This has been the only strategy that has helped my sleep maintenance insomnia. I tried it about a year ago and started sleeping consistently through the night for the first time in years. However, I will repeatedly slowly slip out of my ideal sleep hygiene practices and eventually end up with the problem again. But what’s great is I can keep coming back to this strategy and implement it myself. Thanks for the clear explanation. Super helpful as I become a little more strict to reduce my awakenings.
I don’t know how common it is to slip out of good sleep again, but wondering if you could do a quick video about strategies to maintain sleep hygiene in the long term and the best ways to re-introduce some of this therapy as needed
Overcoming the idea that I MUST sleep 8 hours every night was a huge deal for me. I started implementing a 11pm -5am sleeping window a while back, and haven't had problems with insomnia since.
Am still working on overcoming this belief. I sleep 11:30 to 5:30-6 am but I always feel like a failure because I didn't get the 8 hours I constantly hear I need.
@@CaraMarie13 8 hours is the average amount people need. What you are doing is a bit like feeling bad if you are not average height. If you feel fine then you are getting enough sleep for you.
I am doing this intuitively and I can vouch that this works. If I go early to bed (i. e. Say 11pm), I would wake up at 3ish and then will stay awake for at least couple of hours. I will complete 7 hours of sleep ans will feel groggy. So, I try to go to sleep by 1am and can sleep untill 8am without break. I tried to alter my sleep pattern listening to the conventional wisdom. But it doesn't simply work for me. My body's cycle is 1-8 period.
i remember before i had anxiety and insomnia that my bed time was at 1am or 2am and had the best sleep ever but now that i have this i always trying to go to bed at 10pm or 11pm and is a madness i keep waking up and feel terrible. but thanks for the info i gonna try this
Are we the same personn?? Before I always slept around 2am- 4am , and I'd wake up feeling well slept, Not that I started going to bed around 10, I keep waking up these random times at night, sometimes it's only for a short moment, but sometimes, I do wake up and have a hard time falling asleep. If I sleep earlier than 10 , I'd have the worse sleep ever , I'd wake up 2 hours later and stay awake until 7
@@miathermopolis9529 hi mia right now im doing munch better and something that always help me and sometimes i forgot is to working out and taking magnesium, those things help me a lot but i know that is very hard to do exercise when you dont sleep very well but try to find a balance that you could a least sleep for 6 hours and then try to do what i said to keep you back on track. Btw: sorry for my bad english
I’m currently doing this and have done it before. Works tremendously .. but yes, brutal at times!! Just have to go through it. The first time it took 2 months to even out, but was amazing at the end.
Hi. I did CBTI and you have to be careful at the beginning because you can fall to the other-side of the horse. I forced myself to stay up till one am and guess what i was so awake afterwards that i couldn't sleep at all.
Same boat I’m in,, I build anxiety around getting to sleep and I stay up.. it’s been a week n a half and I’m still at 5.5 with awakenings toward the end, but not so much the middle at 2am like it was a few months ago. Progress has been made but from where I’m at rn it still feels difficult…
I am doing this right now but taking the sleep compression approach which is a little different. You just go to bed 20 minutes later each week until you hit that point where you’re going to bed the same number of hours before wake-up,time as the average amount of nightly sleep. Whether you do sleep compression or bed restriction (more commonly known as sleep restriction), be ready to be really tired and sleepy before you’re supposed to go to bed. And the rule is that you are not supposed to take a nap during the day. Although I have found a paper that says that 10 minutes of dozing is acceptable during a sleep or bed restriction regimen.
Thanks for your info it helped. As of right now for my 1st week it has worked pretty good for me. My first 2 days sucked to the point where I wanted to give up but my 3rd day worked and the rest of the week I got between 85%-92% of sleep efficiency.
Thanks, this was very effective for me, a good mindset is, you can keep suffering everyday from insomnia or suffer a little more and tough it out with this and recover from insomnia and sleep normally again, I have phenomenon where I get extremely physically sick if I don’t sleep enough I think it’s because of a med I can’t get off of for sleep, I realize I have to do sleep restriction again, it sucks but will have a enormous pay off, it works
I think I’m in the same boat. I’ve been on a small dose of lorazepam for 10 years. Things were fine but recently started waking up at 4-5am very tired and anxious. What do I do? Help.
