COPING WITH

YOUR
INSOMNIA
Sarah Yutta,

11.09.2008

Dedicated to the 58% of adults who experience insomnia.

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 Preface

You have insomnia.

I too have insomnia.

You suffer sleepless nights?

I too suffer sleepless nights. Not every night, mind you, but all too many nights.

And yet I hold down a full time job.

Plus, I am on the directorate of an international word-class organization.

Plus I lecture weekly out of town.

Plus I am a full time parent to seven children and a deeply devoted spouse.

Plus, I have a full time night job.

On the side I fundraise for an institution close to my heart.

And yes, I have insomnia.

So here's the scoop; insomnia is no death sentence.

It does not mean you have to live under debilitating circumstances.

It must not hold you back from living your rightful meaningful life.

In fact you can do everything anyone sleeping solidly can do.

And that is what this book will show you.

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 Chapter one
Another book on insomnia!?

This book was written because when searching around for information on insomnia I found many
resources that deal with this condition and provide information and remedies, tip and advice to
cure insomnia.

All very valuable; invaluable, in fact.

And yet, much as I searched, I was surprised that the main ideas that can change an insomniac
from being controlled by his or her insomnia and letting it run, and ruin!, their life, to taking
charge and coping with their insomnia – are simply not stated anywhere. So I decided to set down
in words those principles which allow anyone, at any point, to effectively cope with their
insomnia, and live their lives happily with it. No tricks, no psychology and no medicines, herbs,
exercises, machines or sleep music.

As indicated by the title, "Coping With Your Insomnia", I do not plan to cure insomnia. Curing
insomnia is a tricky business even for big doctors; I certainly have no pretentions to do so. Most
of the time even doctors do no more than prescribe drug treatment, which often does not provide
a long-term cure for insomnia. So in fact, this book will not try to cure insomnia at all. Instead it
will teach you the simple steps to take so that insomnia ceases to be an issue at all, and in fact
your insomnia may very well disappear too. It may disappear, it may not; it makes precious little
difference. This is a one-of-a-kind book, and starts off by making a tall claim, as I have just done.

You are probably pretty skeptical at this point, and that’s good. You darn ought to be! And as the
proof of the pudding is in the eating, so as to speak, the proof of this coping method is in its
effectiveness. So just curl up and have a pleasant read. Good times are up ahead.

I am certainly no doctor, and for that reason I do encourage anyone with chronic insomnia
to be checked out by a doctor to be sure that there is no serious underlying medical
condition causing their insomnia. Be responsible!

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 Chapter two
Danger up ahead!

What are the effects of insomnia – anybody know?

Here is a short laundry list;

1. Chronic health problems

2. Increased drug use
3. Perceived poor health (i.e. feeling lousy)
4. Heart disease
5. Hypertension
6. Muscular problems
7. Depression
8. Poor work performance
9. Bad memory
10. Low concentration
11. Failure at work
12. Fewer promotions
13. Heartburn
14. Absenteeism
15. Relationship difficulties
16. Impaired quality of life
17. Irritableness
18. Forgetfulness
19. falls or accidents
20. Low energy levels
21. Loss of immune functions
22. Illness and infections
23. Headaches
24. High blood pressure
25. Which in turn causes stroke, kidney and heart disease
26. Alcohol abuse
27. Obesity
28. Lack of judgment
29. Hallucinations
30. Diabetes
31. Low self esteem
32. Flu-like symptoms

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 33. Mental illness (from the stress)
34. And how about this; early death!

These are just some of the funnies insomnia can give you, yum yum!

But c'mon, why are we discussing this all; obviously if we are talking about insomnia we know
first-hand what pain it is giving us and how it wreaks havoc in our lives and schedules. Why scare
people with more potential problems?

Fair question, here's the answer;

Look hard at that list. Many of those guys from number one to thirty-four are familiar. In fact
they look just like they were lifted out of a chapter on the effects of stress!

In fact they aren’t, I'm afraid. I lifted them out of studies on insomnia. But you don’t have to be a
supercomputer to realize that indeed they are stress related issues!

Which brings us right into …

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 Chapter three
The number two biggest secret in coping with your insomnia;

Insomnia becomes more prevalent with age. That’s a fact. And yet, the older folks are much less
affected by it. Younger people are actually 137 % more susceptible to be damaged by insomnia.
Why is that? Because older folk have stronger constitutions now than they had when they were
young? Because they have less medical issues than youth?

Here is my guess; Older people may in fact be weaker in all-around health and stamina than
younger people, but are wiser for their years. As a result they don’t sweat their insomnia like
young people do. They do not develop anxiety, worry, tension and all the rest as a result, and that
shows up on their health scores.

