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You can do whatever feels right for you! I usually suggest simply choosing an out of bed time that’s aligned with the life you live (or want to live) — we can get a bit tripped up with the sleep window if we use it in an attempt to control sleep; its true intent is to help move us away from chasing after 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’re welcome, Chantal! You clearly have an analytical and problem-solving mind — both of which are true strengths!
I am not sure we’ll ever see studies that provide evidence that only five, or four, or three, or seven hours of sleep are necessary since we still don’t really know why we sleep or even how much we truly need. It’s a bit like trying to figure out what size foot is necessary.
We’re only ever guessing and playing with averages and associations — and, even if we had a clear answer on the amount of sleep that’s necessary (or the foot size that’s necessary!), what can we do with that information when neither can be controlled through effort anyway?
Your awareness that this preoccupation might be counterproductive is a valuable insight. You might not necessarily be able to control thoughts related to this stuff — but you can always choose how you respond. In other words, you can always choose to do something other than Google for answers over and over again — and, perhaps doing something that’s aligned with your identity and values might have more of a positive influence over the kind of life you live?
—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 Chantal!
This study found that sleeping for under 4.5 hours (or more than 6.5 hours a night!) was linked with cognitive decline.
Again, this is only a “link” — as with most sleep-related studies. The main point I was trying to make here is that there’s no universal sleep duration that fits everyone and it can be quite futile to try to generate a certain amount of sleep (since that’s out of our control).
When it comes to averages, this study found that the “average” sleep duration for women was under 7 hours and for men it was under 6.5 hours. Furthermore, sleep duration and sleep need vary as we age, too.
I think what matters here is this:
1. Nobody really knows how much sleep the body needs — there’s no universal sleep need (just as there’s no universal shoe size).
2. Sleep averages are not the same as individual sleep needs (and how sleep is recorded/reported can bring huge variability and uncertainty).
3. The body will generate the amount (and type) of sleep it needs as long as we give it the opportunity to do so.
4. Things get more difficult the more we get involved in the process — but the body can still generate, at the very least, the minimum amount of sleep it needs no matter what we do.
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.
You are clearly a strong advocate for yourself and a keen problem-solver!
Nothing there says that chronic insomnia causes any health condition or problem (and no such study exists). Furthermore, acute sleep loss is not chronic insomnia and sleep deprivation is not chronic insomnia.
Now, that’s not to say sleep definitely has no influence over what you are describing — I am not a doctor! It’s just that I’ve not come across any evidence that suggests sleep is the cause of what you are describing.
I would encourage you to discuss the swelling you described with your doctor — this is not a place to obtain medical advice, unfortunately.
—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.
Regardless of direction, my suggestion would be the same. If you don’t feel sleepy when your sleep window begins, you might want to wait until you do feel sleepy before going to bed, while maintaining the same out of bed time as usual (for example, 6 AM at home would be 6 AM at your destination, too).
If a sleep window of 12-645 when on vacation better helps you live the life you want to live and moves you away from trying to control or chase after sleep, then go for it!
—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.
Nobody here is alone — and it’s great to see the support and understanding being shared in this discussion thread
A common theme I see here is that the more we seem to try to control sleep or what we are thinking or how we are feeling, the more likely we can be to struggle and the more likely we might be to engage in behaviors/actions we don’t want to engage in. The result is, we then have the additional difficulty that comes from acting in ways we’d rather not. In other words, things get more difficult the more we try to (totally understandably) control or resist all this difficult stuff.
So, we have the difficult stuff (such as being awake, having certain thoughts, or experiencing certain feelings). That’s hard. Then, our response to that can end up making things even more difficult.
What might things be like if we could develop some skill in responding in a different way? Perhaps with acknowledgement and self-kindness and less resistance? Perhaps that might free up some energy and help us act in ways that are more aligned with how we wish to act?
This is a big topic and we’ll be exploring it in a lot more detail as the course progresses — and, typically, moving forward involves acting in meaningful ways (since we can control our actions) rather than how we might sleep from night to night (something we cannot directly control).
—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 have not heard of chronic insomnia causing swelling as you describe — have you discussed that with your doctor?
—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 fact you’ve experienced improvement shows that you are capable of generating sleep (and sleep doesn’t require confidence to happen)!
When you reflect back on when you slept well and when sleep wasn’t a struggle and had little influence over your life, was there a difference in how you approached sleep then compared to now? If so, are there any insights there?
—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 aboard! Why do you want to get off the sleep meds and what needs to happen before you get started with that? Why does thinking about sleep seem to be a problem? What do sleep-related thoughts stop you from doing?
—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 your thoughts, Zuz! Distraction can sometimes be helpful in the short-term — it can require a lot of effort to consciously “not think” about something, though (and, those thoughts will typically come back at some point anyway).
Developing skill in reducing our resistance to certain thoughts and feelings (and wakefulness itself) can sometimes be a more helpful longer-term strategy — and we’ll be exploring that in more detail as you work through the course!
Doing something that you enjoy or that is otherwise aligned with your interests and values can be more productive than engaging in efforts to control sleep, your thoughts, or your feelings — especially if your experience suggests those things cannot be directly or permanently controlled anyway!
—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 great to hear! It sounds as though you are taking the skills you have been practicing in this course and are applying them in other areas of your life, too (such as dealing with the presence of pain). That’s a reflection of your growing mastery
—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 things are changing for the better — thank you for sharing your observations with us!
Waking during the night is a normal part of sleep. If you don’t fall back to sleep, then one (or more) of the following could be influencing this:
1. Your body has decided you don’t need more sleep,
2. You might be putting pressure on yourself to fall back to sleep,
3. You might be putting effort into falling back to sleep/trying to make more sleep happen,
4. You might be trying to fight any thoughts/feelings that are showing up,
5. You might have a strong attachment/desire to get a certain amount/type of sleep.You mentioned that you feel confused as to why you don’t fall back to sleep if you wake during your sleep window and don’t try to force sleep. Let me ask you this — do you have the same degree of confusion when you want to spend the day outdoors, so you don’t try to force sunshine, and yet the day remains cloudy?
Trying to force sleep makes conditions more difficult for sleep to happen. Not trying to force sleep improves conditions for sleep but it’s still no guarantee that sleep will happen — since sleep is out of our direct control.
Is there anything helpful 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.
Difficult nights are all part of the journey, Rosa — just as we all have difficult days from time to time, we all have difficult nights from time to time.
What matters is how we respond — do we go back to the old ways of battling and trying to fight or avoid wakefulness and the thoughts and feelings that come along for the ride (even though we know that doesn’t work) or do we acknowledge what’s going on, be kind to ourselves, and continue to practice building skill in responding to all this difficult stuff with less struggle?
This isn’t easy. Change, action, and practice is hard. And, doing things that matter and learning new skills usually requires a lot of effort, involves difficulty and challenge, and comes with struggle. You aren’t alone. This feels hard because it is hard. There are going to be ups and downs — that’s natural and normal. And you always have the choice and the power when it comes to how to respond. Action is what matters.
I hope there’s something helpful here and I wish you all the best.
—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 update! It sounds as though you have discovered that sleep doesn’t care what the time is — it just cares that you are sleepy enough for sleep and that it is allowed to do what it wants to do, when it wants to do it, and how it wants to do it!
—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 mind is a curious thing — thank you so much for sharing your observations and experience!
—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.
