[Wendy Ridley]

I made the choice to cut out naps for about 4 weeks, but then got to a week where I was feeling extremely fatigued and also a bit unwell and started taking a nap in the afternoon if my body really needed that. I havent found, for me personally, that taking a nap affects my ability to get to sleep, so I have been really pleased about that and now I allow myself to take naps again.

I think its just about experimenting. For someone else it may affect their ability to get to sleep at night.

[Wendy Ridley]

I’m very interested in this discussion as I have been reducing my sleep medication and am often wondering how much the sleep medication is actually helping me sleep now. I wonder to what degree its more of a psychological attachment to the sleep medication now that I have reduced it significantly over a period of 18 months. I am becoming more confident in my body’s natural ability to sleep since doing this course.

Martin you say “melatonin doesn’t generate sleep — so all the sleep you’ve been getting while taking it is sleep that your body has generated all by itself”.
What does melatonin actually do then?

Does the same apply to sleep medication as well?
Thank you

[Wendy Ridley]

Hi Martin, you reply doesnt really answer my question because in the Action Plan you say “stop checking the time it begins” (the sleep window), not when it ends. Is it meant to say “stop checking the time it ends”?

[Wendy Ridley]

Hi @johnb
Thanks for you reply to my post.

I’m really sorry to hear that sometimes you get zero hours of sleep. That must be really tough. I do hope you find this course helpful and would be really interested to hear how you get on with applying a sleep window if that’s what you chose to do.
Wendy

[Wendy Ridley]

Hi Lin, I have a sense it could well have been along the lines of your explanation: that you had expectation that you would sleep well and therefore a bit of maybe unconscious monitoring and some performance drive. I think you worded it really well yourself!

[Wendy Ridley]

Hi Cata, I notice its over a week or so since you posted, so I would be really interested to hear how you are getting on.
I have been on sleep medication for about 25 years, using it each night, so have been very interested in how people reduce or come off medication or not whilst doing this course. I did ask Martin about this in my one to one Zoom and he said it varies a lot with some coming off very quickly and some taking their time.

To my understanding, for those who have been on medication long term, there can be quite substantial withdrawal symptoms. I dont know how long you have been on sleep meds but for me I decided and was advised to reduced slowly, so I have been reducing my dose over the last 18 months, which is as fast as I felt able to go with it, both physically but also in terms of my confidence. If I felt withdrawal symptoms I would slow down with the reduction.

Doing the course I have been staying up until I am really sleepy and starting to notice my natural sleepiness a lot more and having more confidence in my bodys natural ability to sleep, so I think this will help me reduce my medication further although I want to consolidate the progress I am making a bit more I think before making further reductions.

I was quite surprised to hear from some of the testimonials about people coming off “Cold Turkey”. I know its possible to do so, but not what I would choose for myself!

[Wendy Ridley]

Thank you Martin and thank you for the gift of your courses and your skills.

[Wendy Ridley]

I didn’t understand the why it happens part either and asked Martin about this today!

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