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Welcome to the forum, Ravio. Are you currently seeking treatment for the trauma you experienced and/or your current sleep issues?
—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, AnoraK. Let me first reassure you that you do not need to live with these sleep issues for the rest of your life. Your ability to sleep has not disappeared, and you are still capable of sleep.
How long have you been struggling with sleep, and do you have any idea what triggered your current difficulties with 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.
I’m sorry to hear about your struggles with sleep, Fellaini. How long have you been battling insomnia, and do you have any idea what triggered your sleep issues?
—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 would suggest that getting zero minutes of sleep at night is quite rare. However, if someone goes through an entire night with absolutely no sleep, they become extremely likely to get at least some sleep the following night. That’s because sleep is a biological mechanism, similar to breathing.
We can temporarily suspend breathing by holding our breath — but, eventually, the body will take over and force us to breathe because breathing is a core biological mechanism. In a similar way, we can temporarily suspend our sleep (often involuntarily due to sleep-related anxiety) — but, eventually, the body will take over and force us to sleep because sleep is a core biological mechanism.
If you go through a night of almost no sleep, followed by a night of sleep, then another night of almost no sleep, you would likely find a course of CBT for insomnia to be highly effective. That’s because the pattern you describe suggests that your arousal system is the cause of your sleep disruption — when you don’t sleep, sleep pressure becomes strong enough to overpower the arousal system and force sleep. However, when you then sleep, this sleep pressure becomes less powerful and the arousal system is, once again, able to take over and suspend sleep.
CBT for insomnia helps to reduce the power of your arousal system while strengthening the other two mechanisms of sleep — sleep pressure, and the sleep/wake cycle. Over time, the arousal system becomes weaker and this leads to fewer nights of disrupted 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.
Thanks for the talking-point, Daf. Many people with long-term sleep issues think about sleep far too much, and implement a list of behaviors in an attempt to control their sleep. Although this is completely understandable, it actually does nothing to improve sleep and usually only makes the problem worse.
Many of my clients tell me that one of the most important skills they learned after working with me was the ability to surrender to sleep — to recognize that they cannot control sleep and that thinking about sleep isn’t really constructive.
Mindfulness techniques can definitely help, but like any other form of relaxation, they require a lot of practice — because relaxation and mindfulness are skills. It’s important, therefore, to practice techniques such as mindfulness for a number of weeks before reaching any conclusions regarding their effectiveness.
—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, Alan. Anxiety is a common reason for sleep disruption, so it’s actually quite normal to experience sleep disruption during times of stress or worry. Is the issue that is causing your anxiety sleep-related? If so, you would likely benefit from cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia — and it’s always best to tackle this sooner rather than later because the longer you leave the anxiety unaddressed, the more entrenched it will become and the more difficult it will be to resolve.
—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, Morris. I’m glad to hear that you underwent a sleep study — although it’s understandably concerning to learn that you would stop breathing as many as 22 times in an hour during the night, this knowledge is empowering and you can now take steps to improve your sleep.
You mentioned that you cannot sleep with any apparatus on your body — have you given CPAP a try in the past? If so, how long ago was this and did you experiment with different types of masks? There are many different options and masks that can make it easier to sleep and are less obtrusive. Often, it’s a case of trial and error giving all the different options a try until you can find something that proves to be tolerable.
—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 right — it’s not really possible to go without any sleep for two weeks! I was trying to challenge the phrase in your original post that stated “I couldn’t sleep at all” because all-or-nothing thinking is very common among those of us with sleep issues and can further perpetuate the problem.
If you practiced sleep restriction and stimulus control correctly and without fail, every night (throughout the night) for two weeks, you should have seen some improvements. Can you tell me more about how you implemented these techniques?
Although this may not apply in your case, many people try these evidence-based techniques for a short period of time (or without absolute consistency) and when they do not see results they give up on them prematurely.
—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 Lindy and welcome to the forum. Are you saying that you spent two weeks on the couch every night and managed absolutely no sleep (0 minutes) during those two weeks?
—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 don’t need to stop taking medication in order to practice sleep restriction. Here are a few experiences from others who went “all-in” and committed to sleep restriction:
https://insomniacoach.com/forums/topic/you-can-do-it/
Good luck, and please let us know if you have any questions about the technique, John!
—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, cranktime — and thank you, kobalap for sharing some great tips and your own personal experience. That’s the aim of this forum — we are all here to support each other.
Have you ever had an overnight sleep study or discussed CBT for insomnia with your doctor, cranktime?
—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, sleepy_girl and I’m sorry to hear about your struggles with sleep. Are you currently taking any medications for your sleep? I am glad to hear you are currently seeing a therapist for help with your sleep and have no doubt that as long as you have a strong collaborative relationship with him or her, you will successfully improve your sleep for 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.
There is very little in the way of clinical evidence to support the idea that melatonin is an effective treatment for insomnia. More evidence exists to support its use as a way of countering jet lag.
It’s also worth adding that in the United States, melatonin is classified as a dietary supplement so there it is unregulated by the FDA. A 2017 study investigated the content of 30 commercial melatonin supplements. It found that melatonin content ranged from -83 percent to +478 percent of the labeled content.
A far better alternative is 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.
Hello Paris Paris. I’m sorry to hear about your struggles with sleep — can you tell us a bit more? How long have you been living with sleep issues? Why do you think you find it hard to fall asleep and/or stay asleep?
—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, sleepless executive — and thanks for the tips, kobalap!
You mentioned that you are dealing with calls up to around 10:00 pm or 11:00 pm. Therefore, it’s little surprise that you find your sleep being negatively affected by this! What is your daily work schedule? Do you start late in the day to compensate for the fact you work so late in the evening? Do you follow a regular work schedule?
Relaxation techniques can be helpful — but they do require a lot of practice. It’s usually best to practice during the day for a couple of weeks so you can become more skilled before trying them at night. What kind of relaxation techniques (if any) have you tried? Which have you found to be 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.
