3 ms·

Four things that doing six months of CBT-i (Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Insomnia) taught me are: - Routine is EXTREMELY important (I.e. getting in bed and

by nunez 3y ago

Four things that doing six months of CBT-i (Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Insomnia) taught me are: - Routine is EXTREMELY important (I.e. getting in bed and waking up at the same time, every day, even weekends) - The best way to associate the bed with sleep (and, thereby, falling asleep more quickly) is to ONLY use the bed for sleep and sex, - You're gonna have bad nights, but the key to preventing the insomnia from spiraling out of control is to remember that "you WILL go back to sleep; it's natural," and - Sleep drugs (zzzquil, trazodone, seraquel, ambien, etc.) used daily are a bad deal for most people Two visits with a bona fide sleep doctor taught me is: - it's probably sleep apnea, and - lots of people have it! I used to have a really hard time falling and staying asleep. My sleep patterns looked something like OPs, with lots of time asleep but even more time in bed. CBT-i fixed that. I needed to do it with a therapist to get the most out of it, but there is a free app in the App Store (CBTi Coach) that guides you through it. I have no issues falling asleep now, and my total time in bed (TTIB) is very close to my total time asleep (I.e. my sleep efficiency is very high). I still struggle with maintenance insomnia (staying asleep). As far as I understand it, this kind of insomnia is usually invoked as a protection mechanism against something that one's body perceives as a threat. I am (finally!) getting a sleep study done to verify whether it's sleep apnea or something behavioral.

Rewrap3643 3y ago
Trazodone should not be compared with those other drugs. It is hardly anticholinergic, and it lacks many of the side effects of Seroquel or Ambien. It can actually improve sleep architecture; it acts as a slow-wave sleep enhancer. In addition, it may increase the "arousal threshold" in certain patients with sleep apnea. This translates into less disruptions to sleep overall. [1][2] Comparing this to something like Ambien- which disrupts sleep cycles and correlates with increased mortality overall- just isn't factual. [3] Anecdotally, a low dose of trazodone (25 mg) prevents sleep maintenance insomnia for me. You should definitely have a sleep study done regardless. Wishing you some restful sleep! [1] https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30689583/ https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30689583/ [2] https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25719754/ https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25719754/ [3] https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30353805/ https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30353805/
throwbipolar 3y ago
Just to add on this: having really bad sleep issues can be a symptom of an underlying mental illness, so consulting a therapist is a good idea if thing don't get better by only resorting to lifestyle changes. What just seemed like "I have trouble sleeping and struggle with my emotions" to me turned out to be type 1 bipolar disorder. Since I've started to take quetiapin, I'm finally getting proper sleep and all other issues improvee, too.

by nunez 3y ago

Rewrap3643 3y ago

Trazodone should not be compared with those other drugs. It is hardly anticholinergic, and it lacks many of the side effects of Seroquel or Ambien. It can actually improve sleep architecture; it acts as a slow-wave sleep enhancer. In addition, it may increase the "arousal threshold" in certain patients with sleep apnea. This translates into less disruptions to sleep overall. [1][2] Comparing this to something like Ambien- which disrupts sleep cycles and correlates with increased mortality overall- just isn't factual. [3] Anecdotally, a low dose of trazodone (25 mg) prevents sleep maintenance insomnia for me. You should definitely have a sleep study done regardless. Wishing you some restful sleep! [1] https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30689583/ https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30689583/ [2] https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25719754/ https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25719754/ [3] https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30353805/ https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30353805/

throwbipolar 3y ago

Just to add on this: having really bad sleep issues can be a symptom of an underlying mental illness, so consulting a therapist is a good idea if thing don't get better by only resorting to lifestyle changes. What just seemed like "I have trouble sleeping and struggle with my emotions" to me turned out to be type 1 bipolar disorder. Since I've started to take quetiapin, I'm finally getting proper sleep and all other issues improvee, too.