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I’m glad to see that sleep restriction has been beneficial as it can seem counterintuitive to some people. Keep in mind that we’re all humans and will have an occasional rough night of sleep so don’t beat yourself up. You’re taking a huge step forward toward helping yourself by implementing these CBT-I techniques and are seeing positive results. If you’re relaxed and not experiencing anxious thoughts or frustrations while you lie in bed, you can remain in bed and relax. It’s when you begin to have ruminating thoughts about your sleep that you’ll want to consider removing yourself from bed and engage in something more enjoyable. You don’t want to create that association between your bed and wakefulness/anxiousness which is the purpose of getting out of bed. I’d also recommend that you not watch the clock figuring out if it’s been 15/30 minutes to get out of bed and 30 mins to return to bed. Instead, go by how you feel – if you feel anxious and don’t think you’ll go back to sleep within a few minutes, get out of bed. If you feel sleepy while listening to a podcast on the couch, return to bed.
How have you been doing with changing how you manage your thoughts as we discussed above? Have you experienced any traction with that?
Hope that helps,
Scott J—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.
To elaborate some on @MelH89 response. Thoughts are simply that – just thoughts, words in our head. They come and go all day and night and most of them are very unhelpful. Since we’re not able to really control our thoughts, have you considered changing your relationship you have with them or how you approach them when they arrive? For example, when you experience a “what if” thought – “what if I don’t sleep tonight?” – instead of implementing tactics to avoid or chase off the thought, how about embrace it with “Oh, there’s that thought about my sleep again” and then re-engage in the activity you in when it arrived. Thoughts don’t hurt us, but our actions towards them can. Modify how you manage them when they arrive and I think you’ll see they begin to lessen their sting.
Hope that helps,
Scott J—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.
Sonya,
Congratulations on the newborn (over 1yr old now!). As you experienced, sleep hygiene alone aren’t helpful enough to overcome your sleep issue because they can sometimes highlight the sleep issue and if you’re using them as sleep strategies and they don’t work, then your sleep related anxiety tends to worsen. CBT-I techniques are helpful because they address the root cause of your sleep disruption – the thoughts and behaviors about our sleep. It’s no surprise to see that Martin’s emails have been beneficial for you. Keep up the momentum!
Scott J
—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 Galesa,
Sleep hygiene alone probably won’t be very beneficial for chronic insomnia. If you implement a sleep hygiene tactic and it doesn’t work, then you begin to have more anxiety about your sleep.
In addition, sometimes we implement sleep hygiene as sleep strategies and that also highlights the sleep issue you’re experiencing. On the other hand, CBT-I techniques are helpful because they address the thoughts and behaviors that perpetuate your sleep disruption and that’s something sleep hygiene can’t do by itself. What do you think is causing you not to fall asleep?Scott J
—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 Betty,
The good news is that you can and will sleep, you don’t lose that ability. What is it about the idea of getting very little sleep that seems to generate anxiety? Can you describe more about your sleep habits – What time do you go to bed, when do you start your day, and how many hours of sleep would you say you get on an average night? Do you take naps during the day or do you remain engaged in activities? Do you worry about sleep during the day or only when bedtime approaches?
Scott J
—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.
Excellent! Progress is still progress!
Scott J
—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’s not uncommon for people to wake multiple, albeit brief, times during the night, especially when you shift from one sleeping phase to the next. Do you find yourself feeling anxious about waking up when you experience these awakenings? How much sleep we need actually reduces as we get older and the the best gauge for how much sleep you need is how you feel the following day. How is losing that extra hour now affecting your day?
Scott J
—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 feelings and thoughts were easy to control, we’d all be happy, all the time. We have much less control over our anxious thoughts than we would like, however, we do have a lot of control over our actions toward them. Trying to get rid of or avoid unpleasant thoughts about our sleep creates more anxiety and perpetuates our sleep issue. Instead of trying to control your thoughts, it’s much wiser if you change your relationship with them. Thoughts are usually unhelpful stories and only become a problem when you begin to believe in them. If you determine a thought to be unhelpful/negative, accept it when it arrives by saying, “oh, there’s that thought about my sleep again” and continue engaging in the activity you were doing when it arrived. Acknowledge it and move on. Remember, thoughts are simply – thoughts and you can’t believe everything you think.
Hope that helps,
Scott J
—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.
Jaycee,
What time do you usually go to bed at night, when do you get out of bed to start your day in the morning, and how many hours of sleep would you say you get on an average night?
Scott J
—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’s not uncommon for someone to have some disrupted sleep when a stressful life event occurs but sleep usually restores to normal once the event passes. When we begin to change our thoughts and behaviors about our sleep, our anxiety tends to worsen and it perpetuates our sleep issue. It doesn’t matter if anxiety or insomnia came first, you create a vicious cycle that both feed off each other. Worrying about sleep usually makes sleep more difficult and this can then lead to more worry. What is going through your mind when you begin thinking about sleep and is it usually heightened around bedtime?
Scott J
—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, welcome and sorry to hear of your relapse. Are you currently experiencing any roadblocks with the CBT-I techniques you’re exploring now? Are you able to pinpoint what you did 10 years ago that made the most impact to restoring your sleep and have you revisited that with any luck? There are a lot of success stories on this forum from those who’ve implemented CBT-I and I encourage you to review some of those as I think you’ll find some consistency in their messages.
Scott J
—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! If you’re lying in bed and experience heightened arousal about sleep it’s typically considered conditioned arousal. For example, conditioned arousal can appear if you’re sleepy while watching tv and then become awake as you lie down in bed. Your mind has created an association between your bed/bedtime and anxiety. If you don’t believe it’s anxiety about falling asleep, what do you think it is? Do you think that getting out of bed when you begin having these sensations and engaging in something more enjoyable would be a better option than continuing to lie in bed frustrated?
Scott J
—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.
Excellent summation of your success story, especially pinpointing how anxiety plays such a role in achieving sound sleep. Thanks for sharing and good luck on continued success.
Scott J
—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.
Based on our conversation in another thread – https://insomniacoach.com/forums/topic/trying-this-on-my-own/ – have you considered implementing some of the ideas shared during that conversation?
What are your thoughts about shifting your sleep window from 130/2 – 730am since you want to wake and start your day at 730 instead of 530am?
Are you still lying down after breakfast for 10-15 mins for “rest”?
Are you having anxiety about your sleep issue at bedtime that could be causing you to suddenly feel awake when you lie down?
If you’re consistently implementing CBT-I techniques, the only way you’d regress is if you completely abandon the techniques. I strongly believe that if you remain committed to the techniques and have patience, you’ll see positive results.
Hope this helps,
Scott J—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, welcome to the forum! Do you have any questions for us, @KarenMiller123?
Scott J
—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.
