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Re: Horrible night

Posted by Tom-N-Texas on February 11, 2004 at 11:49:49:

In Reply to: Horrible night posted by Carla on February 11, 2004 at 07:43:12:

Hi Carla...

Sorry you had a bad night. If you are in misery, you sure have a lot of company here on these boards. Everyone here knows exactly how you feel.

Do you have sleep onset insomnia or is it mainly maintenance? My problem was primarily the onset variety, where I initially could not get to sleep.....caused by incredible anxiety. On those rare nights when I did go to sleep fairly quickly, I'd be good to go the rest of the night. (I'm not certain we have the same exact problem so this advice below may not apply.)

I think starting a new program in itself is fairly nerve-racking. You're changing your routine. You may be more tense than usual at first simply because you're doing things differently now. So I would suggest you work on your basic outlook....tell yourself that this IS THE PLAN -- and you are going to follow it INDEFINATELY. No ifs ands or buts....every night the same thing....night after night. By convincing yourself of this I think it takes some of the pressure off.

Another thing...how many hours are you alotting yourself in bed? 6 hours....7....8...? I think John Weidman (author) suggests around 6 hours to start (or the minimum amount of sleep that you can get and still be comfortable the next day). I, however could never get comfortable with the idea of 6 hours in bed. It put MORE stress on me during the day than before......So I put myself on an "8-hour plan"....which doesn't sound like a big deal but I had been spending up to 12 hours in bed before, so this was a vast improvement.

So I guess my advice is if you are stressing yourself out over the amount of time you've alotted yourself, I would consider upping it a bit. I definately would not spend less than 6 hours in bed. probably between 7 and 8 is more like it. I think the key is REGULAR sleep hours.

Also don't try to go to sleep before you are sleepy!

Good luck...I hope this helps....


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