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I love all the support and the sharing of experiences and insights on display here!
To answer your question, @YogiShabi, there’s no need to get out of bed just because you are awake — unless you want to! As mentioned by @masharey if you feel comfortable while awake, there’s no need to do anything — after all, conditions are right for sleep 🙂
And, as suggested by @5inthehall and @Ardnek57, if you find yourself struggling with being awake, you always have the opportunity to do something more appealing instead.
We’ll be exploring this in a lot more detail in Week 2 of the course.
—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.
Just to add to the really helpful and supportive reply from @5inthehall, I think that over tiredness can temporarily make sleep more difficult if we respond by trying even harder to make sleep happen!
From a biological standpoint though, the more time we spend awake the more likely sleep is to happen — sleep pressure builds with every minute of wakefulness 🙂
—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 so easy to get pulled back into the struggle — it usually happens many, many times. And, the more it happens, the more skilled we can become at noticing when this happens. And, it’s never too late to change direction once we’ve noticed the struggle has returned!
The fact you have returned to re-examine the material and to continue to practice a new approach to this is a reflection of your growth mindset — your understanding that, even when things are difficult and even if we might feel stuck, learning, growth, and change is always possible.
—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.
That does make sense — and it sounds like a way of being kinder to yourself and creating less struggle, too.
—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.
My apologies, I do not understand what you are asking here, Packer Fan. Are you asking if going to bed at 10:00 PM, practicing the AWAKE exercise, and having no alarm would be a good plan? If so, I cannot answer that — but it might be helpful to ask yourself that same question.
So, if that’s a potential plan, how might that help you? How might it not help you? On balance, what might a helpful way forward look like?
—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.
That sounds like it might be a really worthwhile approach. When things feel difficult, that’s because they ARE difficult. When we are hard on ourselves on top of that, it rarely makes things any easier. You are not alone!
—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 Christianna and thank you for sharing and it’s great to hear that you are getting some practice in with the AWAKE exercise!
You mentioned that you are still struggling with anxiety when you wake up — and that implies that you might still be a bit tangled up in a battle with it; that you might be trying to fight or avoid it. That’s not unusual and it does tend to make things more difficult.
Remember that the goal with the AWAKE exercise isn’t to make a peaceful state happen, or to make sleep happen, or to change any thoughts or feelings that might be present. That might happen as a bonus side-effect, but it’s not the goal.
The goal is to practice building skill in experiencing wakefulness and all the thoughts and feelings that can come with it with less struggle. Acknowledging what is happening, being more of an observer of it, being kind to yourself.
Your upcoming trip sounds fantastic! As you implied, you always have the ability to do things when on that trip that matter to you. You can experience your new surroundings, the new sights, the different culture, the food, the drink, the people, independently of sleep. And, when you look back on this trip in 100 years from now, I suspect you might be more likely to remember all the things you did on the trip when you were awake, rather than how you might have slept on that trip!
—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 the opportunity to clarify!
The AWAKE exercise is intended to be used at night, as an alternative to struggling with being awake and with any of the difficult thoughts and feelings that might show up in the presence of that wakefulness. The goal is to build skill in experiencing wakefulness and all the stuff that can come with it, with less struggle.
The NOW exercise is intended to be used during the day as a way to refocus our attention on where we are and what we are doing when the mind seems to be distracting us or pulling us away from the present moment in an unhelpful way. The goal is to build skill in being more present and focused on the present moment when the brain tries to pull our focus and attention way from the present moment.
Does this help?
—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 the great question, @abdiradia!
Yes, you can use the AWAKE exercise any time you find yourself struggling with anxiety at night — it doesn’t have to be reserved for “sleep anxiety” or any specific form of anxiety. You can also use it whenever you find yourself struggling with difficult feelings or sensations.
I would suggest playing around with the exercise to find a way to make the practice most useful for you. Typically, I suggest starting the exercise whenever you find yourself struggling with being awake or struggling with certain thoughts, feelings, sensations, or emotions.
Distraction isn’t usually a helpful long-term strategy, but you are the expert on 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.
Thanks for sharing, Tara! We’ve all got your back here. Change is hard. And, yet without it, nothing changes. Every new action you take, every new practice you commit to, is 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.
Thank you for sharing @Jessica2405 and @Rubylight!
As you mentioned, @Jessica2405, acknowledging that our minds are not our adversaries (even though it can feel that way sometimes!) and recognizing that all the difficult thoughts and feelings we experience come from our minds trying to look out for us can be really insightful.
With that, we can start moving away from battling our minds. That doesn’t necessarily mean we start sleeping wonderfully — but it can help prevent us from adding struggle on top of wakefulness and all the difficult thoughts and feelings that can come with it. And, when we expend less energy on battling we might also free up energy to do more of the things that matter to us. And, when we do that, we reduce the level of power and influence sleep/insomnia has over our lives.
As you said so eloquently, @Rubylight, sleep requires no effort. If there’s effort, there’s an opportunity to make a change. Of course, change isn’t easy and it usually requires ongoing practice.
The support shared here is so important and so valuable.
—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.
That sounds really difficult and you got through it, Packer Fan!
Without a sleep window is there an absence of struggle, an absence of difficult thoughts and feelings, and better sleep? Are you better able to live the life you want to live without a sleep window?
If so, perhaps not having a sleep window might be more appropriate for you — after all, you are the expert on 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.
This is a great discussion! It seems as though a common thread running through more recent posts is that distraction and/or trying to control the mind might offer some temporary benefit every now and then, but it doesn’t seem to be something that is effective over the long-term.
Practicing relaxation or yoga can definitely have some value — if we are interested in becoming more skilled in relaxation or yoga. If, on the other hand, our goal or intent is to control our mind (or our sleep) we might be setting ourselves up for more struggle.
What might things be like with all the (understandable!) effort to control what seems to be uncontrollable?
—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! It sounds as though when there was more stuff going on for your mind to focus on — when sleep wasn’t the sole focus of your attention — sleep seemed to happen with a lot less effort!
The fact you have not only demonstrated awareness of this, but have considered how you might use this insight to benefit you as you continue to move forward demonstrates your strengths of critical thinking, forward thinking, curiosity, and introspection. I suspect it’s also evidence of 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 @ins_bdo and thanks for your post. You are sharing understandable and legitimate concerns and your questions and engagement are evidence of your growth mindset — your understanding that things can still change, even when you might feel stuck. That you can continue to grow and develop with ongoing committed action, learning, and practice.
And thank you, @Gdurity for the support you offered 🙂
While many people find that implementing some kind of sleep window to be helpful, dealing with the insomnia struggle often requires more than the implementation of a sleep window.
It might be also worth considering what your intent with the sleep window is. Do you see it as a way of creating a certain amount or type of sleep? If so, it can end up becoming another sleep effort — something you are doing in an attempt to control sleep. And, where does your experience tell you that approach gets you?
As explored in this course (which is not CBT-I, although it draws upon some CBT-I concepts), the sleep window is really intended to help us move away from chasing after sleep. From doing things like going to bed earlier or staying in bed later in an effort to make more sleep happen. Quite often, the more we chase after sleep the more elusive it can become.
It sounds as though you might be tracking/monitoring your sleep. What are you learning from that and how does it help you shift your focus away from sleep and toward other actions that matter to you and that help you live the life you want to live?
When you wake during your sleep window, how do you respond and how is that working 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.
