Forum Replies Created
-
Posts
-
From what you’ve said, you are currently allotting eight hours for sleep — but we know that you are currently managing to get around four hours of sleep. So, by default, you are pretty much guaranteeing yourself around four hours of wakefulness during the night.
As a first step to getting your sleep back on track, you will likely find it helpful to follow a more appropriate sleep window. You can read more about this in my article about sleep restriction for 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.
Hello again, Monica. When you go to bed at 9:00 PM, do you feel sleepy enough for sleep?
Everything you described is so common for people with insomnia. So, please be reassured that there is nothing really unusual or “broken” when it comes to your sleep. It sounds as though you have a lot of conditioned arousal and this is leading to a lot of sleep-related worry and anxiety.
We shouldn’t rearrange our lives around sleep, or focus on sleep, since this actually makes sleep more difficult. Let me also add that there is no evidence that insomnia causes any health problem whatsoever.
You might find these videos helpful:
Rearranging your life around sleep only feeds your insomnia and makes the problem worse: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xJQ-pAs2wTM
There is no evidence that chronic insomnia causes any specific health problem: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RoX04HJihNI
How long have you been struggling with sleep? Have you tried implementing any cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia (CBT-I) techniques?
—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 am so glad to hear you found the free insomnia sleep training course and the YouTube channel helpful.
It sounds as though you are on the right track — thank you for the update!
—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.
Believing that getting out of bed during the night will disturb family members is a common concern. However, in my experience, I find that when people actually ask family members if this would be disruptive, they are actually surprised by how supportive and enthusiastic family members are about the idea.
That’s because most family members (especially bed partners) find the endless tossing and turning throughout the night and the impaired mood associated with insomnia to be far more disruptive than someone who just gets out of bed when they can’t sleep — especially when they know this is part of a long-term strategy to improve sleep.
I will keep an eye on my inbox for your email, dival.
—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.
Planning and preparing to be out of bed during the night can really help: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Os–hSZwRLk
When it’s cold, sometimes it can be a bit easier to get out of bed if you prepare a warm nest or snug in advance — keep some blankets, maybe a space heater, perhaps even a thermos with a warm (decaffeinated) drink out in the living room waiting 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.
Hello again, Philomena!
You mentioned that your sleep was fine before you saw Dr. Hauri. What triggered you to see Dr. Hauri?
Sleep disruption during (and after) pregnancy is quite normal so this is likely why nobody was concerned too much by this.
You mentioned that you don’t think you get much REM sleep. Why are you concerned about how much REM sleep you may or not be getting?
When you wake during the night to use the bathroom, does it usually take you a long time to fall back to sleep?
You said that you feel like you probably get around four hours of sleep on a typical night. When do you normally go to bed at night, and get out of bed to start your day in the morning? You mentioned going to bed at 9:00 PM and waking by 3:00 AM (a six-hour sleep window) but you are concerned that 3:00 AM is too early to start your day. So, have you tried delaying your sleep window so it starts and ends a bit later?
There is no CBT-I rule that says you need to fall asleep within 20 minutes, an hour, or any period of time. How long did you try CBT-I before deciding it wasn’t working, and what specific techniques were you implementing?
I agree that more needs to be done to spread awareness about insomnia and the best treatment option available (which is, for the vast majority of people with chronic 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.
I think we have uncovered a starting point here — you should only go to bed when you feel sleepy enough for sleep. If you go to bed before you are sleepy enough for sleep (for example, because your boyfriend is going to bed) you are only going to be lying in bed awake and this is going to perpetuate the problem.
It’s also important to sleep only where you want to be sleeping for the long-term. If sleeping in your bed is your long-term goal, that’s the only place you should sleep (in other words, you should avoid sleeping in the couch unless this is your long-term goal).
More on that in this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LrNu80ePuA0
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.
Using an instrument that can’t consistently and accurately record awakenings is probably not going to be very helpful.
How long have you been using the Fitbit to track your sleep? Over the course of this period of use, has it led to you feeling happier or more confident in your sleep? If not, I would encourage you to avoid it and judge your sleep based on how you feel during the day (and a self-reported sleep diary).
By itself, waking during the night is quite normal. Here’s a short video I recorded about this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=329oFzXmwEM
From what you describe, it doesn’t sound as though you went through what I would consider to be a real course of CBT-I since this should include far more than just being told to get out of bed when you can’t sleep! In addition, sleep hygiene isn’t an effective treatment for chronic insomnia so is not something to be relied upon as a way of improving sleep when living with insomnia (in my online course I do talk about sleep hygiene but not until six weeks into the eight-week course, because it has such a small influence on sleep).
CBT-I should be collaborative in nature and cover a lot of sleep education to help explain the rationale of the techniques and help you identify the presence of any inappropriate sleep beliefs. It will also help you determine a regular and appropriate sleep window to help you build sufficient sleep drive for sleep and strengthen your body clock.
You will, of course, also learn more about getting out of bed when unable to sleep (especially the rationale and correct implementation, which is so important) and you will learn about relaxation techniques (and be reminded that the goal of relaxation is relaxation, not sleep).
To be honest, I still think you would find CBT-I very helpful and I question whether what you received in the past was truly CBT-I or was some basic psychoeducation about sleep combined with basically just being told to get out of bed when you can’t sleep!
How long ago did you work with your psychologist on 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.
Welcome to the forum, Esther. You definitely are not alone in the struggle.
The thoughts you describe are very common and I am sure many people reading your post will identify with them. A couple of things to consider right from the start would be:
The quality of your day isn’t entirely dependent on the quality of your sleep: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WgVyzX_HHxo
Waking during the night is normal and isn’t something you should be worried about: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=329oFzXmwEM
When do you normally go to bed at night, when do you normally get out of bed in the morning, and roughly how many hours of sleep are you getting in a typical night? Do you tend to struggle more with falling asleep at the start of the night, or staying asleep throughout the 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.
Hello Matt. Sorry to hear about your struggles with sleep.
It certainly sounds as though you are dealing with a lot of anxiety and it is quite likely that this is why you are struggling to sleep.
First, let me reassure you that you have not lost the ability to sleep.
Can you tell us a bit more about your sleep pattern for the past few weeks? When do you normally go to bed at night, when do you normally get out of bed to start your day, and how much sleep would you say you get on a typical night? Do you tend to struggle more with falling asleep at the start of the night, staying asleep during the 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.
There is no evidence to support the use of CBD oil as an effective treatment 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.
You’ve got this, Sleepless in SSB! We’ve all got your back.
—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 do you normally go to bed at night, and when do you get out of bed in the morning? When you wake during the night, what do you think is stopping you from falling 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.
How do you feel during the day, Jenny64? This is a better indicator of how well you are sleeping than sleep duration.
—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, Ioana. When this is combined with raising a baby the effects can be really hard and even more challenging.
It sounds as though your sleep may be disrupted due to the current situation with your partner since you mentioned that falling asleep only tends to be a problem when your partner is in the house.
Relationship stress is a common trigger for sleep disruption. Usually, the best way to tackle sleep disruption caused (and perpetuated) by an identifiable external problem is to tackle the external problem first.
—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.
