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Many people worry that getting up at night will be a problem for their family when this is rarely the case! Have you tried speaking to them about whether you getting up and quietly sitting in another room would be disruptive? You might find this video helpful: How to implement stimulus control when you share your bed or have a family at home
That book by Matthew Walker is, in my opinion, the absolute worst book on sleep ever written and is the cause of many cases of insomnia. I have worked with clients who had no problem with sleep until they read that book and freaked out about their sleep and this actually led to insomnia.
If you want a quick and more accurate read about the health problems caused by insomnia (spoiler — there aren’t any) then I would highly recommend this book: Why We Don’t Sleep: How the wellness industry unintentionally created an insomnia epidemic.
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 Alison
It sounds as though you might be someone who is just a little bit more predisposed to sleep issues. So, when a precipitating factor occurs your sleep is perhaps more likely to be disrupted — and then, when the original trigger is no longer an issue, your sleep-related worry and anxiety perpetuates the problem and means your sleep doesn’t always recover by itself.
So, the good news is, there is nothing unusual about your insomnia so I would expect you to respond well to cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia (CBT-I) techniques — and it sounds as though you are already noticing improvements as you implement them! As you correctly pointed out, consistency is key!
Stick to the techniques and I think you will continue to improve — and the real beauty of CBT-I is that you are learning skills that will be with you for life. So, should insomnia ever return in the future you will know exactly what to do to 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.
Welcome to the forum, starry! That’s a bit of a wide-open question you asked — can you tell us a bit more about your sleep? Do you find that you wake a lot during the night and find it hard to fall back to sleep? If so, why do you think that falling back to sleep is a struggle?
—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.
Waking by itself is actually quite normal and is only something to be concerned about if you are at risk of sleep apnea or if it takes a long time to fall back to sleep when you wake during the night.
You might find this video helpful: Waking during the night is normal and isn’t something you should be worried 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.
Your experience is not unusual and fits the model of how chronic insomnia develops from a night of bad sleep with an identifiable trigger into a longer-term problem.
I think you’ll find this video helpful: How one night of poor sleep can turn into 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.
Hello Irina and welcome to the forum. Everything you describe is quite typical for people with chronic insomnia. Usually, the best thing to do when you are in bed and feel wide awake and anxious is to get out of bed until you feel relaxed and sleepy again.
Have you looked into cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia (CBT-I) techniques? I think you’ll find them helpful.
You might find this video helpful, too:
Why CBT-I is so effective when worry, anxiety, and a racing mind are fueling your 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.
I think you’ll find the free sleep training course helpful, Huj. If you have any questions as you go through the course, 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.
Hello Alison and thanks for the good questions!
We don’t typically record the kind of sleep we get on a sleep diary since this is not constructive because we have no control over sleep stages. Sleep is an autonomous process and the body decides how much time we spend in each sleep stage. If we try to control this, the end result is worse sleep.
What I can tell you is that when we have a bad night, the body compensates by prioritizing deep sleep so although you feel as though you are getting a lot of light sleep, you are far more likely than not to be getting enough deep sleep.
By consolidating sleep (and improving sleep efficiency) we typically see better overall sleep quality over time. Observing a regular (and appropriate) sleep window also helps build sleep drive and this can also help to increase 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.
Hello wsh and welcome to the forum. The way your insomnia developed is not unusual so I see no reason why CBT-I techniques will not be helpful for you. You might find this short video helpful:
How one night of poor sleep can turn into chronic insomnia
Are you working on CBT-I with a therapist? Your sleep window sounds a bit too long compared to your current average nightly sleep duration. If you are currently getting around five-and-a-quarter hours of sleep each night, I’d suggest starting with a sleep window of around five hours and 45 minutes.
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.
Sorry to hear about your struggle with nighttime awakenings, 12sleep. When you wake during the night, why do you think you find it hard to fall 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.
Welcome to the forum. Are you currently receiving any kind of therapy or treatment for your anxiety or your sleep issues? Many people find it helpful to combine coming off sleep medication with cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia (CBT-I) techniques since these techniques help address sleep-related worry and anxiety, help you regain confidence in your ability to sleep and will help improve your sleep over the long term.
—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 love your positive attitude and I think this goes a long way towards helping people with chronic insomnia get their sleep back on track.
Can you tell us a bit more about your current sleep pattern? When do you currently go to bed at night, when do you get out of bed to start your day, and roughly how many hours of sleep do you get on a typical 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.
Hello John and sorry to hear about your recent difficulties with sleep. The key to recovery is to act as though your sleep hasn’t been disrupted. In other words, don’t try to compensate for the bad nights of sleep. Don’t go to bed earlier than normal, don’t nap during the day, don’t stay in bed later than normal, and don’t cancel plans or try to conserve energy.
If you trust your sleep system to get back on track by itself, I am confident it will do so. Sleep drive always wins — you will not be able to go without sleep indefinitely. Sleep will happen.
Remember that you have experienced seven months of good sleep. You know you are capable of sleep and so, in the grand scheme of things, this is a very minor setback. Concentrate your attention on all the good nights you had, don’t try forcing sleep or doing things like sleeping during the day, and I think your sleep will get back on track sooner rather than later.
—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 can’t offer specific advice because I don’t know enough about you and your sleep.
Unfortunately, without you enrolling as a client I can only give general suggestions.
A sleep window of 9:00 PM to 4:00 AM would mean allotting seven hours for sleep which is still significantly longer than your typical nightly sleep duration.
You might find the resources page about sleep restriction 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.
Welcome to the forum.
Unfortunately, Matthew Walker’s book is one of the worst books written about sleep, particularly for those with insomnia. It is full of scare mongering and encourages people who may be sleeping just fine to work on sleeping more. This can actually trigger insomnia.
In fact, I have worked with clients who had no problem with sleep until they read this book and then worried about their sleep and tried to get more sleep than they needed.
This worry and attempt to control sleep made their sleep worse and led to chronic insomnia.
I have nothing good to say about this book and highly recommend everyone avoid it. In my opinion, it is doing significantly more harm than good.
If you currently sleep well and feel fine during the day, I would encourage you not to try to control sleep, not to try to get more sleep, and not to interfere with sleep since doing so can easily lead to sleep becoming worse rather than better. I have seen this happen and seen the negative impact it had on others and I do not want this to happen to you, 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.