So what we are really saying in super-plain English is this; you may have insomnia, and I know
it's really sad, but its worrying about it that will destroy you.

So here is the tip; (insert "drumroll" sound here)

Do not worry about the fact that you have insomnia.

Shocked silence.

Then suddenly everyone talking at once;

"Easy for you to say!"

"Is this some kind of joke?!?"

"What are you talking about?"

So here is the story; Yeah, it's really simple to know that worry about insomnia is the real killer of
insomniacs, but the big issue is that we need to keep aware of this and consciously fight that
worry.

We need to know that although we may have insomnia and it may affect our performance
tomorrow, well, indeed it may. And you know what else; there is nothing you can do about that.
It's water that has already passed under the bridge. It's as good as happened. You will gain

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 absolutely nothing at all under the sun (-moon, in this particular case. Ed. note) by worrying
about it further. This is a waste of a perfectly good worry, and an unproductive stray thought.

Well, not totally unproductive. It is productive of; Chronic health problems, increased drug use,
perceived poor health (i.e. feeling lousy), heart disease, hypertension, depression and the rest of
the usual suspects.

Okay, how do I stop worry?

Now some people are going to worry about how to stop worrying, which is yet another thing to
worry about, but the way to stop worrying is pretty simple for most of us;

Just refuse to worry.

Yep, take a deep breath and go ahead. You can do it, I really believe in you! Just face your
worrying and say "NO!". If you think it cannot be done, and really really believe it cannot be
done, you are probably right.

As for me, I do it every day.

Alternatively, you can do what you do when that gossipy neighbor comes over and starts asking
too many personal questions;

Just change the subject

Just think about something else. Two feet cannot fit into one shoe at the same time and neither
can you be thinking two thoughts at once. So by changing the subject playing in your head you
have neatly replaced the negative, early-death producing, thoughts with jolly and cheerful long-
life ones. What a trade!

Another tactic to contain worry, named by Dale Carnegie in his book "How to stop Worrying and
Begin Living" as the "Sovereign cure for worry", is belief in a Higher power or fate that controls
our lives. The crucial idea is that what is destined will happen, our efforts to the contrary
notwithstanding. We cannot control our lives, even their direction, but we can choose to do what
is upright and good. We do not run our lives; rather we actually react and respond to our life's
events. So if I am to be up all night, that’s it. There is nothing I can say or do to change the fact. If
as a result I will make mistakes tomorrow, maybe flub an important meeting, that's what is
destined. I cannot control that, and therefore refuse to spend an ounce of worry on what will be
anyhow. Instead I will channel any energy I have (left over after being up the whole night!) into
improving the situation and responding to circumstantial demands as they present themselves.

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 Actually, I don't intend to talk about controlling your worry here, no offence intended. Our
subject is insomnia and I will be sticking to it (well somewhat, at least). There are many good
books on dealing with worry, see www.amazon.com for some good ideas.

P.s. here is one more thought on the process;

The more important it is for you to get a good night's sleep, the less sleep you manage because
you are trying so hard.

Believing that a poor night's sleep is a disaster only generates more anxiety and worry about your
sleep, which in turn makes you sleep even less.

Consider alternative thoughts that reduce the importance of sleeping tonight on the rest of your
life. Perhaps tell yourself "I'll be a little tired and cranky tomorrow but it's nothing that I can't
handle."

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 Chapter four
Is insomnia in fact curable, and does it need to be;

What causes insomnia? Alcohol, stress, heartburn, coffee and coke, depression and anxiety are
common causes. Even a stray nap can throw your schedule off enough for you to be awake at
night. This insomnia is usually temporary; as soon as the cause is removed the insomnia should
disappear. However for the night it reigns, it will kill your next day.

I should add that this kind of insomnia also includes pseudo-insomnia; (I just made up that name,
ha!) which is when you cannot sleep because you are flying transatlantic or a can of peaches fell
on your big toe (ouch!) or the dog is hyperactive. Bottom line = no sleep.

Need I say that these insomnias are incurable?

More serious, however, is what is referred to as "chronic insomnia", affecting about ten percent of
the population. This longer-lasting type of insomnia will affect fewer people, but may become a
lifelong problem. Medical literature considers it a "significant therapeutic challenge" (read; Big
Problem for Doctors). Chronic insomnia often has multiple causes and therefore the sufferer may
need multiple treatment modalities. So go see your doctor, and hope he can help you.

Am I saying insomnia is untreatable? Not at all. Insomnia is considered medically a treatable

condition.

However, not that easily.

Insomnia is not a simple condition. Treatment may take some time to be effective. And the cure
may involve drugs. Drug treatment also carries with it the risk of tolerance, meaning that as the
body becomes accustomed to the drug it begins to tolerate it more, so that ever greater doses
become necessary to bring the same result.

