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Did your therapist tell you why she suggested you allot so much time for sleep, Ozi?
—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 the right track, NeuroShock — keep up the effort!
—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.
Deb really did give you the short and sweet answer — there’s not much I can add!
Acupuncture or hypnosis may help with sleep, but the amount of evidence supporting these techniques as effective long-term treatments for insomnia is minuscule compared to the gold standard — cognitive behavioral therapy for 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.
Isn’t it amazing that before sleep restriction you were desperately trying to sleep, now you are desperately trying to stay awake?!
If you wake within half-an-hour of your ‘out of bed time’, then it’s usually best to simply get out of bed at that point. This way, you will be continuing to strengthen the association between the bed and sleep rather than 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.
Welcome to the forum. The good news is, everything you’ve shared proves that you are still capable of sleep — but you are not giving yourself the opportunity to sleep at night.
You slept for six hours during the day, waking up at 6 PM, so it was never going to be easy to fall asleep again just five hours later. You were awake for less time than you spent asleep, so sleep was going to be almost impossible at 11 PM because you were not sleepy enough for sleep.
The best thing you can do at this point is probably to avoid sleeping during the day and sleep only at night. Only go to bed at night when you feel sleepy, and make sure you get out of bed at the same time each day. Within a few days, it is very likely that your sleep will recover.
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.
Welcome to the forum, and I’m sorry to hear about your difficulties with sleep and anxiety over the past few years.
It’s important not to try blocking negative or worrying thoughts — because as soon as you try to do this, you actually make them more likely and more powerful.
That’s because as soon as we try to tell ourselves not to think something, we begin to self-monitor our thoughts. In effect, we repeatedly check to see if we are thinking about the very thing we don’t want to be thinking about! This is not only mentally tiring, but it also keeps us alert and it makes it harder to sleep.
You may find it easier to simply accept these thoughts and worries for what they are — thoughts and worries. Thoughts and worries can’t hurt us. As long as we recognize them and accept we are going to experience them, they will hold far less power and they will pass from your mind much faster.
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’m sorry to hear about your struggles with sleep. You are not alone. Many people here can relate to what you are going through.
If those 10 over-the-counter meds aren’t working, why do you take them? Have you talked to your doctor about a long-term solution for insomnia that doesn’t rely on medication?
CBT for insomnia (CBT-I) has been proven time and time again to be the best long-term solution for insomnia and it is recommended as the first-line treatment for insomnia by professional organizations such as the National Institutes of Health, the American College of Physicians, the American Academy of Sleep Medicine, and the British Association for Psychopharmacology.
—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, Andrea — and I am sorry to hear about your long-term struggles with sleep. It certainly sounds as though you have a busy schedule — are you able to allot enough time for sleep and follow a predictable sleep schedule?
Although it may feel like you aren’t capable of sleeping without sleeping pills, that is not true — you are able to sleep, you have not lost your ability to sleep, and you can enjoy natural, restorative sleep again. You were not born with insomnia, so you do not have to live with insomnia.
Have you looked into CBT for insomnia? If you are determined to improve your sleep, it is likely the best solution for improving 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.
Hello SueJo and welcome to the forum. You are absolutely capable of sleep without pills — just as Deb suggested. With that being said, if you are currently relying on sleeping pills it can be difficult to simply stop taking them without a tapering-off plan or implementing techniques to address the root cause of your insomnia.
Have you discussed your desire to get off the sleeping pills with your doctor? Have you spoken to him or her about CBT 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.
Welcome to the forum, and I’m sorry to hear about your current struggles with sleep. Health-related worry and anxiety will often disrupt sleep. In fact, this is quite normal and our sleep will usually recover over time by itself.
Mindfulness can help promote relaxation — but it is a skill, and requires practice. It’s also important to bear in mind that the ultimate goal of relaxation is relaxation, not sleep!
The good news is that your sleep issues started relatively recently. So, if you take steps to tackle them now using evidence-based CBT-I techniques, you will find it much easier to get your sleep back on track because your insomnia hasn’t had time to become too entrenched.
—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.
From what you’ve said, you are allotting between 10 and 10.5 hours for sleep each night but you are averaging between five and five-and-a-half hours of sleep each night. Does that sound right?
A proper course of CBT-I involves sleep restriction. So, I have some concerns about the CBT-I you are receiving — it’s hard to understand why you are allotting so much time for sleep when a core component of CBT-I is to allot an amount of time for sleep that is similar to your average nightly sleep duration.
In your case, I would expect you to be allotting no more than around six hours for sleep each night if you were following a course of 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.
What time do you normally go to bed, when do you normally get out of bed, and roughly how many hours of sleep do you get on an average 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.
Sorry to hear about your struggles with sleep, Ozi. Can you tell us a bit more about the CBT course you are doing? It is very unusual not to be experiencing any results after two months.
—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 tried the techniques for a week — so you haven’t failed! You will only fail when you give up on the techniques and don’t implement any strategies to implement your sleep over the long-term. It took time for your insomnia to develop, it will take time to get rid of it. You’ve got this!
—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 thought I’d chime in on whether or not we need to continue with CBT-I techniques for the rest of our lives. The short answer is “not really”. Here’s the longer answer:
CBT-I techniques are implemented to get our sleep ‘back on track’ — so, when we are living with insomnia, we implement specific evidence-based techniques intended to improve sleep for the long-term. As sleep recovers, we can begin to take a more flexible approach to sleep, just like ‘good’ sleepers do.
However, should sleep ever become a problem again in the future, we now know exactly what to do to improve our sleep and get it back on track.
I fundamentally disagree with those who claim CBT-I introduces ‘crutches’ that need to be relied upon for sleep. I liken this to the idea that a plaster cast is a ‘crutch’ for someone who broke their leg. When you break your leg, you use a plaster cast to heal. When you are healed, you remove the plaster cast. If you are unlucky enough to break your leg again in the future, you’d get a plaster cast again. This makes perfect sense, doesn’t it?
It’s the same thing with CBT-I.
With CBT-I techniques, you use them when you are struggling with sleep. When your sleep is ‘healed’, you don’t need to rely on the techniques. However, if sleep issues return in the future, you know exactly what to do and you can implement the CBT-I techniques that you know from experience helped you improve your sleep to get you back on track.
Did you notice how Sasha Stephens talks about sleep restriction being a crutch, but then on page 79 she declares in big, bold type that ‘mistake number one’ when it comes to creating an insomnia monster is spending too much time in bed?! Sleep restriction is all about spending less time in bed — so there is a big contradiction here!
—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.
