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If you don’t sleep at all, how are you waking up? Waking up means that you are getting some sleep, even if only a little!
In the short-term, observing a regular and appropriate sleep window might lead to less sleep due to the novelty of the new window but sleep drive ALWAYS wins. If you are awake for long enough, you will sleep — and if you only allow yourself to sleep during a predetermined and appropriate sleep window, that is when you will start to sleep.
Pursuing enjoyable activities is so important. If nothing else, these activities help you recognize that you can still do enjoyable things after a bad night of sleep and they serve as a distraction so you aren’t endlessly thinking and worrying about 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.
You said that you start sleep between 6:30 PM to 7:00 PM and wake at 9:00 to 10:00. Are you saying that you wake at 9:00 AM to 10:00 AM? In other words, you are allotting over 14 hours for sleep? Or, are you saying that you wake at 9:00 PM to 10:00 PM and are therefore only allotting around three hours for sleep?
Sleeping on the couch is probably not a good idea unless your long term goal is to only sleep on the couch. Furthermore, if the couch helped you sleep, then you probably wouldn’t be here posting in this forum!
In addition, you mentioned that you are taking three-hour naps during the day. This is another behavior that is making it hard for you to sleep at night.
It doesn’t sound as though you have a sleep/wake disorder to me. It sounds as though you have chronic insomnia and that you are struggling with sleep because of the exact same perpetuating factors that other people with chronic insomnia often implement in a bid to improve their sleep but actually make the problem worse.
You sound like an ideal candidate for cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia (CBT-I) and I strongly encourage you to look into 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 Marie72. If you don’t feel tired during the day, what is it about your sleep that makes you feel anxious?
—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’m so sorry to hear that your doctor has you on Ambien since that’s not a long-term solution for insomnia. When do you currently go to bed at night, when do you get out of bed to start your day in the morning, and roughly how many hours of sleep would you say you get on a 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.
Welcome to the forum, Cosmic. Your biggest issue right now is the fact you don’t have a regular sleep schedule. So, on nights when you get a large amount of sleep, sleep drive is low and so sleep becomes harder the following night. When sleep drive builds back up, you are able to sleep well again.
However, because you aren’t following a consistent sleep schedule, you are now going through endless cycles of short sleep and long sleep.
You do not need to compensate for “lost sleep” (the body does this by itself, mainly by prioritizing deep sleep). You do not need to put any effort into sleep.
If you observe a regular and appropriate sleep window, you’ll give your body the chance to regulate the sleep/wake cycle and generate consistent sleep. If you want to improve your sleep at night, it’s usually best to avoid sleeping during the day.
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.
Hello Nikki and welcome to the forum. I’m sorry to hear about your difficulties with sleep.
First, let me reassure you that you CAN sleep! We all sleep and we never lose the ability to sleep. Anxiety can definitely make sleep more difficult, but even when anxiety is present, if we are awake for long enough we will sleep.
Medication is not the answer and it’s not a long-term solution. I really encourage you to look into cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia (CBT-I).
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 would you say you get on a 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.
Hello Brenda. When do you normally go to bed at night, when do you get out of bed to start your day in the morning, and roughly how many hours of sleep do you get on a 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.
Unfortunately, I think you are going to find it hard to make progress if you don’t follow a regular and appropriate sleep window and continue to take long naps during the day.
Implementing the changes needed to improve your sleep over the long term can be very challenging in the short term, but the alternative is to continue with your current situation for the foreseeable future.
So, I’d really encourage you to implement the same techniques that have helped thousands (if not millions) of people who were once in the exact same situation as you.
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.
Welcome to the forum! Waking during the night is actually quite normal — it’s usually our reaction to these awakenings that determine how easy or difficult it will be to fall back to sleep.
When you wake during the night, why do you think you find it hard to fall 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.
I am sorry to hear that a doctor who apparently specialized in sleep disorders only offered medication since that is not a long-term solution for chronic insomnia.
Chronic insomnia is explained by the perpetuating factors we engage in to try to improve our sleep that actually lead to sleep drive disruption, body clock disruption, and/or high levels of arousal.
Although daytime naps can feel great at the time, they reduce sleep drive and can make it more difficult to sleep at night (daytime naps are actually a perpetuating factor for insomnia since they disrupt sleep drive and the body clock).
When do you normally 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 a typical night?
Do you tend to have more difficulties with falling asleep at the start of the night, or staying asleep through the night (or both)?
—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 listening to any of the Insomnia Coach Podcast episodes AnnMarie?
I think that you will identify with many of the stories on there from people who had insomnia but are now sleeping better. If you recognize their struggle with insomnia as similar to yours and hear how they got their sleep back on track, it should hopefully give you some additional confidence that you can do the same.
Don’t give up!
—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 sounds like a relatively straightforward issue — it seems that, at the current time, you are allotting too much time for sleep. As a result, you are often going to bed before you are sleepy enough for sleep — and this, as is to be expected, leads to sleep difficulties.
Then, the following night, because sleep drive is higher, you are able to sleep well.
Observing a more appropriate sleep window will likely lead to far more consistent sleep. Going to bed before sufficiently sleepy for sleep is very common among people with chronic insomnia — and is a primary perpetuating factor behind insomnia.
Just as we wouldn’t sit at the dinner table waiting to get hungry, we shouldn’t be getting into bed until we feel sleepy (which is not the same as feeling tired/fatigued).
You might find this page on sleep restriction helpful.
You might also find this video about sleep drive 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.
Thank you for sharing your success story, kimmiek!
For me, two key insights you shared were:
1. Just because you don’t practice SC one time doesn’t mean you need to start over, just be consistent and patience.
It’s so easy to get frustrated/mad at yourself if you don’t implement a technique perfectly one night. This can also prompt you to give up prematurely — especially if you haven’t got to that point where you’re noticing improvements in your sleep.
Ultimately, we are all human! We will make mistakes. The key is to keep moving forward and to avoid dwelling on the past. Recognize the slip-up, and aim to be more consistent. Be patient and stay committed and the results will come.
2. Understanding this isn’t a linear recovery but a gradual trend upwards.
This is SO important! It’s easy to feel disheartened when a bad night occurs after a string of good nights. You can think that you’re back to square one, or that you’re beyond help. The truth is, setbacks are normal. Progress isn’t linear — just a quick glance at some of the insomnia success stories and case studies demonstrates this!
Thanks again for taking the time to share your story.
—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 Fiona. Are you currently following any kind of sleep window or regular sleep schedule? When do you typically get into bed at night, and when do you get out of bed to start your day?
Although it can be hard to stay out of bed when the rest of the house goes to bed at 10:00 PM, wouldn’t staying up and doing something relaxing and enjoyable while building sleep drive be more appealing than going to bed earlier and struggling to sleep for hours on end?
—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, Phil.
Sleep restriction definitely takes time (and a lot of effort) — so I am happy to hear that you’re going all-in and are two weeks into it right now, and already noticing some results. I hope this gives you the motivation to continue!
Recognizing just how productive (and capable) we can be during the day after a poor night of sleep is a big insight that is easily ignored or glossed over. You’ve got this, Phil — keep going, and keep in touch!
—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.
