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Sorry to hear about your issues with sleep. If you’d like some suggestions, I would need to know a bit more about you and your sleep.
What time do you normally go to bed at night, and what time do you get out of bed to start your day in the morning? On a typical night, how many hours of sleep would you say you get?
Finally, 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.
Sorry to hear about your struggles with sleep. How long has this been going on for?
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 an average night?
Do you typically find it hard to fall asleep at the start of the night, or do you usually find it harder to stay asleep through the 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.
What medical condition(s) did your doctor diagnose you with, Lauriso?
Short awakenings without any accompanying worry or anxiety are often associated with sleep apnea, but you will likely need an overnight sleep study before a diagnosis can be made.
Here’s an online test you can take to help assess sleep apnea risk: http://www.stopbang.ca/osa/screening.php
—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 little wonder that your sleep was disrupted after such a dramatic experience. It is completely normal (and to be expected) that sleep would be disrupted after an experience like this. Normally, sleep recovers by itself once you have processed the events and are starting to feel better — however, sometimes it doesn’t and that’s because of our response to the initial sleep disruption.
When our sleep is disrupted, we can start to think and worry about sleep more than we ever did before. We might spend a lot of time researching sleep. We might also do things like spend more time in bed, go to bed earlier, stay in bed later, cancel plans, call in sick to work, try to conserve energy during the day, nap during the day, etc.
Unfortunately, all these things perpetuate the problem and make it very hard for our sleep to recover — and this is how short-term sleep disruption turns into a longer-term problem.
The good news is that cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia (CBT-I) techniques help address all these perpetuating factors — and that’s why CBT-I is such an effective long-term solution for chronic insomnia.
So, I would encourage you to try CBT-I to get your sleep back on track. Nothing you have described is particularly unusual when it comes to the development of chronic insomnia, so I have no reason to think that you wouldn’t find CBT-I to be very 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.
This is completely up to you. Cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia (CBT-I) techniques are effective regardless of whether you are taking medication or not.
You might find this video helpful: Does cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia (CBT-I) work if you are taking sleeping pills?
When I work one-on-one with clients, most start to taper-off (or eliminate) their use of sleeping pills as they start to regain confidence in their natural ability to sleep as they progress.
It’s important not to make any changes to your medication regimen without talking to your doctor first.
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 very helpful to identify and then evaluate the thought that is causing anxiety. So, next time you feel anxious, ask yourself what is going through your mind to see if you can identify the underlying thought. Then, evaluate it. Think of evidence that supports the thought and evidence that refutes the thought.
When you do this, you will often see that the thought creating the anxiety isn’t very accurate — and this can reduce the power of that thought.
This video might be helpful: What to do when anxious thoughts are making sleep difficult and leading to insomnia.
A short sleep window can heighten sleep drive and help you get past the anxiety that is proving to be an obstacle to sleep. Every time you find it easier to sleep, and every night of slightly better sleep helps increase sleep confidence and this can reduce worry and anxiety and make sleep a bit easier.
Mindfulness is a very high-level skill that requires a lot of practice — especially if you have a high level of anxiety. I would suggest observing sleep restriction (to build sleep drive) and stimulus control (getting out of bed when you feel anxious and wide awake to help you relearn that the bed is a place for sleep and relaxation only) since these typically produce results a bit faster than building skill in mindfulness.
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 Nora. If an external sound is waking you, you might want to try something simple like a pair of earplugs.
—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 between 2:00 AM – 2:30 AM, why do you think you find it hard to fall back to sleep? Do you check the time when you wake? When do you normally get out of bed in the morning 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.
You might want to try advancing your sleep window so it starts and ends earlier — and make sure you have a consistent out of bed time in the morning, too!
Note that getting out of bed is part of stimulus control and is intended to help you reinforce an association between the bed and sleep and weaken any learned association between the bed and wakefulness. It is a long-term strategy that isn’t intended to improve sleep on that very night — its only goal is to get you out of bed when you are struggling to sleep in bed. Getting out of bed to do something relaxing and enjoyable is also often a more appealing alternative to remaining in bed, struggling to sleep, too!
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.
Glad to hear you are getting a sleep study done to investigate the potential presence of a sleep disorder other than insomnia. Hypervigilance may also be contributing to the sensation of sudden awakenings or being “jolted” awake. More on that in this thread:
https://insomniacoach.com/forums/topic/jerking-self-awake-when-falling-asleep/
—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, Glynis — implement the techniques consistently and your sleep will improve!
—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, Dottie! Glynis has some good advice — keeping the mind somewhat engaged can be helpful at keeping you awake. Any form of movement is good, too.
Do you currently have a sleep window? If so, when does it start and when does it end? On a typical night, how many hours of sleep do you get?
—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.
Did you try implementing anything you read about in The Sleep Book? If so, how long did you try those techniques?
That book requires quite a high level of skill and results take time. You might want to start with cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia (CBT-I) since the improvements become noticeable a bit quicker. As you start to regain some sleep confidence, it can be helpful to move onto ACT techniques as described in that book.
I actually discussed the differences between CBT-I and ACT with clinical psychologist Nick Wignall in this podcast episode.
In the meantime, it’s not too surprising that you didn’t find sleeping tablets, lavender, sleep sprays, hand creams, magnesium, or relaxation apps helpful — they won’t fix chronic insomnia because they don’t address the root cause of chronic insomnia (the thoughts and behaviors we have and implement in response to our sleep issues that make it harder for our sleep to recover).
CBT-I is so effective because it addresses the thoughts and behaviors that perpetuate 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.
Hello Edgar
48 hours of no sleep means you’re almost certainly going to sleep the next time your sleep window comes around — exactly as you experienced and described in your follow-up post.
The key to consistent sleep is a consistent sleep window — because when you give in to the temptation of getting even more sleep by sleeping in later than normal, there is less time for sleep drive to build during the day to help you sleep the following night.
So, it’s just as important to try to stick to that consistent out of bed time after a good night of sleep as it is to stick to it after a bad night of sleep.
One thing that stood out from your post was this:
“Right now I’m lying in my bed crying knowing that I have to wait some 15 hours to try to get to sleep again.”
You don’t want to be in bed when awake, anxious, frustrated, or angry. You only want to be in bed during your sleep window and when you are sleeping or relaxed enough for sleep. Staying in bed when awake and anxious/frustrated reinforces an association between the bed and wakefulness and all those negative emotions rather than sleep and relaxation.
If you want to make the bed a strong cue for sleep and relaxation, it’s important to make sure that you are only in bed when you are asleep or relaxed.
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.
In addition to the pauses in breathing being associated with apnea, they may also be a symptom of hypervigilance. So, I’d suggest talking to your doctor and getting assessed for sleep apnea. If nothing is found, then you might find this thread helpful:
https://insomniacoach.com/forums/topic/jerking-self-awake-when-falling-asleep/
—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.
