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Sounds like you’re doing great, Nicki! Waiting two weeks between changes might be a good idea — and make sure that when you do make changes you only add relatively short amounts of time on (for example, 15 minutes).
Bear in mind, too, that if you account for the additional time by starting your sleep window a bit earlier, you might not be sleepy enough for sleep for the first few nights of your newer sleep window — so remember that the start of your sleep window is your earliest possible bedtime. If you aren’t sleepy when your sleep window begins, wait until you do feel sleepy before going to bed.
—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.
When you wake during the night, why do you think you find it hard to fall back to sleep?
If you find that a racing mind or worry/frustration/anxiety are making it hard for you to fall back to sleep, getting out of bed and doing something relaxing and enjoyable is often a more appealing alternative to staying in bed and helps prevent you from reinforcing the idea that the bed is a place for unpleasant wakefulness.
When you feel calm and the conditions seem right for sleep, return to bed and see what happens. This technique can lead to you getting in and out of bed a few times during the night over the short term, but over the longer term, you should find that it becomes easier to fall back to sleep when you wake as you reinforce the idea that the bed is a place for relaxation and 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.
Wow, you are doing awesome — and that’s all down to your own efforts! You should be feeling very positive about your sleep at the current time! Do keep in touch and keep us updated with your progress!
—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 Teresa! Why do you think you find it hard to fall asleep when you get into bed? Are you feeling sleepy enough for sleep when you go to bed (bear in mind that sleepiness is not the same thing as fatigue)?
—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 are the start and end times of your current sleep window and how much sleep would you say you get on an average night? Do you typically find it hard to fall asleep at the start of the night, or sleep through the entire 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.
This is exactly what we want to happen in the short-term! Isn’t it ironic how before sleep restriction you would struggle to sleep and now you are struggling to stay awake?
How long have you been implementing sleep restriction? What is your current sleep window, and how much sleep do you typically average each 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, prescription sleep aids aren’t a long-term solution for chronic insomnia, so it’s not too surprising to hear that your insomnia returned.
With enough time spent awake, all of us will fall asleep — yet if we have a lot of worry and anxiety this can definitely make sleep more difficult.
Have you talked to your doctor about cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia (CBT-I)? The fact you have epilepsy means that it’s important to discuss the appropriateness of CBT-I with a doctor before pursuing that option.
If they think you’d be a good candidate, this will likely be a better avenue to explore since CBT-I addresses the perpetuating factors behind insomnia (inappropriate/inaccurate sleep-related thoughts and behaviors).
—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 have this concern, you can simply determine when to get out of bed by your level of arousal. So, if you are feeling calm and relaxed, you can allow yourself to stay in bed since conditions are right for sleep. If you are feeling wide awake, alert, anxious, frustrated, angry, etc — that can be your cue to get out of bed until you feel calm and relaxed again.
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.
Stimulus control is the technique that aims to break any learned association between the bed and wakefulness and build an association between the bed and sleep. With that being said, sleep restriction can help, too, since it helps reduce the amount of time we spend awake during the night.
Are you combining sleep restriction with stimulus control? Do you typically find it hard to fall asleep at the start of the night or is your difficulty more to do with waking during the night and finding 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.
The goal of sleep restriction is to build sleep drive and reduce the amount of time spent awake at night. Having a consistent out of bed time in the morning also benefits the body clock.
Something to bear in mind is that with enough time awake, we will sleep — no matter how stressed or anxious we are and no matter how uncomfortable our environment, sleep drive always wins in the end.
By allotting an appropriate amount of time for sleep (not allotting too much time AND not allotting too little time) you help build sleep drive while reducing the amount of time you spend awake during the night (wakefulness, as I am sure you recognize, can lead to more time spent thinking and worrying about sleep and this can perpetuate insomnia).
If you are consistent with your sleep window and implementing sleep restriction correctly, you will start to fill that sleep window with sleep — because sleep drive always wins.
—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 sounds as though you have noticed improvements in your sleep since starting sleep restriction but whenever you start to extend your sleep window you start to struggle. Am I right?
This can happen if you extend your sleep window by too much time, or too frequently. When you last extended your sleep window, how much time did you add to your sleep window and how long did you stick with that new sleep window before reducing it again?
You might find this video helpful: How (and when) to change your sleep window when implementing sleep restriction for chronic 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.
Welcome to the forum. First of all, how long have you been implementing the technique of getting out of bed when you’re finding it hard to fall back to sleep? This is a technique that requires time to work because we’re ultimately trying to recondition you to see the bed as a place for sleep rather than wakefulness.
Also, make sure you aren’t getting out of bed prematurely. If you wake (which is a normal part of sleep) and feel calm and relaxed, it’s OK to stay in bed since the conditions are right for sleep. If you start to feel worried, anxious, frustrated, etc — that’s your cue to get out of bed until you feel calm and relaxed again.
If you aren’t already doing so, you will likely also find it very helpful to avoid checking the time when you wake during the night.
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.
When you say that the camomile tea, a banana and valerian started to “work”, what do you mean by this? None of those things can generate sleep or sleepiness. The only thing that can generate sleep is our own biological sleep drive — and this is something we never lose and is something that never goes away. If we are awake for long enough, we will ALWAYS sleep.
Unfortunately, sleep-related worry and the behaviors we implement to try to improve our sleep can often make sleep more difficult and that’s why many people can struggle with sleep for long periods of time.
Ultimately, you will likely find it helpful to learn more about cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia (CBT-I).
On the subject of those body jerks, here’s a good thread that I think you’ll find helpful:
Jerking self awake when falling asleep / hypnic jerks?
—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’ve got this, Rob! What techniques are you currently implementing in order to improve 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.
What you are describing is quite common and is often a symptom of hyperarousal.
First of all, it can be helpful to understand that waking during the night is common and is actually a normal part of sleep. With that being said, if we start to worry or become concerned by these awakenings, it can become harder to fall back to sleep — and the consequent struggle after that awakening can train us to see these awakenings as awful events that predict hours of struggle. This, of course, perpetuates the problem.
In these circumstances, it can be very helpful to simply get out of bed as soon as you start to feel worried, anxious, or frustrated about being awake. When you feel calm and relaxed again, return to bed and see what happens. You may need to repeat this process.
If you combine this technique with allotting an appropriate amount of time for sleep and following a regular sleep window, you will start to spend more time in bed asleep rather than awake and this can help reduce that intense level of arousal.
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.
