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Hello @sahoosibu — and thank you, @rswan15 for offering your support and sharing your experience!
It sounds as though you want to implement a sleep window @sagoosibu — have you managed to get that started yet? If so, what time does it start and what time does it end and how did you choose those times?
As you’ve shared, struggling with sleep can be very painful. The more we try, the more difficult it seems to become, right? What might be things like if that struggle didn’t exist? If wakefulness felt more comfortable and didn’t pull you into an exhausting battle?
—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 love the empathy and support here — thank you to everyone who has contributed (and who might still contribute)!
To answer your question, Elkie — for me, there were a couple of nights where it felt as though absolutely no sleep happened but they were quite rare. Usually, some kind of sleep happened (even if it only felt like an hour or so).
Your trip to Luxembourg sounds fabulous. I feel quite confident that, 100 years from now, you’ll be remembering everything you experienced on that trip rather than recalling how you slept the night before (or during) the trip 🙂
—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 feel like a bit of an intruder amongst so much wisdom here!
My contribution for something I’ve personally found to be important and helpful is noticing whenever I find myself doing something in an attempt to control what my experience tells me cannot be controlled.
When I notice this happening (which, in itself, often takes a lot of practice) I can then change course and act in a different, more workable way (while also being kind to myself).
—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.
Thank you so much for sharing, Chris!
You’ll probably always care about things you consider important! So, trying to “not care” might set you up for a bit of a struggle.
It’s probably not going to be too helpful to really focus a lot of attention on your sleep window — at the end of the day it is merely a single tool that is intended to help you move away from chasing after sleep. Nothing more, nothing less.
What is it about the sleep window, specifically, that you are finding difficult? Can you think of anything you might be able to do to make it a bit easier or more realistic to implement (if you think a sleep window might 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.
Thanks for your contribution, Chris. If the duration of your nighttime awakenings was to diminish, what would you be doing differently with 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.
Hello Alex and welcome aboard. You are not alone.
What you are going through is really difficult and it is not unique or unusual. It sounds as though you’ve followed the well-trodden path of experiencing sleep disruption for some clear reasons and, as you have understandably tried to fix things you have accidentally ended up providing insomnia with the fuel it needs to stick around.
The thing about sleep is, the more effort we put into it, the more difficult and elusive it can become. The more we try to make sleep happen, the more pressure we put on ourselves to sleep, the more we try to get rid of wakefulness, the more we try to fight or avoid all the difficult thoughts and feelings that often come with insomnia, the more we can end up struggling.
And, when we add struggle on top of all this stuff, it can all get even more difficult.
This will all be explored in a lot more detail as you work through the course — and there’s plenty of support available here in the client forum as you work through it (as demonstrated by Bea)!
—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.
Yes, I definitely still have nights of less sleep from time to time — that’s natural and normal! Nights of very little sleep are quite rare for me and, when they happen, they don’t have a whole lot of influence over me since I feel that I am able to respond to wakefulness when it shows up in a workable way.
In short, I don’t try to get rid of wakefulness. I allow it to hang out for as long as it chooses. And I refocus my attention each day on doing things that matter, independently of sleep.
With that being said, it’s important to note I have had many years to practice an approach that doesn’t pull me into a struggle — and, I am a unique individual, as are you. So, comparing yourself to me (or others) might not always be helpful 🙂
You might find it useful to compare how you respond to difficult nights with how you respond to difficult days — when you have a difficult day (especially after a stretch of really good days), do you try to figure out what to do next?
Do you think about watching more/less TV or experimenting with your TV watching routine? Do you experiment with different activities that you might not really want to do or have that much interest in, but still experiment with them because you are trying so hard to stop difficult days from ever happening again? Do you end up focusing so much on trying to figure out how to fight or avoid difficult days?
If there is a difference between how you respond to difficult days and difficult nights, why do you think that might be? And, is there a possibility that a difference in your response might be making things more difficult?
I hope there’s something useful 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.
Yes, the AWAKE exercise can be hard and require a lot of effort — especially at first, since it is a new skill.
You mentioned that practicing the AWAKE exercise makes the anxiety in your stomach unbearable — is there an alternative approach that permanently deletes that anxiety so it never comes back?
It’s entirely possible to sleep, even in the presence of fear and anxiety. If we engage in a battle with those things, sleep can become a lot more difficult — because, after all, how many people fall asleep when they’re engaged in a battle?
