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The "2 books" and my story thus far.


Posted by JH on April 17, 2000 at 08:47:17:

Hello all,
These have been my results of the plans outlined in the 2 books "Say goodnight" and "desparately seeking"
I am on the 5th week of the plan now and am seeing definitive results. First off, I am completely drug free. I was on .5mg of Klonopin at night and 300 mg serzone twice daily for 6 months. After 2 months of tapering off both meds, I am now sleeping 6-8 hrs almost every night... almost. There are still 1 or 2 nights a week when I cannot fall asleep until about 2 or 3am then I get up about 6:30am for work, etc. The "keys" that have worked for me.
1. Excercise. I started running 1 mile 3 days a week. Being a smoker, this is an accomplishment in itself as I was unable to run around the block without huffing and puffing. After only a week, I noticed my mood elevating and my endurance building back up. I also go water skiing now every sunday that the weather is warming up.
2. Pre sleep routine. 2 nights a week I take 1 hr for a hot bath to read and unwind the stresses of the workday. The other nights I turn off my mind and watch TV in bed 1hr before bedtime.
3. stay drug free. during my nights where I cant fall asleep ( it is wierd but I can almost tell during the day that I wont be able to fall asleep well that night.. anxiety or something) no matter how tempting, DO NOT take anything. even a benadryl or unisom. I find that 3 hrs of non drug induced sleep feels better the next day than 8 hours of medicated sleep. Just council yourself and tell your mind that it is ok and you are not going to die or anything from lack of sleep. I have not had 2 nights in a row where I did not get 6-8 hours of sleep yet. knock on wood. This is without a doubt the hardest and probably most important rule I have lived by for the past 5 weeks.
4. Stick with it. The first couple of weeks were not near this good. It was a rough ride but one must persevere. Things will only get better. I know I am coming out of this ordeal a stronger person. It is a learning experience that takes one hell of a strong will but it CAN be done.

OK. things I found that did not work too well or didnt seem to matter much for me anyway.
1. the parts about associating bed only for sleep. Doesnt seem to affect my sleep pattern now whether I spend time watching tv in my bed during the middle of the day or before before I go to bed at night.
2. the sleep journal. I found that when trying to remember how much sleep I was getting, I was concerning myself too much with sleep. I find when I dont think about sleep at all during the day, I tend to sleep better at night. Try not to dwell on how much or how little sleep you got the night before. just follow your routine and relax. RELAX.. sleep will come. do not 'try' to sleep. You might be surprised at how easy one can doze off while listening to a radio or watching tv.. etc. Needless to say, I gave up on the journal idea.

I realize everyone is different and what works for me may not work for you but I just wanted tell a part of my story to everyone and let you guys know that I am listening to all who post here and will continue to do so as long as this place exists. This is my 3rd bout with chronic insomnia and hopefully my last. I dont know what I would have done If I had not found all of you here on the forum. It is simply nice to know that I or any of us are not alone suffering from this horrible affliction.

thanks for listening.
good luck and god bless.
my prayers are with each and every one of you.

Jim

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