If sleep restriction for insomnia is too hard, sleep compression can be a good alternative

YouTube Video VVVMNUxzTFVlVkEyal9Wc2w1NjI1c2hRLmFBeU5PakNDMnU0

Sleep restriction for insomnia involves reducing the amount of time you allot for sleep to more closely match your average nightly sleep duration. <br /><br />Sleep restriction is a core component of the best long-term treatment for chronic insomnia, which is cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia (CBT-I).<br /><br />You can learn more about CBT-I in these videos:<br />https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EjkXES_oPTg<br />https://www.facebook.com/insomniacoach/videos/550636648792812/<br /><br />Sleep restriction very rarely leads to less sleep. Instead, the result is usually more sleepiness at night, deeper and more consolidated sleep, and less fragmented sleep.<br /><br />However, dramatically reducing the amount of time you allot for sleep all at once can seem intimidating. If this is preventing you from reducing the amount of time you allot for sleep at night, there is an alternative strategy you can try. It's called sleep compression.<br /><br />Sleep compression involves gradually reducing the amount of time you allot for sleep over a number of weeks until you reach a point where the amount of time you allot for sleep is very similar to the amount of sleep you're actually getting.<br /><br />So, let's say you currently sleep about five hours each night but you are allotting eight hours for sleep. For the first week, you would reduce the amount of time you allot for sleep to around seven-and-a-half hours. For the second week, you would reduce this further to around seven hours. For the third week, you would reduce this to around six-and-a-half hours, and so on.<br /><br />The smaller the reduction each week, the longer it will take to reach your goal — but gradual progress is better than inaction!<br /><br />It will take longer for you to notice big improvements in your sleep if you choose to implement sleep compression rather than sleep restriction because it will take longer for you to get to the point where you'll be allotting an appropriate amount of time for sleep. However, if the idea of a sudden change to the amount of time you allot for sleep is too intimidating, it can be a good alternative option.<br /><br />You can learn more about sleep restriction in this video: <br />https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a3h6L9O7WHA<br /><br />You can learn more about creating a sleep window in this video:<br />https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yUO4bmoD5XI<br /><br />▶ Subscribe to the Insomnia Coach channel: http://www.youtube.com/channel/UCL5LsLUeVA2j_Vsl5625shQ?sub_confirmation=1<br /><br />My name is Martin Reed and I am the founder of Insomnia Coach®. I offer sleep coaching services that give people with insomnia all the skills and support they need to enjoy better sleep for the rest of their lives. I also offer a free two-week sleep training course for people with insomnia at https://insomniacoach.com/sleep-training/?ref=youtube041119<br /><br />You can also find me here:<br /><br />Website: https://insomniacoach.com<br />Twitter: https://twitter.com/insomniacoach<br />Facebook: https://facebook.com/insomniacoach<br />Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/myinsomniacoach/<br /><br />All content found on the Insomnia Coach YouTube channel is for informational and educational purposes only. It is not medical advice or medical treatment 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 other licensed healthcare provider. All content is provided as is, and without warranties.<br /><br />#insomnia<br />#sleeprestriction<br />#sleepcompression

Insomnia Coach 7.8K views April 11, 2019 9:38 pm

Sleep restriction for insomnia involves reducing the amount of time you allot for sleep to more closely match your average nightly sleep duration.

Sleep restriction is a core component of the best long-term treatment for chronic insomnia, which is cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia (CBT-I).

You can learn more about CBT-I in these videos:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EjkXES_oPTg
https://www.facebook.com/insomniacoach/videos/550636648792812/

Sleep restriction very rarely leads to less sleep. Instead, the result is usually more sleepiness at night, deeper and more consolidated sleep, and less fragmented sleep.

However, dramatically reducing the amount of time you allot for sleep all at once can seem intimidating. If this is preventing you from reducing the amount of time you allot for sleep at night, there is an alternative strategy you can try. It’s called sleep compression.

Sleep compression involves gradually reducing the amount of time you allot for sleep over a number of weeks until you reach a point where the amount of time you allot for sleep is very similar to the amount of sleep you’re actually getting.

So, let’s say you currently sleep about five hours each night but you are allotting eight hours for sleep. For the first week, you would reduce the amount of time you allot for sleep to around seven-and-a-half hours. For the second week, you would reduce this further to around seven hours. For the third week, you would reduce this to around six-and-a-half hours, and so on.

The smaller the reduction each week, the longer it will take to reach your goal — but gradual progress is better than inaction!

It will take longer for you to notice big improvements in your sleep if you choose to implement sleep compression rather than sleep restriction because it will take longer for you to get to the point where you’ll be allotting an appropriate amount of time for sleep. However, if the idea of a sudden change to the amount of time you allot for sleep is too intimidating, it can be a good alternative option.

You can learn more about sleep restriction in this video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a3h6L9O7WHA

You can learn more about creating a sleep window in this video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yUO4bmoD5XI

▶ Subscribe to the Insomnia Coach channel: http://www.youtube.com/channel/UCL5LsLUeVA2j_Vsl5625shQ?sub_confirmation=1

My name is Martin Reed and I am the founder of Insomnia Coach®. I offer sleep coaching services that give people with insomnia all the skills and support they need to enjoy better sleep for the rest of their lives. I also offer a free two-week sleep training course for people with insomnia at https://insomniacoach.com/sleep-training/?ref=youtube041119

You can also find me here:

Website: https://insomniacoach.com
Twitter: https://twitter.com/insomniacoach
Facebook: https://facebook.com/insomniacoach
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/myinsomniacoach/

All content found on the Insomnia Coach YouTube channel is for informational and educational purposes only. It is not medical advice or medical treatment 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 other licensed healthcare provider. All content is provided as is, and without warranties.

#insomnia
#sleeprestriction
#sleepcompression