Waking up in a state of anxiety can be a sign of benzo rebound. But why it would start after 10 years is not clear. As we age we can get more sensitive to this effect. Other life stressors could also contribute.
Wow I sleep from 1-8 and I've never felt so validated. I once tried to be a "responsible" adult and sleep at 11 but then found that I would constantly wake up in middle of the night. Go figure.
Actually, in many (if not all) pre-modern societies, people slept for a first stretch of 3-4 hours, were up for some time, and then slept for another stretch of 3-4 hours. Thus, the fact that people like myself get up in the middle of the night and then have trouble falling back asleep...that may be a relic of that pre-modern pattern.
Having a list of what keeps us awake and puts us to sleep might be handy to understand what is creating the sleep / awake pattern we have now. Think of the push and pull of magnets on a piece of steel. If we just introduce one more magnet to move the steel in the desired direction, we need to use more force to overcome the forces of other magnets. It might be easier to just direct a magnet already affecting the steel.
The last time my insomnia was bad I actually did this unconsciously and improved after wards. I usually feel very tired but not sleep I end up going to bed at 8 or even less. Anyway I will implement this
"It's a terrible time to be awake when reason sleeps." Great video! I run a CBT-I program & this would be so helpful for showing folx before their treatment starts. 💗 Dr. Liz
I like this approach and am trying this myself to some extent along with Acceptance Commitment Therapy for insomnia with LiberatedSleep. Thank you for your video.
@@Urdailynom It helped a little bit but it did not cure my insomnia. My doctor gave me agomelatine and tiny dose (.5mg) of clonazepam. Now I feel like a human again. My insomina is really really bad so without those two I can't even sleep for two hours. I sleep for 4-5 hours now. Agomelatine is amazing. it is a novel anti depressant with almost zero side effects. it is not like those SSRI anti depresants. it actually improve you coginition but it is expensive. I pay $60 here in Australia.
@@sylviesumer7680 thats great,i hope you recover fully and able to sleep 7 to 8 hours again !! I have depression and insomnia to i only sleep 2 or 3 hours sometimea and allways waking up and midnight,i take melatonin but i thin it makes my insomnia worst.
@@Urdailynom has u recevoer?my insomnia has been 3mths now and was on doctor pill afraid of the side effects too..try alot of tips tricks but ntg works..any advice
This video breaks it down in the best way I have seen. Do you think it will work for withdrawl from psychotropic drugs induced Insomnia? My body is just going through withdrawl and needs time to rewire from The effects.
So what happens is It takes me 3 hours to fall asleep. I just wish my sleep would be fall asleep in an hour or two. . I try to do yoga, stretching... calm boring already... I am one of those that dearly need 8 hours ... my partner sleeps in next room and reads to me.
This is what sleep apnea feels like I can and do go to bed at 4 am sometimes and I'll still wake up 20 times before say 9 am. If I tried this, I'd be working on 2 or 3 hours of sleep.
how are you now? im having the same problem ive tried melatonin and herbal sleep capsule but still having a hard time to sleep and when i do i always wake up every 30mins or 1 hour and its hard again to fall back asleep coz my mind is already awake and like havng anxiety of wakng up and worry that i will have a hard time sleepng again, its like im having 4 hours of broken sleep a night i dont know what to do.
What would people living in daylight savings countries do when the clocks go forwards/backwards twice a year? Would they just amend their sleep wake/time to account for the change? For example, in winter wake at 6am and then in summer wake at 7am (so essentially as far as the body is concerned it's the same time)?
For me, I'm at a constant rest state and don't ever feel like I'm actually in deep sleep. Then when my alarm sounds, I already am partially up then feel like crap. Is insomnia the same thing as staying in a rest like state for months on end?
How do you know what time you got up, looking at the clock makes me more anxious. Also as an older person in their 50s, I need to go to the bathroom in the middle of the night, how does this work in this scenario?
It says to calculate the hours. In bed vs sleeping.. but when U wake up and watch tv or something cause U can't sleep until eventually U can sleep again , is that calculated in the time .. Eg I got woken at 2am . I was sleeping on the couch . Now I'm sitting up watching you tube. Tired as but refuse. To lay in bed and toss and turn .. Is the time out of bed sitting up classed as the hours
Small Question: What if you fall asleep within the prescribed window but then you wake up 3 hours after and you can't fall back asleep at all even after getting out of bed and boring yourself? Do you lie in bed until your prescribed wakeup time or do you just start the day?
