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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.
Hello Darin
How is your sleep at the present time? If you generally sleep just fine, then you probably don’t need to worry too much about getting out of bed at 4:30 am after a late night. If you are struggling with sleep, it’s best to make sure you are following a relatively predictable sleep schedule.
Does this help?
—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 Lucia and welcome to the forum. Let me first reassure you that it’s completely normal for sleep to be disrupted after a late night — particularly when these late nights involve partying, perhaps the consumption of alcohol, and socializing with friends.
Not only do these occasions throw off our sleep/wake cycle, but they are also quite stimulating — so even though we feel tired by the end of the party, we may not be calm enough for sleep.
Although possible, it’s unlikely that your loss of appetite is a result of the sleep disruption you faced after your party. If you are still concerned about this, I would suggest speaking with your doctor.
At this point, you would likely benefit from observing a regular sleep schedule and getting out of bed when unable to sleep. These techniques will help you avoid compensatory behaviors that risk making your sleep problems more entrenched over 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.
You don’t want to go to bed until you feel sleepy and ready for sleep. If you go to bed earlier, you will be setting yourself up to spend more time in bed awake.
Think of it this way, if dinner will not be served until 6:00 pm, would you sit at the table ready to eat at 4:00 pm?
—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 again, impendia. I would suggest making sure that you are out of bed by the same time every morning. If you wake before this time and feel you won’t be able to get more sleep, by all means, get started with your day. However, if you are keeping a regular bedtime, then on mornings when you sleep relatively late, sleep pressure may not have enough time to build during the day and this could lead to difficulties falling asleep and staying asleep that night.
Eddy: If you have averaged between six and seven hours of sleep for the past two years, that may be all that your body wants or is capable of. The thing is, we can’t actually control sleep duration — so trying to sleep for a certain amount of time is an endeavor that will only ever lead to failure. The best thing we can do is ensure we are setting the stage for sleep to give ourselves the best opportunity for sleep. Sleep quality is usually thought of as being more important than sleep quantity. Do you follow a regular sleep schedule?
—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, Pam. First of all, please try to avoid going online during the night when you are unable to sleep. Using a computer/phone/tablet/laptop, etc stimulates the mind and tells it that it’s time to be awake, rather than asleep. Furthermore, the light emitted by these devices can suppress melatonin, an important sleep hormone that helps regulate your sleep/wake cycle.
Hormonal changes can definitely have a negative impact on sleep. The key to preventing these problems from becoming entrenched is to work at not implementing compensatory behaviors such as going to bed earlier, staying in bed later, canceling plans with friends, calling in sick to work, etc — because these actually end up making sleep worse.
As sleep becomes worse, we worry about sleep even more and this triggers a vicious cycle of ever-worsening sleep and ever-increasing worry.
—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.
No wonder you have developed an anxiety around sleep when your nerve pain flares up. If you are tossing and turning for an hour or two when in bed, then it’s usually a sign that you aren’t ready for sleep at that moment — so the best course of action is typically to get out of bed.
What time do you typically go to bed at night, when do you get out of bed in the morning, and how many hours of sleep do you usually get each 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.
Glad to have you here, Daf! We are all here to support one another — so when you are ready, please share your experience 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.
