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I’m with you, something drastic has to be done. You mentioned staying awake in the bed to build the sleep drive. But if the case, why be in the bed at all? Why not stay in the living room, watch a tv show or something?
One things for certain- sleep restriction alone is not sufficient. Now, I’ve also tried stimulus control, but after yoyo-ing in and out of bed all night until it starts to turn light outside, it really makes no sense to me.
A while back someone mentioned getting out of bed when I find myself in the light sleep state. The thing is- when you fall in into that super light haze, it’s not like you’re lucid enough to pull yourself out of it. One thing that puzzles me with your approach of avoiding light sleep- based on sleep architecture, the body has to cycle thru light (non-REM) sleep before getting into deeper stages of sleep, even for normal sleepers. So did you mean- build sleep drive to shorten the light sleep cycle?
Jess, What you described is very akin to my own experience. I also tried ACT for months on end; accept the light sleep and it will eventually deepen. Yet, moons later…here I am.
I’ve gone to countless providers, and they all attempt to treat me for the typical insomnia symptoms; difficulties falling or staying asleep. None are able to comprehend…hello; I am falling asleep most nights ..it’s just hovering in the light N1 (perhaps a bit of N2) stages. After all the back and forth, I realize that I just need to figure how to cure myself.
Do you have any theories on why the light sleep persists? Most everyone say to me, your brain hasn’t forgotten to sleep.. but even when severely sleep deprived, the deep sleep seems unattainable!
To Chee’s point, there may be some REM happening, as I am very aware of my thoughts while in this light sleep state. Dunno if they’re stories or dreams though. Feels more like the former, but if they were dreams, I’d say there’s some REM happening. But REM is very different than deep sleep. Those who believe they’re the same, clearly haven’t been without deep sleep for months on end. Deep sleep allows for restoration and healing. If you have even 1 hr of deep sleep, take my word for it, you’d know!
Hi Jess,
I have a similar issue. I tried numerous therapies to break the light sleep cycle to no avail. It’s a bit outside the usual insomnia symptoms, so not many are familiar with or know how to tackle this issue. I tried ACT for a while, but I feel like overtime – the light sleep became a learned behavior. I appreciate you writing on this, as it will aide in bringing awareness to this variation of insomnia that so very little is spoken about. Have you made any progress using sleep restriction? Do you also experience your mind cycling thru stories during the light sleep?
I currently use a 5.5 hr window. Any less, and I fear I’ll be completely dysfunctional.
Shon