The longer you’re awake the more adenosine you accumulate, that’s the main lever for tiredness: SLEEP: The three levers you can pull to sleep ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-Y8WnI5vN_6Y.html
I’m actually also curious on this and am not sure its clear in the answer. I have heard the get up so you don’t associate as well. That would seem the most normal is that you don’t sleep past the prescribed time (ie. 6am) but if you’re awake greater than 30min you get up and call it. Is that the idea? Or do you do that, try to keep arousal down, then return to bed, so long as you don’t pass the 6am wake time.
What about if someone is waking up for a pee and struggles to get back to sleep, does this work for them? What about getting woken up cos you feel too warm and then struggling to get back to sleep? Temperature is right for failing asleep but still wake up hot.
Thank you so much for this, this is the first time I have seen it in black and white. I have been prescribed this technique in the past by a UK health provider, however I never managed to get past the fact I'm giving myself less chance to sleep. I'm hoping to start this process again with more success this time round. Would you still recommend this if I'm sleeping through the night but it takes hours to initiate sleep?
Hi ihas bad insomnia for 3mths now and was presecibe by doc lorazepam n mirtazapine but mirtazapine I take it off bcos of it side effect..I'm trying my self to sleep but it doesn't drift me to slumber land.any advice??
It's all about consistency. As long as you keep your in/out of bed times within the frame you set, sooner or later you are going to be able to sleep within it.
Thanks for the vid, a few qns: 1) If someone is on meds (I.e stillnox, hydroxyzine) how would this work? 2) Why start with a push of the sleep time to 3.5 hrs later, when most likely that person may more easily adjust to a 2.5 hr delay (I.e. 11.30pm) given that it's impt to catch the first bout of sleepiness (likely to come before 3.5hrs). 3) Do we really know (based on the literature) that the chances of a complete 4-stage sleep cycle is significantly higher with consolidated sleep? Cos someone with fragmented sleep may also reach all 4 stages, thus the pressure for consolidated sleep may be too much? Thanks heaps!
The secret to sleep: Clear your head before bed. Deal with the thoughts to resolve insomnia. ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-8zg_bvUJk5k.html
Not sure which program you’re referring to? We discuss the role of sugar/carbs on anxiety and touch on sleep here: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-EOXLTy7DN08.html Poor sleep can affect certainly affect appetite, cortisol and glucose metabolism. You may wish to check our other clips on sleep, we discuss that magnesium Diglycinate can make for a less broken sleep.
I have a question about to record sleep in your diary when doing this. Say you your wake up time is set to 7 AM. But you wake up at 5:45 AM. You make attempts to go back to sleep until 7 AM but are unsuccessful. Is this considered an awakening without going back to sleep for an hour and 15 minutes or is it considered getting up?
It's a quality of life issue. Accept feeling a little shitty everyday for the rest of your life or try to do something about it. But you're right. It seems to be an involuntary action unless you're some kind of Buddhist monk who can induce himself into a state of sleep at will. I sure as hell can't do this. I know how high I feel when I get 7 hours of sleep and I wish I could have that experience all the time because on those days I'm superhuman and can kick ass in terms of productivity. I don't think this is psychosomatic. I think my body is actually healthier when I get more sleep. But as soon as you hit middle age mother nature is more concerned about you staying alert to protect the youngin's from wild beasts than she is about you getting your own rest. So it seems like nature is trying to biologically screw you.@LastmanStanding-wy5tx
I have frequent awakenings regardless how far I push my body to stay up past my usual bed time. For example I would work til 4am on the weekends when usually I would sleep around 12 during the week and I would still be up by 9am after falling asleep at 5am with awakenings in between. Any other ideas?