With all this in mind, what do you feel a workable approach to all this difficult stuff might be? What does your experience tell 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.
As difficult as it can be, it sounds as though you received a reminder that there’s no way to directly or permanently control what your mind does, or how you sleep.
Anxiety comes and goes, because it’s a natural and normal human emotion. It’s often when we try to fight or avoid certain thoughts and feelings that we end up getting tangled up in a struggle that makes them so much more difficult.
It makes sense that your problem-solving mind is now trying to figure out why this happened. The reason why it happened is because, as human beings, we sometimes have difficult thoughts and feelings and we sometimes have difficult nights (including nights of zero sleep). Just as we sometimes have difficult days. There’s no way to prevent these from happening.
What matters is how we respond. Do we engage in a struggle, trying to control what our experience tells us cannot be controlled? Do we direct all our attention, focus, and energy towards trying to figure out something that cannot be controlled through effort?
Or do we practice acknowledging what’s going on, being kind to ourselves in return, and continuing to do things that keep us moving toward the life we want to live — even when difficult nights happen and even when difficult thoughts and feelings show up?
—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.
Great to hear you’re still going out and doing things that matter, even when things feel difficult!
Remember that a sleep window isn’t intended to control sleep or make a certain amount or type of sleep happen. It’s simply one tool that can help you move away from chasing after sleep — doing things like going to bed earlier or staying in bed later in an attempt to make more sleep happen.
So, with that in mind, going to bed 30 minutes earlier than normal might mean waking 30 minutes earlier than normal — but it might not.
Something else to consider here might be that after making a change, it can take time to adapt to the change. So, I’d encourage you to be kind to yourself and allow yourself to adapt 🙂
What might be more important is how you respond to waking. Do you engage in a struggle, trying to get rid of it? Or, do you practice allowing it — and any thoughts and feelings that might come with it — to exist? Do you toss and turn, trying to sleep, or do you allow yourself to rest instead?
It sounds as though you’re practicing experiencing wakefulness with less struggle by practicing the AWAKE exercise — which is probably more workable than any alternative option!
Of course, it would be great to feel rested each and every day and to get 7-7.5 hours of sleep every night, right? If I could tell you the secret to making that happen, I would!
As your experience tells you, that stuff can’t be controlled. Trying to control what cannot be controlled only creates a struggle that makes things more difficult. So, it can be helpful to refocus attention on what can be controlled — doing things that matter, even when you don’t feel rested and even when you don’t get 7-7.5 hours of sleep.
And, don’t forget to be kind to yourself when things feel difficult, too.
—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 the word is getting out there! I was in a hotel a few months ago when someone recognized me from my YouTube channel and introduced themselves! I’ll have to start preprinting some autographed photos soon 😉
On a more serious note, welcome to the forum and thank you for sharing how you found Insomnia Coach. I also appreciate the recommendations. Thank 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 can be difficult, depending on how it’s implemented and depending on our intent when we implement it!
Can you tell us a bit more about how you are implementing sleep restriction and what your goals are with it? How long is your sleep window? What time does it start and end? How did you choose those times?
Finally, could you share why you are finding it so hard to observe a sleep window? What is it, specifically, about the sleep window you’ve chosen that’s proving to be so hard?
—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 mom’s stroke and I wish her all the best.
Difficult nights from time to time are all part of being a human being — just as difficult days from time to time are normal and to be expected, too.
Do you think it’s possible that all your attempts to shut your mind off might be making your mind work harder and, in turn, be making things 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. You are not alone.
What you are going through is difficult and it is not unique or unusual. Those fears and thoughts are completely understandable, they are legitimate, and I think they are quite normal in the circumstances, too!
All those thoughts and stories are coming from a good place — your mind, doing its job and looking out for you (thanks, brain!).
As for how to stop thinking upon command, if you ever come up with the solution to that I think you’d become a billionaire! If your experience tells you that trying to fight or avoid certain thoughts and feelings doesn’t work — that they always come back anyway — perhaps that approach is making things more difficult.
What you are going through is hard so I would encourage you to be kind to yourself, and to consider whether an alternative approach might be helpful if your current approach to all this difficult stuff isn’t getting you any closer to where you want to be.
I hope there’s something useful 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.
Great stuff here — thank you for sharing these fantastic insights with us!
—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.
