Things I learned about sleep, during our CBT sleep restriction program for insomnia.

Sleep issues can be a common thing for those of us with ADHD. And I didn't realize how we can also have a bad relationship with the concept of sleep.

Because our kiddo (who has had a particularly hard time with sleep - ie: Sleep walking, sleep talking, troubles getting to sleep and staying asleep) for FOREVER, and after doing alllllll the things we could find and research to help her, we finally got an appointment with a sleep specialist.

Here are some things we discovered on this journey. (trying my best to keep it to the point. I would love to answer any questions you might have. Just contact me or leave a comment) ok

So during our consult with the Sleep specialist we talked about a lot of things, and one of those was a CBT (cognitive behavioral therapy) sleep restriction program she wanted us to do for/with kiddo.

Below is a video that pretty much explains what our Doc told us about the CBT sleep restriction program.

To sum up the video (VERY summed up) you want to make sure that you have enough sleep pressure so that you sleep for the entire time you are in bed. The doctor explained all the rules we need follow as we did this program as well. ie No naps during the day, no caffeine, must wake up every morning at the same time..... etc etc.

What I learned

1. It is crazy easy to have a bad relationship with "bed time"

Getting to sleep has a LOT to do with your perception and the expectations that you believe to be true about "bed time" and "when you're SUPPOSED to go to bed". In other words... how much of a mental battle is going on in your head about what you "should" be doing, or when you "should" be in bed and asleep by.

Doing this program COMPLETELY re-wired our thinking of "bed-time." It made me think about why I HAD to get kiddo into bed a a particular time. (We had the idea that kids under 12 SHOULD be in bed by 8:00pm)

We know that we all need a certain amount of sleep to heal and then function. But I was surprised to find that, the mentality of "Get to bed it's past your bed time" was actually putting more stress on bed time than getting some actual sleep, and making it MUCH harder for her to actually get to sleep.

This made me reflect on what my concept and restrictions I have put on myself about my "bed time." It was very enlightening to realize the stress I was putting on myself.

2. Clocks are not your friend in the bedroom.

We did not think we had a bad relationship with the clock. However, once we moved it we found it ACTUALLY helped. (I was 100% surprised with this one)

If you struggle to get to sleep, how often to you look at the clock and wonder how long you have been tossing and turning, thinking "I just need to get to sleep, so I can do all the stuff tomorrow"? Worrying about how long you have been awake just keeps you up longer.

Move the clock so you CAN NOT see it. If you have an alarm set, then set it and put it under your bed so you can not see it (besides when it goes off in the morning you HAVE to get out of bed just to turn it off).

3. Supplements help

Our sleep doctor actually encouraged us to continue using melatonin during this sleep restriction program. I say this because there is a lot of misconception about melatonin, and we were told so many things from so many different people.

So my advice is ask the right people your questions about supplements.

Because we tried alllll the things to help with sleep, I thought I would list off some the supplements we researched and a suuuuper brief reason why. (this in no way tells you what to get. It only gives you words to google so you can do the research and figure out what might work for you.)

Gaba

GABA’s primary jobs are to reduce the activity of nerve cells throughout your nervous system and help your mind disengage from the wakeful state to the sleeping state. By inhibiting neural activity, GABA reduces mental and physical stress, eases anxiousness, creates a calmness of mood and induces sleep.

Passion flower extract

The chemicals in passion flower have calming effects. Passion flower is native to the southeastern United States and Central and South America. It's been traditionally used to help with sleep. People use passion flower for anxiety, including anxiety before surgery

Melatonin

A hormone primarily released by the pineal gland at night, and has long been associated with control of the sleep–wake cycle. As a dietary supplement, it is often used for the short-term treatment of insomnia,

L-theanine

Mainly works in the nervous system by promoting relaxation and providing calming effects. (These are not the same thing, and you should do your own research to find out what your body likes)

Valerian root

Is an herb that’s commonly used as an ingredient in sleep aid supplements as a result of its calming properties.

Magnesium glycinate

is often used for its calming effects to treat anxiety, depression, and insomnia

4. ADHD symptoms and sleep

Last thing I promise.

Because we had to do a sleep restriction program (which made us function on less sleep for a while) we completely/unquestionably KNOW how less sleep equals more ADHD symptoms.

Holy cow, if only you could have hear the conversations in our house all those weeks! It was "interesting" to say the least and let me tell you functioning was Haaaarrrrrrd

Also, I do NOT recommend trying to do a sleep restriction program during anything important for work or school. Check your schedule 5-6 weeks in advance before starting this!