How Cindy tackled her postpartum insomnia by accepting wakefulness & erasing safety behaviors (#31)

[@InsomniaCoach]

All content found on the Insomnia Coach KZbin channel 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. The statements and opinions expressed by guests are their own and are not necessarily endorsed by Insomnia Coach LLC. All content is provided “as is” and without warranties, either express or implied.

[@instant_mint]

Great podcast with insights that can apply to a lot of different challenges in life!

[@InsomniaCoach]

Thanks for your kind words - I totally agree that so much of this can be used whenever we face difficulty in life; not just with sleep!

[@rachyrach5100]

Hi Martin, thank you for the video. I’m currently up and I tried fighting the anxiety and I was relaxed but I didn’t sleep. So worried

[@InsomniaCoach]

It's normal and understandable that you'd be worried - however, nothing unusual is going on. When we try to fight anxiety we get trapped in a struggle with anxiety. Sometimes it can be more helpful to make a bit of space for the anxiety rather than trying to push it away - when we try to push it away, it only pushes back harder. Although anxiety can feel really uncomfortable, unless there is a clear and immediate danger (such as a tiger prowling in your living room) then you are still completely safe!

[@lSundaybmx]

Hi Martin! First and foremost, I just want to give my thanks to you for uploading this content. I have struggled with chronic insomnia for a year now, it has caused a Myriad of mental issues for me, and I began to think that I would never recover and my life was essentially ruined. Finding your videos felt like an actual miracle to me, I can’t even begin to explain how excited I am to have found your channel. I do have one question however, I am in my early 20’s, and due to my social life with family and friends, sometimes I find myself in social situations where I can be up past my sleep window, or in an event such as camping, where all I have is my tent. I would hate to cancel such occasions just so that I can keep my sleep window perfect. So my question is, how should we deal with unexpected occurrences that prevent us from having ideal conditions to execute sleep restriction. I’m sure many others experience this worry as well. Personally, I have been able to fall asleep just fine, it is the wakefulness in the middle of the night that has burdened me. Again, thank you so much for sharing this information, there is not a lot of resources available with this type of info so I am eternally grateful that I have found this channel.

[@InsomniaCoach]

Hello Lance and welcome to the channel! Being up past your sleep window in those circumstances is actually encouraging because it suggests you are living your life rather than allowing sleep to control your behaviors (I am still waiting to read the transcript from a 105-year old reflecting on their life on their deathbed and talking endlessly about how sleep enriched their life - most people refer back to all the things that happened when they were awake!). We are also far less concerned with going to bed AFTER the sleep window begins (compared to before the sleep window begins) because going to bed later simply means more sleep drive!

[@Whatisthat-p9j]

Really needed this, thank you ❤️

[@InsomniaCoach]

Thanks for sharing - and you are welcome!

[@raosahebsuryavanshi84]

Does chronic insomnia for 15 years increase your risk of developing diseases or does it decrease a person’s life expectancy? Does insomnia cause inflammation in the body?

[@Redhitcz]

Well i suggest to ask different question... How much sleep have super successfull people in the world. If you look at them, only minimum barerly have 7 or 8 hours of sleep per day. Nicol tesla sleep very little for decades, but manage to die in very old age on nearly 90 years. I see in that question, that you seek some form of mental comfort, that everything is allright, that insomnia isnt heath problem ect.. Dont seek mental comfort in things, that are out of your inner self. Seek comfort in yourself, because thats where key for solving insomnia is. You dont need to fix your mind on some "facts". You only need to develop inner strenght to handle every difficulties in your life. Insomnia is only one of many life difficulties people encouter during their life. Nothing more. Self trust and inner strenght is what really cure anxiety and fear ect. in general

[@InsomniaCoach]

There is no evidence that chronic insomnia causes any health problem whatsoever.

[@emilysilva8205]

Hello, I'm going on day 6 of sleep restriction and I'm falling asleep easier, but if I wake up after say, 3 or 4 hours, i start worrying. I know my body is exhausted because I can barely keep my eyes open by bedtime. My sleep drive seems to be overpowered by my anxiety because it's been almost a week now and I'm feeling like this isn't working. Just struggling with trusting the process/outcome. Need some reassurance. Thanks!

[@InsomniaCoach]

It's OK (and quite normal) to worry, Emily! Just as we can't control sleep, we can't control all the thoughts and emotions our mind might decide to generate. It's also normal to spend time awake at night - if it feels unpleasant, then you can always get out of bed and do something a bit more pleasant and return to bed if and when conditions feel a bit more suitable for sleep!

[@thecattoldmetodoit4329]

Hi. I am on week three of guy meadows book and also week three with a sleep coach. I am having awful trouble and seeing no progress? I lay there and have massive anxiety and adrenaline and I attempt to be mindful, accept my feelings and thoughts and get up and read to befriend wakefulness but the anxiety and adrenaline just do not stop. I feel really like I won’t get better like everyone else. It’s awful especially when the books and courses say “leave your insomnia behind for good in 5 weeks like allllll these other people” I watch the videos and understand it all but I still “feel” the same, I am trying but lose hope? Is there any advice? I am trying to “care less” honestly but I feel ...I don’t know.

[@InsomniaCoach]

It sounds as though your goal (quite understandably, I might add!) is still to get rid of or to stop anxiety. That is something we cannot really do, at least not for the long term. A more helpful long-term goal might be to work toward making space for anxiety - to change the relationship we have with difficult thoughts, feelings, and emotions (rather than trying to eliminate them).

[@MM-kq2rt]

Hi just a question please. will sleep restriction therapy work whilst on sleeping aid (mertzapline). reason why I ask is that i feel to unwell to trial sleep restriction as my body wont be able to handle it right now from getting around 1 hour sleep a day. but if i have sleeping aid I can probably do it. your response will be greatly appreciated

[@InsomniaCoach]

Thanks for the great question - your concern is completely understandable! Sleep restriction, as a term, is a bit misleading since we aren't restricting sleep. What we are really doing is restricting the amount of time available for unpleasant nighttime wakefulness, while building sleep drive to create better conditions for sleep. With this in mind, if you are only getting a few hours of sleep, reducing the amount of time you allot for sleep to around five-and-a-half or six hours still gives you the opportunity to get more sleep than you're currently getting while reducing the opportunity for long periods of nighttime wakefulness. It also helps build sleep drive AND helps strengthen the body clock. I hope this helps!

[@lesudesu1620]

Hi Martin I’m struggling to want to try stimulus control because I’m afraid I’ll miss out on hours I have to sleep in my sleep window. However lying in bed awake is unpleasant and I can’t keep my body still. Do I still implement stimulus control even if I’m scared?

[@InsomniaCoach]

If lying awake in bed doesn't feel good and hasn't proven to be helpful up to this point, I wonder if an alternative approach might be helpful? At the very least, it might be worth experimenting with something different for a few weeks!

[@rmperez4574]

How can I get ahold of Cindy Mommys group ??

[@InsomniaCoach]

I am not sure - I'll bring this comment to her attention and hopefully she can point you in the right direction!

[@screamingpiano]

Hi RM I'm no longer a part of the group, but all the information I used to get over my obsession of not sleeping is found on Martin's channel. Good luck! Cindy