And yes, peach-can-fell-on-your-toe insomnia is virtually untreatable, unless you wish to drug
yourself into obliviousness.

Can you function without a good night's rest?

Medical residents work longer hours than virtually all other occupational groups. During the first
year, medical residents frequently work a 24-hour shift every third night. More recently, 36-hour
shifts were separated by 12 hours of rest, during 100+ hour weeks. Ha! Try that out!

Edison habitually slept only four hours or so at night. So did Napoleon.

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 On transatlantic solo yacht races the best performing sailors average five and a half hours of sleep
during a several month race, under the challenging conditions of storms, darkness, being lost at
sea or colliding with big ships.

One study examined long-term sleep loss in college couples whose sleep was reduced to 5.5
hours of sleep over an eight-month period. In another study, college students were restricted to
5.5 hours of sleep for two months. In both studies, there were no significant detrimental effects on
cognitive, behavioral or physiological functioning. This indicates that chronic sleep loss of 2 to 3
hours per night for up to 8 months does not result in significant performance decrements.

Physicians undergoing residency training must perform surgery and emergency room care, for
months at a time on an average of 5.5 hours of sleep.

O.k., these are people who sleep little. What if you got no sleep at all???

Mr. Paul Kern, a Hungarian soldier serving in World War 1, was shot through the head. He
survived, but the part of his brain controlling sleep was damaged, leaving him without the ability
to sleep. Doctors told him that he would die soon. Contrary to all expectation, however, he
recovered, took a job, and went on living fine foe the next forty five years!!

Thai Ngoc, born 1942, claimed in 2006 to have been awake for 33 years or 11,700 nights. It was
said that Ngoc acquired the ability to go without sleep after a bout of fever in 1973, but other
reports indicate he stopped sleeping in 1976 with no known trigger. At the time of the report,
Ngoc suffered from no apparent ill effect (other than a minor decline in liver function), was
mentally sound and could carry 100 kg of pig feed down a 4 km road. (Recently he was reported
to be getting irritable because of the lack of sleep!)

Thai Ngoc today

Fyodor Nesterchuk from the Ukrainian town of Kamen-Kashirsky claims to have been awake for
more than 20 years. Local doctor Dr. Fyodor Koshel examined him extensively yet failed to make
him sleep. Mr. Nesterchuck did not suffer any of the normally deleterious effects of sleep
deprivation. Nesterchuck reports experiencing drowsiness at night, commenting that he attempts
to sleep "in vain" when he notices his eyelids drooping.

Randy Gardner holds the Guinness World Record for intentionally having gone the longest
without sleep. In 1965, Gardner, then 18, stayed awake for 264 hours (about 11 days) for a high

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 school science project. Although he experienced significant deficits in concentration, motivation,
perception, and other higher mental processes during his sleep deprivation, he recovered normal
cognitive functions after a few nights' sleep.

On May 25, 2007 the BBC reported that Tony Wright beat the Guinness World Record by staying
awake for 11 days and nights. The Guinness Book of Records has, however, withdrawn its
backing of a sleep deprivation class because of the associated health risks.

Rhett Lamb, a 3-year-old boy of St. Petersburg, Florida, has a rare condition and has only slept
for one to two hours per day in the past three years.

No one would suggest that you do without sleep.

At the same time it is glad to hear that your sleeplessness is no death sentence.

You can, in fact, live and function with no sleep!

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 Chapter five
The number one biggest secret in coping with your insomnia;

Many years ago, when I was a teenager, and of course, an insomniac teenager, I was studying at
university far from home.

One night, unable to sleep, I was in the enclosed yard in front of our dorm. I had a cassette
recorder with me, and I was recording a tape for my parents back home. Phone charges were
enormous in those days. I had always a lot to say, and I was too lazy to write, so I used to talk
into my tape recorder for an hour and then simply mail the tape back home.

Well, on that night I was doing this tape when suddenly the Dean's son, who was basically the
assistant dean, came walking by with another student. They had been discussing some matter
when they spotted me out in my night robe. He walked right over and asked me "What are you
doing up?" I told him how I couldn't sleep, and was spending my time to its best advantage by
making this here tape.

He shook his head slowly and said "No. there is something far better you can do with your time.
That is simply lying in bed and relaxing. It may make you feel accomplished to make your tape,
but you will be tired and fatigued tomorrow.

However if you were to spend your night just resting – even if you never slept – you would be
alert and active the next day"

I took his advice, and have never regretted it.

This will enable you to forget about your insomnia and enjoy healthy, active and productive days.

This will enable you to rest up on long flights and bus rides.