No offense, but it might be time to get a different job lol I know that doesn't sound like wise advice but for ideal sleep you need consistency in your everyday schedule and that includes the weekends. I know firsthand, I used to work 7:30- 3:30pm weekdays/off weekends, so I wasnt concerned as much as to what time I got to bed/wake up really. Now I have a new position at my job where I work 5am- 1pm and it's been an adjustment. Now I HAVE to be up by 4:00am and go to bed before 10pm. So there's the details of my life 🤣 The point is you need a consistent sleep/wake cycle brother. If you have a job where your hours are all over the place, you're doing graveyard shifts on the weekend but not weekdays that's gonna mess with your circadian rhythm. Maybe ask your boss if you can adjust your work hours so they are more manageable for you. That's my advice. Hope this helps. God bless 🙏
Sleep anxiety will do that too you or your arousal level. Insomnia boils down to 2 things sleep drive problem arousal problem or both. Your sleep restriction start time should be your earliest bedtime you should still only go to bed when you feel sleepy after that or if you feel sleep at the start time
What if I don’t sleep within half period though? I’m going through right now where I go to bed at 8 pm and can be at in my bed for 6 hrs before I sleep and when I fall asleep I sleep for 1 or 2 and then wake up,. So now in total I gone 3 days with only 5 hours of sleep… what should I do?
What if the 85-90% sleep efficiency but waking up too way to early, only one time and can't fall asleep anymore ( 4-5 hours of sleep). Will bed restriction therapy help in order to prolong duration of sleeptime?
@@thePSYCHcollective My current average bedtime is about 6.5 hours, average sleeptime 5.7 hours and average waketime is about 0,76 hours. I usually go to bed at 10pm plan to wake up at 6am.
I have tried this last night, got to 2am which is my sleeping window and still didnt feel sleepy, i started getting frustrated and having anxiety attacks so i took a sleeping pill and got 4 hrs of sleep. What is the right thing to do in this case? please help
this technique is based on a planed sacrifice - you need to be willing to go i and out of bed in prescribed times, regardless of whether you are able or unable to get sleepy. Usually, a day or two after, the sleepiness will kick in.
Question for you guys what if i dont feel sleepy at 2am when getting up at 7:30am should i stay up til i feel sleepy this could be 5am. I have anxiety could this be causing not feeling sleepy. Not really getting deep sleep either just light sleep. Is that anxiety too?
If i wake up before my alarm and can’t go back to sleep, do i stay in bed until my alarm rings? Or should i get up for a little bit and try again later?
Always like these two though I think we have to stop assuming people's heads are "full of stuff." Insomnia is beyond mere worry; its a physiological issue with hormonal and metabolic components. Insomnia can be and is often a sign for physical issues, not mental.
Am on First week - day 3. So far am less mad when i wake up cause i don't lie in bed awake. But i do need a 30min nap rhroughout the day, cause i only get 3hours of sleep.
I think naps make the process less effective and should be avoided when following this technique. The main purpose of this technique is to build up sleep pressure for your bed time and force your body into optimizing the limited hours spent in bed with restful sleep. Naps take away the pressure and slow down the process.
If I really have no idea how many hours I get. How do I start this process. I wake up a lot and toss a lot. Also if we are not to look at the clock how do you really know? I never seem to get into deep sleep.
Looking at the clock is discouraged because it can make people more anxious when they’re worrying about how much sleep they are missing out on. If you really have no idea, then check the clock for the first few nights to get a sense of the pattern and then stop. We really work with patterns not minutes anyway.
@@thePSYCHcollective Thank you! My body became dependent on the magnesium and now I am waking up again, so I am going to start over my therapy because I wasn't consistent.
Instead of jumping straight to a very late time to go to bed, can I just gradually make the time I go to bed later by 30min each week? Will that have a similar effect? Or do I need to start at a very late time to go to bed and work backwards?
Yes, but it will just take twice as long. Doesn’t necessarily matter how you get there, as long as your committed stay disciplined. This process isn’t fun but is highly effective.
I'm having this issue, are you suggesting going to bed later for a shorter period of time, to boost initial efficiency. I now sleep at 12.15 and wake up around 6....its painful! I find if I sleep later I wake up later....any advice/tips would be appreciated. I've had sleep maintenance insomnia for about 6 months now.
What about who wants to do Bed Restriction, but has been takin sleep medications for 20 years and is dependent on them? What is the dynamic in this case? Only taper off the meds, after having perfect sleep?
You’ll need to consult with your prescriber. There are many variables that need to be considered about an individuals predicament. In general: if one can’t sleep, bed restriction may be of utility whether or not one is taking meds. But your specific circumstances need to be taken into account which I cannot do in such a forum.
