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Hey @yurky67 –
Welcome to the forum and thanks for your post!
I’m glad to see you’re finding some relief with relaxing music and breathing exercises and I encourage you to continue using those tools. Multiple middle of the night awakenings aren’t uncommon. The difference between those who roll over and go back to sleep and those who experience insomnia is our thoughts toward the awakening. When we begin to worry about falling back to sleep, our arousal system can override our sleep drive causing us to remain awake for extended periods of time. When you aren’t able to fall asleep, do you continue to lie in bed or do you get out of bed and do something more pleasurable?
What time do you go to bed and when do you get out of bed to start your day in the mornings? On average, how many hours of sleep do you achieve each 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.
@Dom21 –
There’s no study that I’m aware of that has found exercising after a restless night being consequential to your health. I do believe that not exercising the following day could be counterintuitive because when you begin to change your daily activities because of insomnia you really highlight your concern. When I experienced insomnia, it was easy for me to cancel my socials after work, I quit working out and I did everything to conserve energy but I noticed that by making those changes, I began to think more about insomnia and spent hours researching it online. It’s only when I began to live my life as if I didn’t have insomnia that my anxiety about the problem lessened during the day.
Have you tried utilizing a consistent sleep and wake time schedule every day yet? Do you go to bed only when you’re sleepy (dozing off, head nodding, etc)?
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.
@Dom21 –
How was your sleep last night?
In your earlier post, you mentioned that you’re worried that you’re still able to function after a rough night of sleep but those who experience insomnia usually describe it as a “tired but wired” feeling. Surprisingly, those who have insomnia are often more alert because of their heightened arousal and anxiety so I’m not surprised to hear that you’re able to continue to perform at work, etc.
If you’re not able to fall asleep in a reasonable amount of time, I encourage you to get out of bed and do something more enjoyable such as watching tv, reading a book, listen to a podcast, etc and only return to bed when you’re sleepy. If you continue to lie in bed frustrated because you’re not able to sleep, it creates conditioned arousal between your bed and an inability to sleep.
Kudos for working out and meditating that morning! As difficult as it might be some days, I’d encourage you not to allow a disrupted night to limit your life experiences. When we allow insomnia to affect our daytime functioning, the more attention and pressure we’re putting on our sleep issue. The temptation to cancel your social event and stay home for the night or not workout in the mornings can be overwhelming, but when you begin modifying your life because of insomnia, you’re highlighting the problem.
Sleep is one of those rare things in life that doesn’t reward hard work. The more effort you put into getting a good night’s sleep, the harder sleep becomes. It’s tempting to lie in on the mornings you don’t achieve good sleep but try to resist the urge to do so. You really want to create a strong sleep drive during the day and starting your day at the same time every morning can help achieve 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.
Hey @Dom21
Welcome to the forum! Have you had a sudden change in anything in your life recently – new job, new relationship, break-up, etc that could be the culprit of your racing mind that night? It can be challenging to take this approach, but the best reaction following a poor night’s sleep is…no reaction. I remember when I experienced insomnia, my thoughts about the issue perpetuated during the day and were even worse at bedtime. One of the critical things I changed that helped manage my thoughts was my attitude towards them. Instead of trying to push them aside or stew on them all day, I managed to address them by saying, “so what if I didn’t sleep well last night, it’s not the end of the world”.
Also, when people experience a couple of nights of disrupted sleep, they begin to make changes in their daily routines (going to bed earlier, lying in bed later in the am, taking a nap, etc) to accommodate for a lack of sleep. Are you finding yourself making changes to 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.
@Sleephead – it certainly sounds like you’re implementing the sleep restriction well. Remember, it can take some time for our body to adjust to a new sleep schedule but remain consistent and I believe you’ll continue to see benefits. Even you said that you’re sleeping efficiently during the sleep restricted window so that’s proof that you can sleep – keep the momentum going!
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 Canttrish60!
Welcome to the forum! What is the biggest challenge you face with sleep? If you can provide some details about your sleep, we could try to troubleshoot and offer some guidance.
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.
