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I'm a big believer in yoga as a tool for improving sleep. Good luck with 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.
You seem to be exploring a lot of options. Any reason why you haven't given CBT a try?
—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.
Are you referring to mindfulness sessions? They're typically done whenever needed – if you need help calming the mind and returning your focus inwards when you go to bed at night, then give them a try then.
I don't like sleep trackers – particularly when people with sleep disturbances use them because I think they can make sleep worse. You can read more about my thoughts on this subject 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.
Mindfulness definitely takes a lot of practice but it's worth persevering with. Don't give up – I have worked with people who have suffered from insomnia for years (decades, even) and they have managed to improve their 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.
Acceptance therapy can certainly be helpful since it helps prevent overreactions to negative thoughts and feelings. CBT tends to have a number of additional components that not only help address (and prevent) the negative thoughts and feelings associated with insomnia, but also teach you behavioral changes you can make that will improve your sleep.
I don't think the two options should be seen as competing or even seperate options. Both are helpful and both can improve sleep. Here's a good study that investigates mindfulness, acceptance, and cognitive and behavioral techniques:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3466342/
A couple of takeaways from that study:
“It has been suggested elsewhere that mindfulness and acceptance-based approaches are compatible with CBT and should be considered under the family of CBT rather than a new wave of treatments”
“There is overlap between these two approaches and studies comparing the differences between MCTI (mindfulness and acceptance-based therapies) and CBTI can aid in further specifying the common and unique elements. It is unclear if MCTIs should be delivered independent of other techniques or if they can be combined or integrated with existing approaches”
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.
Again, what you describe is quite normal. Many people with sleep issues find they can fall asleep OK, but when they wake during the night they feel it's almost impossible to fall back to sleep. This is where those cognitive and behavioral techniques can really 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.
Welcome to the forum. Worry and anxiety about sleep are perhaps the biggest causes of insomnia, but the good news is these issues can be addressed. The sooner you tackle this head-on, the easier it is to rediscover sleep. Have you looked into cognitive and behavioral techniques for improving sleep? CBT is widely recognized as the best first-line treatment for insomnia. It is likely the best option for you because it tackles the thoughts (cognitive) and behaviors (behavioral) obstacles that are interfering with your sleep (my advanced sleep training course uses CBT techniques to improve sleep and graduates get great results).
You do not need to resort to sleeping pills. Sleeping pills do not cure insomnia – they often just sedate you. They may be helpful for the short-term, but should never be relied upon as a long-term solution. Try to focus on the positive aspects of your sleep rather than the negative – for example, think about the night when you managed to fall asleep more often than the nights when sleep is difficult. Don't put pressure on yourself to sleep. When you go to bed, tell yourself that you're simply going to relax and see what happens.
—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.
How are you getting on, Ruth? All times by default are GMT. You can change your timezone in your settings here:
http://www.insomnialand.com/forum/index.php?app=core&module=usercp
—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.
A belated welcome to the forum, Jim. I'd not heard of Phenibut before. Are you still taking the Baclofen?
—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 you both. I hope you find the forums useful. Be sure to browse the Insomnia Help section and create new posts/questions or respond to existing ones. The more you put into the community, the more you will each get out of the community.
—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 doing a lot of things right; for example, mindfulness, ACT, and sleep hygiene. How is your sleep doing now? If you are allotting 8 hours for sleep, I would expect you to be getting 7 hours of sleep each night. If that's not the case, you may be spending too much time in bed – and this can lead to more frustration and anxiety, making 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.
Welcome to the forum, Caroline. When you wake during the night, what do you think is stopping you from falling back to sleep? Do you find your mind is really active? What do you think about?
—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 lack of insomnia specialists is extremely frustrating – and having someone tell you simply not to think about your insomnia is both condescending and unconstructive. Changing negative sleep thoughts into positive sleep thoughts is part of most successful and effective insomnia therapies – but it certainly shouldn't be the central theme. What time do you typically go to bed and when do you typically get out of bed on weeknights? How many hours of sleep do you get on an average weeknight?
—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.
That is a great 'positive sleep thought' you have by your bed. Here are a few more you can use:
- I'm probably getting more sleep than I think I am
- Since I have survived nights of insomnia before, I can do it again
- If I didn't sleep well last night, I am more likely to sleep well tonight due to a biological pressure to recover my core sleep
- In most cases, the worst thing that may happen if I don't sleep well is that my mood will be impaired during the day
- It is normal to initially feel alert if I awaken at the beginning or end of dream; drowsiness will soon follow
- My functioning will improve during the day as my body temperature rises
Using ‘mini-relaxations’ – otherwise known as ‘minis’ – can also help you stay calm and reduce worry during the day. They involve a brief body scan and abdominal breathing and can be practiced with the eyes open or closed, while standing or sitting.
I’ll lead you through an example of a mini:
Begin by closing your eyes and taking a few moments to relax your legs, arms, upper body, and face.
Now focus on abdominal breathing for a few moments.
With each out-breath, you may want to focus on a word or phrase.
Continue that for a few moments.
Now, open your eyes.
Practicing a mini is easy; remembering to practice one is more difficult! Effective reminders are cues such as red stoplights, reminders on refrigerators or mirrors, or a piece of colored tape on a watch face. Stressful situations such as standing in lines or being placed ‘on hold’ on the telephone are also good times to practice minis.
—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.
A belated welcome to the forum. What is it about your husband's drinking that you feel disturbs your sleep? Do you feel anxiety/fear/concern/anger about his drinking, or is it more to do with him tossing and turning in bed, perhaps snoring, and making it harder for you to sleep? It may be helfpul to sleep in a separate room during these nights. As for health-related worries and anxiety about sleep – have you looked into CBT for insomnia? This treatment is particularly effective at dealing with such thoughts.
—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.
