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I’m glad to hear you are sleeping better, Storchy! Waiting until you feel sleepy enough for sleep is a big insight here and I feel that is far more of a contributing factor to your improvements than melatonin supplements or Benadryl.
Using Benadryl (or any other antihistamine) as a sleep aid is an off-label use of the drug. So, we don’t know about the potential long-term effects and there is no evidence to support the effectiveness of an antihistamine as a treatment for chronic insomnia. Our bodies will also build up a tolerance to antihistamine within as little as three days — so, even if it causes some drowsiness initially, the effects are likely to wear off very quickly.
When it comes to melatonin, people with chronic insomnia don’t typically have any problem with melatonin production or regulation so taking a melatonin supplement doesn’t usually help.
A far better alternative to any medication for the long-term treatment of chronic insomnia is cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia (CBT-I) since it addresses the root causes of chronic insomnia.
I hope you continue to sleep well and thanks for sharing 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.
Welcome to the forum. I would suggest asking your doctor about cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia (CBT-I). This is proven to be far more effective than any sleeping pill for the long-term treatment of chronic insomnia and will stop you from feeling dependent on pills and supplements for the rest of your life. Good luck, and let us know how you get on!
—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 definitely be a long process — but everyone is different.
I have worked with clients who experienced significant improvements within a couple of weeks of implementing CBT-I techniques. I’ve had other clients who didn’t start to make progress for three to four months. Of course, I’ve also had many clients between these extremes!
Typically, I find that those who have lived with insomnia for longer take longer to improve — this makes sense since insomnia is more entrenched. Just as it took time for insomnia to develop, it takes time to get sleep back on track. Individuals with very high levels of anxiety might also take longer to notice results. Everyone is different.
What I can say is that the sooner you get started with CBT-I techniques, the sooner you will get results — and that focussing on consistent implementation of the techniques rather than monitoring for results can help you make progress, too.
Keep going — 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.
Unfortunately, we don’t have a consensus on how to deal with hypnic jerks. The best suggestions I can offer at the current time are found earlier in this discussion.
—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.
Drowsiness is a known side-effect of Amitriptyline.
The best long-term treatment for chronic insomnia is cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia (CBT-I). You may want to discuss CBT-I with your prescribing physician to see if they think it would be a suitable option for 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.
It’s hard to say for sure what’s going on here — but I think it’s more likely to be a parasomnia than a sign of schizophrenia. I’d suggest discussing your experience with a sleep physician so they can investigate further.
Good luck and let us know how you get on.
—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.
Sometimes white noise or pink noise machines can help mask external sounds that might keep you awake (or wake you during the night). A cheaper alternative would be tuning your radio into static.
Try to avoid the machines that generate nature sounds (for example, chirping crickets, thunderstorms, or jungle sounds) or using the TV to mask sounds since the changes in volume can interrupt sleep during the night and reduce sleep quality.
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.
Welcome to the forum, Kum. Can you tell is a bit more about why you feel your sleep is not good enough?
—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, Melanie — and welcome to parenthood!
I’ve worked with a lot of new mothers. Sleep disruption is very common at this time! Of course, I can’t help when a crying baby is waking you up at night and causing the sleep disruption but when your baby is sleeping through the night and your own sleep is still a problem, cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia (CBT-I) techniques can help you get your sleep back on track.
—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 really appreciate you sharing your insight here, gsdmom since I was going to encourage both Jthevampire and Chappyt to look into cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia (CBT-I) techniques.
CBT-I is proven to be the most effective long-term treatment for chronic insomnia since it addresses the root cause of chronic insomnia — incorrect and/or inappropriate sleep-related thoughts and behaviors.
Quite often, the very things we do in a bid to improve our sleep actually perpetuate the problem.
—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 likely that you are falling asleep quickly at the start of the night due to sufficient sleep drive being accumulated during the day. If sleep-related worry or self-monitoring for sleep is a factor behind your insomnia, then you might wake during the night (which is normal) but then find it hard to fall back to sleep.
Staying in bed feeling frustrated and anxious is unpleasant and reinforces the idea that the bed is a place to experience frustration and anxiety rather than sleep. So, it’s usually more pleasant (and more constructive) to get out of bed until you feel calm, relaxed, and sleepy again.
If you feel calm and relaxed when you wake during the night, there’s no need to get out of bed since conditions are right for sleep. However, as soon as you notice that you are struggling or that you are feeling worried, anxious, or frustrated, this is your cue to get out of bed.
It’s also important to bear in mind that breathing exercises do not generate sleep! Breathing exercises are intended to help you relax. As soon as you make sleep the goal of relaxation, you make sleep more difficult and you negate any positive effects of relaxation!
Relaxation techniques are also a skill that require a lot of practice — it can be helpful to restrict relaxation techniques to the daytime for a few weeks until you become more skilled in them. This can also help remind you that sleep is not the intended goal of relaxation.
You might find this video helpful: The best relaxation techniques for sleep when you have 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.
It’s normal to experience setbacks — the key is to continue with implementing the techniques that you have tried in the past and know have been effective.
Often, it can be helpful to identify any external cause of sleep disruption — many times we think we are experiencing a setback, or are “back to square one”, or worry that our insomnia has returned, when sleep disruption is normal and to be expected (for example, when something stressful or unusual happens).
Stay focussed on the positive nights and keep moving 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.
Hello Dreyo and sorry to hear about your difficulties with sleep. I would suggest discussing an initial sleep window with your therapist or coach. They should have given you clear direction in this area.
For the purposes of creating a sleep window, I’d suggest taking your average nightly sleep duration taken over at least one week (ideally two), and adding half-an-hour to this (with the minimum sleep window being five-and-a-half hours). This way, the very bad nights (and any very good nights) aren’t skewing things too much and we get a better overall picture of your sleep to work with.
Again, your therapist or coach should have given you some clear direction on when to get out of bed during the night and things you can do when out of bed. It doesn’t matter too much what you do when out of bed at night, as long as you find the activities to be relaxing and enjoyable.
Are you going through a course of cognitive behavioral therapy specifically 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.
How are you doing, mrbernstein10? Please share with us how you’re getting on!
—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 both doing?!
—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.