@Sleephead – outstanding news on the improvements you’re experiencing! It’s sounds like you’re doing a great job of implementing the evidence-based techniques. If you have questions along the way, feel free to ask.
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.
Outstanding news, William! Thanks for sharing your success story and providing some of your strategies for restoring your sleep.
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.
Hey @Sleephead!
It appears like your efforts in implementing the evidence-based techniques are having some success! You mentioned you began your sleep window from 11 – 6:30 but you reduced it to a 6 hour window after 10 days, is that correct? Was the change based on your sleep efficiency calculation or something else? It’s recommended to add 15 minutes to your sleep window only after consistently achieving 85% or greater sleep efficiency (how much time you’re actually sleeping vs being in bed) and keeping a sleep diary, like you’re doing, is a great tool for calculating this percentage. It really sounds like you’re heading in the right direction and Martin has a great article on sleep restriction/sleep efficiency if you need additional information, located here: https://insomniacoach.com/sleep-restriction-therapy/
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 @kapetheone!
Welcome to the forum! I have full confidence that you’ll have success implementing the evidence-based techniques and restore your sleep to the state it was a few years ago. I’m sure you’ll soon see that Martin is great to work with!
I can’t wait to hear your success story!
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 Melissa!
Welcome to the forum! It sounds like your efforts are starting to have some positive traction! Can you describe the “tips” you mentioned in your post? It’s normal for people to have multiple brief awakenings during their sleep but if we respond negatively to those, that can perpetuate the issue and make falling back to sleep more difficult and even cause unhelpful thoughts about your sleep the next day. If these awakenings are creating stress and pressure for you to fall back asleep, have you thought about getting out of bed to do something more pleasurable and only returning to bed when you’re sleepy?
What time are you going to bed and getting out of bed to start 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.
Welcome to the forum, @pjr! The forum is a wonderful community of people who simply want to help others who have similar concerns. The videos and articles from Martin are great resources too! Can you describe what your current sleep is like and maybe we could do some troubleshooting for you?
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 Summer_breeze,
Thanks for sharing your story and welcome to the forum. When we have stressful life events, it can trigger a short-term disruption in our sleep but our sleep usually returns to normal once that trigger passes. It’s when we begin to have unhelpful thoughts about our sleep that perpetuates the issue and makes sleep difficult to obtain. As you said, on the nights you don’t think about your sleep, you’re achieving 8+ hours of sleep so that should be proof to you that you can sleep. A common belief for those suffering from insomnia is that they won’t be able to function the next day following a poor night’s sleep. These thoughts can consume your day, are not beneficial to you and makes the issue even worse for you when it’s time to go to bed. Most people who experience insomnia begin to change their daily routines (lie in bed after waking, taking daytime naps, cancelling social events, etc) but I’d encourage you to continue your daily routine regardless of how you slept the previous night. You can’t control your sleep but you can control the environment and creating positive moments during your day which will lessen the pressure you put on yourself to sleep at night. When we try to fix our sleep, it makes sleep even harder to get!
A method for overriding our anxiety levels at night is creating a strong sleep drive throughout the day. This can be achieved by only going to bed when you’re sleepy, not taking daytime naps, getting out of bed as soon as you wake in the morning, etc. What time are you going to bed and getting out of bed to start your day in the morning?
When I had insomnia, I had the same thoughts as you, “Am I stuck with this type of sleep for the rest of my life?”. You can sleep and I once again go back to what you mentioned – that you’re able to sleep when you’re not thinking of sleep.
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.
Alexander – it sounds like your plan and efforts are improving your sleep – GREAT JOB!
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 understandable to begin doubting the process when we experience a setback but, as you said, you were achieving meaningful improvements in your sleep and that should be encouraging. As I mentioned in my previous post, the turning point for me occurred when I continued to go about my day as planned and acknowledging my thoughts as what they were…just thoughts. When you start to notice that you can get through the day after disrupted sleep, you might begin to worry less about sleep. Try to avoid the temptation to put effort into sleep as those actions can perpetuate the issue.
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.
