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If you don’t think that driving would be safe, it’s important not to drive.
People with chronic insomnia rarely fall asleep without warning during the day — they’re typically “tired but wired” during the day rather than excessively sleepy. That’s why we don’t usually hear of people with chronic insomnia falling asleep behind the wheel during the day.
If you choose not to drive for safety reasons, I would simply suggest ensuring that you continue to do things that reflect your values — that you commit to actions that keep you moving toward the life you want to live.
The more you do that, the less power and influence sleep/insomnia can have over your life.
—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.
As you have experienced, difficult nights come with being a human being — sometimes they can show up quite predictably and other times they seem to show up (and even stick around for a while) for no obvious reason.
What can fuel these difficult nights is how we respond to them. Quite often, when we respond by trying to get rid of them, by trying to make sleep happen, by trying to fight or avoid any of the difficult thoughts and feelings that come with them, we can end up struggling even more — and that, in turn, gives them more oxygen, more power, and more influence.
Before we know it, sleep and insomnia can become the focus of our lives, seem to control our actions and our feelings, and we get pulled further away from the life we want to live the more we try to get things back on track.
Your question is an interesting one. If you don’t feel motivated to practice the strategies you’ve been learning about when things are going well, perhaps it’s not important enough for you to practice them at that time — and there’s nothing wrong with that!
At the same time, when you are sleeping just fine and you are living the life you want to live, maybe there’s no need to practice or do anything different at all?
—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 Stacey 🙂
I know we have communicated separately on this, but for anyone else who might be reading I think you probably came up with the best tip all by yourself — some kind of movement.
When we are sedentary, it’s a lot easier (and more likely) that we’ll fall asleep compared to when we are physically moving. So, moving sitting locations if you want to watch TV can be helpful and, if you are someone who is less interested in watching TV at night then engaging in an activity or hobby that requires some form of movement can 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.
Welcome to the forum, Woody! Yes, kids seem to love interrupting our sleep 🙂
Short of giving your son up or having him sleep in another house, there are always going to be times when he wakes you up — that comes with parenting, right? Similarly, parenting comes with a whole load of difficult thoughts and feelings such as worry, anxiety, frustration, and maybe anger, too!
And we accept all that difficult stuff as part of being a parent. It comes with the job — a job that is massively enriching and meaningful.
Sometimes, what can make falling back to sleep more difficult are all our attempts to fall back to sleep. In other words, the more we try, the more we can struggle.
Have you tried reframing your goal once you’ve settled your son as rest, rather than sleep? Perhaps that might help you relieve some of the pressure you might be putting on yourself to make sleep happen and help you move away from putting effort into falling back to sleep — all things that can 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.
It sounds as though things are really difficult for you right now. Please be kind to yourself during this difficult time. You aren’t alone.
—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 definitely aren’t alone — just as you discovered by listening to the podcast!
It sounds as though you are keen to explore an alternative approach to medication — and there is an alternative approach to medication that rests on moving away from (understandably!) trying to make a certain amount or type of sleep and from trying to fight or avoid the difficult thoughts and feelings that often come with insomnia.
As your experience seems to tell you, the more effort you put into sleep the more of a struggle it seems to create. What might things be like without that struggle?
—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 no evidence that insomnia causes any health problem whatsoever. If you want to take a nap for 20-30 minutes, why not take a nap?
A nap taken later in the day might slightly reduce your sleep drive for nighttime sleep, but perhaps that’s a tradeoff you are willing to make?
If it’s not, perhaps some kind of movement and physical activity (especially actions that are aligned with your values and interests) might help you get through that afternoon slump while also keeping you moving toward the life you want to live?
If you are concerned about morning nausea, I would suggest talking to your doctor. We can experience a lot of difficult and uncomfortable feelings after a night of struggle.
I hope there’s something useful here. You are not alone and I wish you all the best.
—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.
It sounds as though medication and supplements aren’t really getting you closer to where you want to be over the long term. As for how to get your natural sleep back, if you recall the past when you were sleeping really well, what were you doing to make that great sleep 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.
Waking during the night is a normal part of sleep — struggling to fall back to sleep can often come from all our attempts to fall back to sleep. In other words, the more we try, the more we can find ourselves struggling.
—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.
Those mornings sound like a real gift!
If you regularly feel sleepy close to the start of your sleep window, you might want to try making the hour before it begins that last time you check the time and then head off to bed whenever sleepiness shows up. This gives you the opportunity to generate more sleep if conditions feel right for more sleep to happen.
Ups and downs are all part of the journey. An ongoing commitment to workable action is what matters. Action is hard. Action is within your control. Every time you take meaningful and workable action, you are making progress.
I appreciate your kind words — you are doing all the work, so I hope you give yourself all the credit for what you are learning, what you are doing, and what you are experiencing!
—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 sharing your awareness that the NOW exercise (or any other exercise for that matter) isn’t intended to (and cannot) make sleep happen. The goal of the NOW exercise is to help you refocus on the present so you can better do what matters to you — even in the presence of difficult or distracting thoughts and feelings.
Good on you for taking action and getting the practice in!
—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.
Staying in bed can be more restful compared to getting out of bed — as a result, you might not feel as fatigued the next day. Have you tried getting in any practice with the AWAKE exercise during any difficult periods of wakefulness?
—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 am so glad to hear you are proud of the fact you still went out with your running group after 2 nights of very little sleep. That’s not easy to do — and your commitment to that action kept you moving toward the life you want to live, independently of sleep!
The alternative, doing less and withdrawing from life, is an easier choice to make (and is probably a response we are hard-wired to make). Yet, it rarely makes us feel a whole lot better, rarely improves our sleep, doesn’t usually give us — or get rid of — the thoughts and feelings we want or don’t want, and it pulls away from the life we want to live.
It sounds as though your practice of the 3 good things exercise is expanding the focus of your attention and helping you notice more of the good stuff around you, even when difficult stuff might also be present.
The AWAKE exercise can help ease anxiety but that’s not really its intention. Its intent is to help you build skill in experiencing anxiety (and other difficult thoughts and feelings) with less struggle. To be more of an observer rather than an opponent. It’s a skill and, just as you said, it requires ongoing practice!
You are clearly committing to workable action that is shifting your focus away from sleep and toward actions that reflect who you are and who you want to be. For as long as you do that, sleep loses its power and influence over your life. And, when it loses its power and influence you are less likely to get involved in the process of sleep and so sleep is better able to take care of itself!
Thank you, too, for the update that you got 7 hours of sleep. As you shared, this proves that your body is capable of generating great sleep all by itself 🙂
—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 committed to meaningful and workable action — and every time you do that, you are making progress. And, for as long as you are learning, you are making progress.
Have you tried playing around with the NOW exercise during the day to help you refocus when your problem-solving brain seems to be pulling you away from where you are and what you are doing?
—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 can do whatever you like during your buffer zone — it’s a time for you and nobody else 🙂
The only thing to be mindful of is the intent behind your actions because if you engage in actions or activities with the goal of making sleep happen you can set yourself up for a struggle!
—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.
