Ricardo has done well with CBTI but still struggles with paradoxical insomnia; Pat is wondering about anticipatory insomnia; David is struggling with on again/off again insomnia and wondering if his sleep drive will ever be enough; Austin has lots of concerns about his sleep debt. Lots to discuss, plus your live questions too in todays Open Class!
Bijal wonders if vitamin deficiencies or hormonal imbalances can cause trouble sleeping. Jennifer found CBTi initially to be helpful, but the struggle hasn't ended.
Many people try to "exhaust" away their hyperarousal and insomnia. But sleep only happens with absense of any effort to sleep when a person has been awake long enough. This does not mean that what you do during the day has no impact on sleep - sleep and wake are dualistic, two sides of the same coin. The key is understanding your reason for being active during the day!
When the lockdown happened, Matt found himself in a small bachelor’s apartment day and night. After excitement from receiving a package led him to go to bed early the following night, and not sleeping, anxiety around sleep set in.
Soon after, Matt followed sleep hygiene and spent much time on online insomnia groups while he slept less and less.
In this episode we learn how he found meaningful help from his doctor and sleep coaching apps, came of Seroquel and started enjoying life again!
While having a consistent morning rise time is generally helpful for your sleep (anchors the circadian rhythm), having a consistent bedtime can backfire. Think about how this is similar to hunger, another natural drive: Do you try to eat at precisely the same time, eat exctly the same amount or quality of food? Why would someone expect to go to bed and fall asleep at the same time each night? Bed"time" should not be strict, but rather "fuzzy"!
When you’ve understood that some things you’ve done to make yourself sleep, aka sleep efforts, have actually been standing in your way, you may be tempted to stop them so that you can sleep.
This is what is called a counter effort, and just like the sleep effort, it ends up making sleep more difficult.
When you see this, you also see that there’s nothing you actively have to do to neutralize the efforts.
Awareness IS the change you need!
Tamsin is desperate as her life is on hold due to insomnia. Jeff wonders if anxiety around a new schedule can cause insomnia. Simeon asks what to do when having chronic pain and insomnia. Susan has seen the path but wonders how to stop thinking so much about sleep.
Both Sarah and Lynn feel the Houdini Effect: strong sleepiness suddenly vanishing at bedtime; Sam reports having made good progress with sleep, but recently has been struggling with insomnia, lying awake in bed for long stretches of time with an active mind, and wondering if that's the right thing to do? Insights on these emails plus your live questions!
Matthew is worried because not even Ambien makes a difference. Is his case to severe for an approach like BedTyme? John shares a story of success. Jessica tells us some remarkable similarities between insomnia and OCD, and how the path to liberation is the same.
Lynn wonders where to find “the model”. Ingrid has started sleep restriction and added 15 min to her sleep window which didn’t work. What now? Nina started sleeping better but now she is in a speed bump. Lauren wonders how to come off Clonazepam.
Feeling lost? Getting past insomnia can feel daunting if you don't have a clue of what's ahead. Sign up here and we'll send you a guide that outlines the steps towards better sleep.