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Ah, I see you were a client of my previous course that was available before it was relaunched as Insomnia Coach. I believe you had difficulty filling out the sleep diary because you don’t have Word installed on your computer. As a result, it looks as though you stopped following the course after Week 2.
As I mentioned, you do not need to use the template files to progress through the course — all you need to do is write down the information that I ask to be recorded. You can then manually type the information in through the client area (or simply take a photo of the information and upload it).
I want to get you back on track, so please contact me directly and we’ll get this figured out.
—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 enroll as a client, I will help you create a sleep window and modify it as you progress (no calculations needed!). In the meantime, there are calculators you can use on the sleep restriction resource page.
—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 how to judge when you’ve been awake for 30 minutes. Simply use your best estimate! You may not be 100%, but you’ll likely be close, and that’s good enough.
—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.
One point it’s important to emphasize here is that reducing the amount of time allotted for sleep down to just 5.5 hours is only temporary and will be increased as sleep improves. Yes, it’s a really tough slog to get through but this will not be a permanent situation.
—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. Can you give us a better idea of a typical night? When do you go to bed, when do you get out of bed, and roughly how many hours of sleep do you get on a typical 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.
I have never heard of dream journaling as a component of evidence-based CBT-I. Please be careful about online resources — make sure they are from qualified sources so you don’t try something that could make your sleep worse.
Sleep restriction needs to be followed correctly and consistently in order for it to work. However, it does work. Relaxation techniques should be included in any legitimate course that uses CBT-I techniques (like my own insomnia coaching course).
I think you should talk to your GP about CBT-I. Perhaps he or she can refer you to a CBT-I practitioner.
—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 should base the amount of time you allot for sleep on your nightly sleep duration averaged over the course of at least one week.
I’m glad to hear you are seeing a lot of improvement — you should be encouraged by your progress. Of course, it will take time for improvements to become more consistent. As long as you keep up the effort, that will happen.
—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, jazzcat22. I hear you when you mention how frustrating (and sometimes amusing) it is to hear people complain about sleep when they only miss an hour here or there! I’m also glad to hear that your husband’s tumor was benign and that he’ll be OK. That must be a huge relief.
If you want to give sleep restriction a try (and you are averaging less than five hours of sleep each night), you should try allotting five-and-a-half hours for sleep.
When you have decided upon a ‘sleep window’, here are a couple of things to bear in mind:
1. The start of your sleep window is the earliest time you can go to bed. If you don’t feel sleepy when your sleep window begins, you shouldn’t go to bed until you do feel sleepy.
2. No matter how good (or how badly) you sleep, you should always be out of bed by the end of your sleep window every single day.
If you find that you always get sleepy at the same time each night (for example, around 11.30pm) then you should think about using that time as the start of your regular sleep window.
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, Joyadnil. Here’s the thing about ‘sleep hygiene‘ — it’s not an effective treatment for insomnia! Although observing good sleep hygiene is always a good idea, it’s unlikely to fix long-term, chronic insomnia.
What kind of CBT are you currently taking? Is it online or in-person? Is it general CBT, or are you taking CBT-I (which uses techniques specifically designed to address insomnia and improve 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.
Ugh, that must be so frustrating. I am sorry to hear about your 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.
Shift work is not recommended since it has a negative effect on sleep — particularly if your shifts change regularly. In addition, the best treatment option for insomnia (CBT-I) includes techniques that you will not be able to follow if you work shifts.
It’s rarely beneficial to quit work, cancel plans with friends, or make any major adjustments to your life in a bid to improve sleep. In fact, such actions can often make sleep issues worse.
Can you remember any times when you were able to function reasonably well during the day despite having slept poorly the previous night? If so, you can see that your level of functioning and daytime performance is not totally dependent on the quality of your sleep. The more you worry about these daytime impairments, the greater the chance they will affect your sleep the next night.
Think of it this way — were there ever any times when you forced yourself to go out and see friends or go to work after a bad night of sleep? Did you manage to get through the day? Perhaps you even had fun or noticed a few positive moments? Yes, it was likely very difficult — but you got through it and may have enjoyed glimpses of positivity in your day.
Compare this to when you sit at home instead. It’s unlikely you have any moments of fun or positivity then, simply because you are not giving yourself the opportunity to have any moments of fun or positivity.
When we rearrange our lives to accommodate our sleep, insomnia can only ever have a bad outcome. In addition, there is no way of knowing what may have happened if you had gone to work or stuck to your intended plans. You might have had a bad day, but you might have had a good day. However, by trying to accommodate your sleep issues (by calling in sick, quitting work, canceling plans, etc), the only thing you learn is that insomnia leads to negative outcomes.
In addition, these actions increase the likelihood if insomnia persisting long-term. That’s because when you’re at home trying to compensate for lost sleep (or worrying about your sleep), you are less likely to be physically active, you are more inclined to nap, more likely to think about sleep, and more likely to go to bed earlier and spend more time awake in bed. All these behaviors are almost certain to make sleep issues worse — yet they were all done with the intention of trying to feel better or trying to improve 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.
Welcome to the forum, Maryanna. Menopausal insomnia has been discussed on the forum before. You mention that you have been to CB therapy. Are you referring to cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia? Tell us more about that — was it online or face-to-face? How long did you try it for? Why do you think it 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.
I’m glad to hear you are giving cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) a try, Debbie — I am sure you will find it helpful. It should certainly help reduce the negative effect of hyperarousal on sleep.
Are you seeing a therapist face-to-face? Are you going through CBT for insomnia (CBT-I), or generalized CBT? If you are struggling with sleep issues caused by insomnia, it’s important to pursue techniques specific to 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.
Anxiety is very common among individuals with sleep issues. One reason why CBT for insomnia is so helpful is that it reduces the power of anxiety while strengthening the body’s natural urge to sleep. You have mentioned that you tried CBT; did you see a therapist face-to-face? Why do you think it 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.
The reason I asked the questions I did was to determine if perhaps you may be experiencing delayed sleep phase syndrome. That doesn’t seem to be the case.
It sounds as though you are putting a lot of importance on falling asleep by 1:00 am at the latest. Putting pressure on yourself to fall asleep by a certain time (or simply trying to force sleep) immediately makes sleep more difficult because it activates the arousal system, and this can override the body’s natural sleep mechanisms (such as sleep pressure/drive and the natural sleep/wake cycle).
Trying to sleep is a fruitless exercise because, put simply, we cannot sleep on command. When we try to do this, we not only activate the arousal system, but we also keep the mind active so it can keep checking on whether or not we’ve fallen asleep. Unfortunately, this tends to keep us awake — but, if we do fall asleep, when the brain suddenly realizes the body is sleeping it might jerk as awake to tell us!
I completely understand your desire to get at least seven hours of sleep, particularly since you have a severe lung infection. It’s worth repeating however, that just as we can’t force ourselves to fall asleep, we can’t force ourselves to get a certain amount of sleep. So, putting pressure on yourself to get a certain amount of sleep can also make sleep more difficult.
When you get into bed and are unable to sleep, how long do you wait before getting out of bed? Have you tried any of the techniques (such as the half hour-half hour rule) described on the stimulus control page?
—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.
