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Have you told your friends and family about your current difficulties with sleep yet, @Christine? As @delv-x mentioned, it’s usually a good idea to try staying social and sticking to plans rather than canceling them.
That’s because when we cancel plans or rearrange our lives around our sleep, the implication is that we can control our sleep by conserving energy or staying home. Unfortunately, that is not the case — rather, when we cancel plans and stay home we end up feeling more fatigued (due to inactivity) and we are guaranteeing that our bad night(s) of sleep will only ever have a bad outcome.
When we stay home, we are more likely to be inactive, more likely to think about sleep, more likely to worry about sleep, more likely to nap or try to sleep, and more likely to spend additional time in bed. All this leads to more worry and anxiety about sleep and perpetuates the problem.
If you continue to socialize and stay active, you are also far more likely to enjoy some good moments (even after a bad night of sleep) — and this can be a great reminder that the quality of our day isn’t always entirely dependent on the quality of our 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.
You make an excellent point, Edgar.
The diagnostic criteria for chronic insomnia make no mention of sleep duration. Instead, the criteria refer to subjective difficulty falling asleep/staying asleep/poor daytime function.
No mention is made about sleep duration in diagnostic guidelines because sleep requirements vary from person to person (and sleep quality is often more important than sleep quantity).
—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 sleepybre and welcome to the forum.
The TV can certainly serve as a good distraction, but if you are sleeping in front of the TV throughout the entire night, your sleep quality might not be as good as it would be without the TV on.
Since you are watching TV at night to help you sleep this suggests that you are either watching TV in bed, or you are falling asleep on the couch. Unfortunately, both of these strategies are not ideal if the long-term aim is to reduce your reliance on the TV as a sleep aid and to help you associate the bed with sleep.
Do you remember what triggered your nighttime anxiety? Was there a specific event, or do you think this came about as a result of repeated bad experiences trying to sleep at 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.
The problem with sleeping pills is this — when we take them (even for the short-term), every time we sleep we attribute that ‘success’ to the pills, rather than our own ability to sleep.
This can lead to an increasingly strong belief that we aren’t capable of sleeping without the pills, which can make it difficult to regain confidence in our ability to sleep and this often means sleep issues will return as soon as we try to stop taking the pills.
Have you looked into CBT-I, as suggested by @Christine?
—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 sounds as though you are on track and making progress, Steve. You might be finding it harder to fall asleep at night because of conditioned arousal. How did you first CBT-I appointment go?
That’s a great suggestion, Slimon — I do actually have my clients record the quality of their sleep on a 1-5 scale every day since this is a great way of assessing sleep rather than looking solely at sleep duration and time spent awake during the 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 Wasan. The reason I asked about how you think you’d sleep if you didn’t have any commitments during the day was to figure out if your sleep issues are due to a circadian rhythm issue. For example, some people may think they have insomnia because they can’t fall asleep until very late in the night — but if they have days off work and don’t try sleeping earlier than normal and waking at a time to start work they sleep just fine. This would suggest that a circadian rhythm disorder such as delayed sleep phase syndrome may be behind the sleep problems.
You mentioned that you go to bed at 10:00 PM — are you feeling sleepy and ready for sleep at that time?
—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 Wasan and thank you for sharing your experience with everyone. I am sorry to hear about your struggles with sleep. I think if you ask your boyfriend, your sleep issues are likely to be less disruptive to him than you think they might be.
If you had no social or work obligations and could go to bed at any time you wanted, and get out of bed at any time you wanted, do you think you’d still find it hard to sleep?
When do you go to bed now, and when are you getting out of bed to start your day? On an average night, how many hours of sleep would you say you’re getting?
—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, Feralcat. Sleep studies aren’t helpful for insomnia unless another sleep disorder (such as sleep apnea) is suspected. Did you talk to your doctor about CBT-I?
When do you normally go to bed at night, and when do you get out of bed in the morning to start your day? When you wake during the night, why do you think it is so difficult 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, and I am so sorry to hear about your ongoing issues with sleep. If you have chronic insomnia, medication is rarely (if ever) the answer. Certainly, medication is never a long-term solution for chronic insomnia.
What kinds of things do you think about when you can’t sleep? Are your racing thoughts only about sleep, or are other worries troubling you, too? Have you tried simply getting out of bed until you feel sleepy again, before going back to bed in order to prevent the endless tossing and turning throughout the 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.
Prescription medication should only ever be taken as prescribed. Unless your doctor has suggested taking the medication contingently (based on how well you are sleeping on a night-by-night basis), then it’s rarely a good idea to do so — for a few reasons.
First, if you take medication contingently you are reinforcing the idea that you are unable to sleep without medication. So, whenever you have a bad night, instead of implementing techniques that will strengthen your natural biological propensity to sleep, you take a pill — and, when you sleep, you reinforce the idea that you would not have slept if you hadn’t taken that pill.
Second, if you take a pill and have a bad night of sleep, instead of recognizing that the pill was ineffective, it’s very easy to conclude that you are incapable of sleep (when this is not true).
Third, if you take a pill late in the night, you risk starting the day with a medication hangover and all the potentially dangerous side-effects that come with that. Furthermore, when you take hypnotics late in the night, you may start the day feeling very fatigued and lethargic. Instead of recognizing this as a symptom of the late-night use of sleeping pills, it’s all-too-easy to think this is a result of your insomnia — and this exacerbates sleep-related worry and anxiety and can lead to compensatory behaviors that make sleep worse.
—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 Penny. Unfortunately, changing your diet is unlikely to address chronic insomnia. You mentioned that you went through a six-week course of CBT-I but it didn’t help. Can you tell us more about that? I think exploring this further would likely provide a better avenue to explore 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.
This is a great discussion. What I will add is that it’s important not to change any prescribed medication regimen without talking to your prescribing physician first.
When it comes to the over-the-counter stuff, none of it is going to cure chronic insomnia.
Melatonin does not cure chronic insomnia, valerian does not cure chronic insomnia, and diphenhydramine does not cure chronic insomnia. In fact, the body builds a tolerance to diphenhydramine extremely quickly (in as little as three nights). So using diphenhydramine for longer than three nights has no effect and any perceived benefit is likely entirely down to the placebo effect.
—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’re welcome, Steve — keep us updated with your 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.
It’s probably best to discuss your concerns with your doctor. At the same time, I would suggest asking him or her whether they feel you would be a good candidate for cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia.
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.
This is hilarious — where did you find this?! If you wrote it yourself, let me know when your insomnia survival book is published!
—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.
