple of weeks — what would you say your average nightly sleep duration is?
—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.
Sorry to hear about your struggle with sleep. How long have you been experiencing difficulty falling asleep? Have you talked to your doctor about the discomfort and tingling in your legs?
—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 cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia (CBT-I)? It addresses the root cause of insomnia (thoughts and behaviors) and doesn’t involve medication.
—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.
Why do you feel you can’t stick to a sleep schedule? What is it about the sleep schedule that you struggle with?
At the current time, how many hours of sleep do you get on an average night? When do you currently go to bed at night and get out of bed to start your day 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.
It’s actually not unusual for sleep to continue to be disrupted upon retirement — and this is often down to the fact that there’s even less enforced structure or routine in our lives. So, we can easily end up spending more time in bed, spending more time thinking and worrying about sleep, and spending more time being inactive and sedentary. Unfortunately, all these things can perpetuate insomnia.
From your description of your current sleep pattern, it sounds as though you are allotting up to nine hours for sleep — you go to bed around 11:00 PM and get your day started an hour or two after 6:00 AM.
At the same time, it sounds as though you are typically getting around five to six hours of sleep each night — does this sound about right?
If so, you are probably allotting too much time for sleep — and this is one reason why you are spending so much time awake during the night.
I think you would find it helpful to reduce the amount of time you allot for sleep to more closely match your average nightly sleep duration. This will help build sleep drive and reduce the amount of time you spend awake during the night. Observing a regular sleep window will also give you a consistent out of bed time in the morning — and this benefits sleep drive and serves as a strong anchor for your body clock.
Finally, please be reassured that there is no evidence that chronic insomnia causes any health problem whatsoever. You might find my podcast episode on busting sleep and insomnia myths with Dr. Jade Wu 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.
You said that you have tried all the techniques on offer but none work — does this include cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia (CBT-I) techniques?
Do you still work nights? If not, can you tell us when you usually go to bed at night, when you get out of bed to start your day, and roughly how many hours of sleep you get on an average/typical 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.
This is awesome! Way to go, both of 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.
Let me ask you this, Ellen — when you are in bed wide awake, tossing and turning, is that pleasant? If not, then getting out of bed might be a more appealing (and more constructive) alternative!
Sometimes it can be helpful to expect to be out of bed at night and to plan for this — you could leave the heat on in the living room and keep a little nest ready and waiting for you; maybe a book on a side table, a pile of cushions and blankets, perhaps a thermos with a warm drink, too?
Thank you to everyone who contributed to this topic — lots of excellent support and guidance 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.
This is great to hear — and the real benefit this time around is that you know all those improvements you are enjoying, and all that sleep you are getting, is being 100% generated by you and you alone. This should fill you with confidence and encourage you to remain committed and keep looking forward! You’ve got this!
—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 mentioned that you have read all the things you should be doing to get a better night’s sleep and you are practicing them all — may I ask what these things are?
When you wake during the night, why do you think you find it hard to fall asleep? Implementing an appropriate sleep window and getting out of bed when struggling with sleep are often good starting points when dealing with fragmented 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.
Sleeping pills can’t generate sleep and they don’t get to the root cause of insomnia, so they aren’t a long-term solution for insomnia. If you aren’t keen on the idea of sleeping medication and you are looking for a long-term solution for your insomnia, I’d encourage you to talk to your doctor about 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.
