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Such great support in this thread — thank you to everyone who contributed!
The good news for you Julie is that you know sleep restriction works — you mentioned that you’ve tried it in the past and it has helped a lot. Let me also reassure you that it’s very common to be stuck with one or two “holdout” nights each week as you work on improving your sleep.
These nights can be discouraging, but it’s so important to stick to your guns and continue being consistent with CBT-I techniques. If you want your sleep to be consistently good, you need to be consistently good at implementing the techniques. If you are consistent, those holdout nights will slowly begin to disappear.
Just in case you couldn’t find the video I recorded about this (or for anyone else reading this thread) here’s a link to it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WlfO0nm-WHY
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.
Hypnic jerks aren’t parasomnias because they aren’t unusual. It sounds as though you may be in a light stage of sleep and you then hear a sound that may not actually exist, and your hyperarousal response to this is jerking you awake. If this happens and you find it hard to fall back to sleep, stimulus control is usually the best response.
—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 The Mighty Artichoke (love the name, by the way!). Can you tell us a bit more about the CBT you tried? What kind of techniques were you implementing, and how long did you stick with them before deciding they weren’t working for you?
Deb makes a good point — in her book, Sasha Stephens talks about how much she is against sleep restriction but then she devotes a chapter of the book to talking about how important it is to spend less time in bed — which is exactly what sleep restriction is all about!
—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.
Do you tend to fall asleep quite easily at the start of the night? Do you every struggle to stay awake until the start of your regular bedtime? You may have a strong “morning lark” chronotype and need to advance your sleep window so it starts and ends earlier.
Do you get out of bed when you wake during the night and can’t fall back to sleep? Without a full history or seeing any sleep diaries, I cannot offer more specific suggestions, unfortunately.
If you have any other questions, please let me know.
—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 love all the shared support! How are you getting on, John?
It’s no surprise that your sleep suffered after discovering that lump — I would be surprised if it wasn’t affected by such a health scare. Normally, sleep recovers naturally once the initial trigger passes, but sometimes it doesn’t.
When sleep doesn’t recover by itself, that’s usually because we start to spend a lot of time thinking about sleep, worrying about sleep, trying to control sleep, and trying to compensate for lost sleep.
Although all these responses are understandable, they actually perpetuate the problem rather than make it better.
Let me reassure you that you can still sleep. We never lose our ability to sleep. Sleep is a core biological function, like breathing. Just as we can hold our breath, our body will eventually take over and make us breathe. In a similar way, we can suspend sleep (usually due to heightened worry and anxiety about sleep) but, eventually, our body will take over and make us sleep.
The key to getting back on track is to avoid the compensatory behaviors (such as spending too much time in bed, napping, canceling plans, trying to control sleep, etc) and try to get back to not thinking about sleep or letting it dominate your life.
CBT-I techniques are a very effective way to get sleep back on track. I encourage you to look into this if you are still struggling.
—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 don’t normally suggest a sleep window of fewer than five-and-a-half hours because I am a believer in the idea that most of us can get by with around five-and-a-half hours of “core sleep” so it’s good to at least give ourselves the opportunity to achieve this.
Things to do as your sleep window approaches can be found in the thread on how to avoid microsleeps and dozing.
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.
How are you getting on, Jonna? When does your current sleep window start and 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.
We’re looking forward to the next post!
—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 discovered something that helps you relax. Of course, there’s no evidence that lavender and chamomile can cure chronic insomnia, but if they help you relax then that’s great!
—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 best to discuss those concerns with your prescribing physician, Matt.
—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.
CBT-I techniques are hard, Steve. No way around that, unfortunately.
A couple of things I will add from reading your post:
1. Try to be active during the day, especially on weekends. When you are inactive (especially if you don’t leave the house), you will spend more time thinking and worrying about sleep and there is a greater risk of you napping. Inactivity makes it harder for you to build sleep drive, and it makes it harder for you to enjoy your life (especially if you are inactive specifically because of your insomnia).
2. When you get out of bed during the night, you shouldn’t be forcing yourself to stay awake. As soon as you feel sleepy, return to bed and repeat the process.
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 was encouraged to read that you were two weeks without alcohol and you started using the apnea dental appliance. How are you 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.
Have you tried CBT-I, Paul?
—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 think you would likely benefit from keeping a sleep diary for a week or two so you can get a better idea of your average nightly sleep duration and your typical sleep schedule (if you have one). When you have this information you can formulate an appropriate sleep window.
Here’s a basic sleep diary you can use:
https://s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com/insomnia-coach/Short+Sleep+Diary.pdf
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 sydonia044
You can find some success stories in this post:
https://insomniacoach.com/forums/topic/client-for-6-weeks-so-far/#post-28928
—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.
