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Welcome to the forum, Chezzy. Your story sounds very familiar and I am sure many people reading your post can relate.
Chronic insomnia tends to be triggered by a one-off event that leads to poor sleep (or simply by a random night of poor sleep). Bad nights are entirely normal and happen to even the best sleepers. Unfortunately, when we have a bad night of sleep it’s all too easy to then start worrying about our sleep.
This worry immediately makes sleep more difficult and makes it more likely that we will implement compensatory behaviors in a bid to improve our sleep (examples include going to bed earlier, staying in bed later, napping during the day, calling in sick to work, canceling plans, etc).
These compensatory behaviors then combine with the worry we have about sleep and make it even more difficult to sleep. As we continue to struggle with sleep, we then trigger a vicious cycle of ever-increasing worry and anxiety and ever-worse sleep.
Have you looked into any of the techniques that make up a typical course of CBT for insomnia? CBT-I is particularly effective at improving sleep in this situation since it addresses and corrects the thoughts and behaviors that are making sleep difficult.
—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, Chari. First of all, let me state that there is currently insufficient evidence that melatonin supplements are an effective method for treating or managing insomnia. More evidence exists to suggest that melatonin can help reduce the symptoms of jet lag — particularly when traveling in an easterly direction and when crossing more than five time zones. You can read more about melatonin supplements here:
https://www.healthcentral.com/article/melatonin-the-natural-sleeping-pill
https://www.healthcentral.com/article/understanding-melatonin-supplements
There is a very close relationship between insomnia and anxiety, with both feeding off one another. As sleep becomes worse, anxiety can increase — and, as anxiety increases, sleep tends to get progressively worse.
Has your doctor talked to you about cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia? From what you’ve shared, it sounds as though you may be a good candidate.
—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 wish I could answer your question in a simple forum post! First, I suggest reading more about cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia.
As a general overview, learn more about what ‘normal’ sleep is, how the sleep system works, and what disrupts the sleep system. Next, make sure you have an appropriate sleep schedule. Then, make sure you get out of bed when unable to sleep. Finally, practice relaxation techniques. Sleep hygiene can be helpful but it’s unlikely to fix insomnia. All these techniques take time (and often require a lot of support to help you stick with them).
I cover all these steps in a lot of detail in my insomnia coaching course (which also includes personalized, one-on-one feedback, advice, and support). As you know, sleeping pills are not a long-term solution 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 Sarah. On an average night, how many hours of sleep would you say you get? What time do you get into bed at night, and what time do you get out of bed in the morning to start your day?
—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.
Have you given any of the techniques used in CBT-I a try, Ting?
—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.
If you’re not sure whether or not you’re asleep, try sitting up in bed. If you are able to sit up in bed, you are awake. If you are unable to do so, you are 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.
Your symptoms are very common! It sounds as though you are waking in the early hours (which is completely normal and usually happens between sleep cycles) but as soon as you wake, you begin to worry about being awake.
Unfortunately, as soon as we worry about being awake (or sleep in general), we activate the arousal system and this immediately makes sleep more difficult. I would suggest removing the clocks from your bedroom as a first step. This will help prevent you from worrying about being awake by looking at the clock and becoming concerned that you need to be up soon to get ready for work. It will also reduce your natural inclination to ‘try’ to sleep (as soon as we try to sleep, we make sleep more difficult).
As next steps, I would encourage you to make sure you are giving yourself an appropriate sleep schedule, and that you get out of bed when you can’t sleep.
Has your wife ever told you that you snore or that there are pauses in your breathing during the night? Have you had an overnight sleep study?
—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 Wayne. Unfortunately, DSPS isn’t our specialty here.
The American Academy of Sleep Medicine suggests that bright light of at least 2,500 lux for two to three hours in the morning can help shift the sleep schedule to a more ‘socially acceptable’ schedule. Evening use of melatonin can also help — and some studies show that regular exercise and increased social interaction can help shift the circadian rhythm to the desired time (but the evidence is not as strong compared to that of bright light therapy and melatonin).
Unfortunately, I suspect this is nothing you haven’t already heard before.
—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 Jeff and welcome to the forum.
I’m a big fan of Dr. Jacobs’ work. In fact, I use a couple of his core beliefs in my insomnia coaching course — the half hour-half hour rule and the idea that we can generally get by with a minimum of five-and-a-half hours of ‘core sleep’ each night.
The thing about the half hour-half hour rule is it takes time to work, and it only works when practiced every single night, throughout the night. As soon as you skip a day (or stay in bed after getting in and out of bed three or four times during the night), you basically reset your ‘progress counter’ back to day one. So, stick with it!
In my course, I start by getting clients on an appropriate sleep schedule to help minimize the amount of time they spend awake during the night. I then introduce the half hour-half hour rule about a week later. Are you combining the half hour-half hour rule with an appropriate 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.
Which CBT-I techniques have you tried, Davy (and why do you think they didn’t work for you)?
—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.
Sleep restriction is an awful name. I don’t use it in my course because the term implies that it means less sleep. However, when implemented correctly, sleep restriction rarely leads to less time asleep! Instead, it reduces the amount of time spent in bed to more closely match the amount of time spent asleep.
The idea behind this is that by spending more time in bed asleep (rather than awake) you will learn to associate the bed with sleep rather than wakefulness. Over time, this makes the bed a strong trigger for sleep. In addition, by spending less time in bed awake, you will spend less time tossing and turning, feeling frustrated, and worrying about sleep — all of which make sleep more difficult.
—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.
Hi Chris — just thought I’d chime in here. If you average nightly sleep duration (averaged out over a week) is less than five hours, then you shouldn’t really be allotting more than around five-and-a-half hours for sleep. You should also be combining sleep restriction with stimulus control so you aren’t spending too much time in bed simply lying awake.
Remember that restricting the amount of time you allot for sleep is only temporary, and should be increased as your sleep improves over time.
Since you have epilepsy, you should only observe sleep restriction and stimulus control techniques with the approval of 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.
Here’s the thing about thoughts that intrude upon our sleep — we can’t force them away! As soon as we try to stop thinking about something, we’ll think about it! In addition, this is not a constructive use of time and effort because we are giving our minds a task (to stop thinking about something). We don’t want to be giving our mind a task when we are trying to sleep!
Relaxation techniques can help reduce the power of the thoughts that intrude upon sleep. However, relaxation is a skill and it takes quite a lot of practice (I recommend practicing relaxation during the day for a couple of weeks before trying it at night). Remember, too, that the ultimate goal of relaxation is relaxation — not sleep!
With practice, you will learn to accept intrusive thoughts as they enter your mind, but they will have far less power over you and will have far less of a damaging effect on 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.
Hello Davy and welcome to the forum.
What do you think is stopping you from sleeping at night? Do you try to observe a regular sleep schedule? Do you feel sleepy and tired when you get into bed 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.
Do you have a regular sleep schedule? Is there any pattern when it comes to the nights of good sleep and nights of bad 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.