Earthing (search in YT) is good at prevent and help fight almost all health problem especially insomnia, it's easy to DIY a grounding mat, sheet or pillow to use at home, NO need to buy.👣🌏
Hi, I have been trying this out for the past two weeks. I am confused about the progress through the weeks. Do you take averages when reviewing your sleep efficiency at the end of each week? I improve my sleep efficiency for most nights during the week but then I have one night where it drops below 85%, so does that mean I need to continue for another 7 days before I can increase my sleep window? How many consecutive days of good efficiency is sufficient to increase your sleep window?
If you can get about 4 days over 85%, then bring it forward. If sleep gets worse, put it back again until it stabilises. Remember you are retraining your body so don’t rush it.
I need help i my insomnia started when I drink to much caffeine then had no sleep that night. After my anxiety kicked in and started to have same problems almost everyweek I worry how much I will sleep and sleep deprived. My sleep schedule is 1 to 2 am to 9:30 am but when I try to sleep earlier I can't fall asleep or I worried about how much sleep should I get.
@@last2first167 that is good. Just appreciate the fact that you could get 7 to 8 hrs rest. Stick to same routine bed time. Always stay positive, think positive, live postive and be 😊 . Release and let go all worries.
If thoughts and worries are keeping you awake then you may wish to try this approach to address the worries head on: Clear your head before bed. Deal with the thoughts to resolve insomnia. ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-8zg_bvUJk5k.html
Hi Guys, thanks for the very educative video, my question is can someone still try sleep restriction when on sleep medication? And should one stop the medication do you have to restart the cycle to re-adjust the cycle?
It depends on what medication you’re on, why you’re on it, what the dosage it and what time you take it. Suddenly stopping meds will put you into withdrawal that can make sleep worse. You’ll need to talk to your health care provider to make a plan.
@@thePSYCHcollective Thanks for the reply 🙏 I wanted to ask one more thing. I'm not sure if it was covered elsewhere but how exactly do you count the actual hours of sleep you get?
@@thePSYCHcollective I did thank you. I'm just confused about the actual counting. It's easy to note when you wake up, but how do you know when you fall asleep?
I have no problems falling asleep, I usually fall asleep between 7:30pm - 8:30pm but then I'm awake an hour later and that's when the horrid cycle happens. I'm in the middle of moving house so I don't have my usual routine.. should I keep doing this routine you've mentioned?
@@hsy2460 hey, since moving house, my sleep is so much better back to normal now ☺️ I think sometimes you just have to go with the flow but when I was struggling I found journalling and reading helped me x
@@thePSYCHcollective I have Multiple Sclerosis and get super tired at night, which is why I'm in bed so early and I get up at 5am for work. But since moving house, my sleep is back to normal.
So I've had a issue with peeing that wakes me up during the night the peeing is less but it's hard to fall asleep and I wake during the night it's been about a month I try to be asleep by 10:00 and wake up at 8:30 any advice to improve my sleep schedule.
Really wondering when the so-called strategy will work… I’ve been on it for eight months and I think it’s getting much much worse… If anyone has any more suggestions please let me know because this is driving me crazy
Sleep restriction can be helpful, but it’s not for everyone. There’s multiple factors that contribute to sleep (see here ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-Y8WnI5vN_6Y.html). Often it’s thoughts that keep people awake, in which case the thoughts may need to be addressed (see here ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-8zg_bvUJk5k.html).
*Has anyone else found the stresses of Covid 19 has made you sleep worse?* Garlic can be consumed or used as a home remedy to cure insomnia. It can be taken in the form of tablets, capsules, or powder. _Hope this helps!_
Oh, if only it were this simple, which it isn’t ! What if you’re like me and physically fall asleep at 7.30 regardless of what you’re doing or where you are ( in the house) because you’re overwhelmed with tiredness. Please don’t suggest staying awake by doing something un-stimulating, that’s just oxymoronic! The reality is that no matter what time you go to bed, “disturbed sleep” is ANY time you wake up, including toilet trips, which if you’re a mature aged male will undoubtedly be frequent.
Sleep restriction for weeks would result in less sleep, being fired/divorced, car accidents, etc. I wonder what percentage of insomniacs consider the self-torture of "sleep restriction" a viable solution to insomnia. One day there will be a cure from insomnia, but that day is not today.