You will be able to "sleep" waiting at the doctors office, and even while waiting on line at the
supermarket!

This will enable you to "nap" even right before a meeting when you are too stressed out to sleep.

This will enable you to add working hours to your day because you will be able to have the
luxury of taking a break and resting during lunch, even if there are no beds nearby.

Here is the formula in a nutshell;

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 Just kick back and relax.

Clear your mind of all thoughts; Don't focus on anything.

Relax, relax and relax…

Obvious, isn't it? Well actually no! Not to most of us, at least. Most of us in a position where we
would like to sleep but cannot, whether in bed or on a bus, will only try harder to sleep. We try
and force ourselves to sleep, as if sleep could be forced! (If only…!) So this is counter-intuitive to
the majority of mankind. For we are saying that if you would like to sleep but find that you
cannot; let go and relax instead. Quit trying to sleep. Let yourself rest, and enjoy the thought that
you are powerfully recharging your batteries just by the power of repose alone.

How should you rest?

1. Let your body slump down in your bed or airplane seat.

2. Free your mind to wander around on its own, thinking about nothing in particular.

3. Check your neck and back muscles and ensure they are loose and relaxed.

4. Unbutton any confining clothing.

5. Breathe deeply and slowly.

6. Feel the heaviness inside of your head.

7. Relax, settle down and let go and rest.

Relaxation - deep relaxation - is kin to sleep. It is not all that sleep is, but it has much of the same
fiber and substance. And it will do you a great deal of good, almost as much as sleep will!

The import of this is extensive; it means that you can rest through the night instead of sleeping. It
means that one you can relax at any time, and produce sleep-like effects.

In fact, this discovery is so remarkable, so empowering, that once you learn it you will be able to
face sleeplessness with integrity. Not only will you feel less obligation or pressure to actually
sleep, you may find yourself sleeping soundly as a result! So this technique is not only for coping
with insomnia – it very often will cure it outright! (Personally I think it is more important to cope
with insomnia than cure it, but hey, I'm all for curing it too!)

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 Here is why;

The more you try to control your sleep, the less you actually sleep. Sleep is a natural body
response, and telling yourself that you must sleep and attempting to force yourself to sleep only
puts pressure on you and stops you from sleeping. Indeed, paradoxically, relaxing and letting go
will allow falling asleep and staying asleep to happen naturally.

Here is the story of one individual;

"My story of meditation started last year. For the past year I have been extremely stressed
out for not doing as well in competitions as I wanted, not keeping the perfect grade in all of
my classes, plus my widowed mom started dating some guy. So I was running away from
reality in meditation. Then everything came back to normal and I just forgot about that
period. I started getting all A's again, we won the City Championships in Ultimate Frisbee
and got the second place in the state, won the regionals and the states in Science bowl, my
ideas and suggestions for the school worked well, and a few were even brought to reality,
and I started the student council. But the day before yesterday I was kinda tired, but did
not want to go to bed - I was at a sleepover party and didn't want to sleep through all the
interesting part of it (we were playing Mafia, and then, later, displayed our skills on the
acoustic guitar) - so I remembered that I've read somewhere a while ago that 25 minutes of
meditation can provide as much relaxation for the brain as 6 hours of sleep (more than I
usually get). So I just separated myself, and started meditating. I do not know how much
time passed, it felt like a minute or 2, but I think it was actually significantly more than that
- you know - you just don't feel the time when you are meditating or asleep or unconscious -
but I did not fall asleep for another 26 hours. I didn't have any coffee, or anything - I just
felt that my mind is so clear - it does not need a rest. All I did is lie straight on a hard
surface (usually the floor) control my breathing to about one deep breath every 4-7 seconds,
relax every part of my body one after another, and "erase" the thoughts in my brain. All
but one that I need to concentrate on. If it is relieving headache - then it's that, if it is
lowering heart rate after running - it's that. If I need to relax (aka sleep) - I just do not
think about anything at first, and in the end concentrate on exciting my brain before
coming back to work"

This fellow was meditating, and yes, I know that meditation is not simple relaxation. But
meditation works because our body, the greatest machine ever, gets itself repaired and reset as we
aren't giving any work to it do. And this is as applicable to rest and relaxation as it is to
meditation.

Now, some people may object to what's being said here, because any good book on insomnia and
sleep will tell you about the sleep technique called "Stimulus Control" and the idea of simply
lying in bed seems to run counter to the advice given there. Let me explain;

"Stimulus control breaks the association between "bed" and "sleeplessness". Many people with
insomnia have come to associate the bed with being awake and anxious about sleeping instead of
being relaxed and asleep. Because of all the time spent in bed not sleeping, you have learned to

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 associate the bed with racing thoughts, agitation, alertness, restlessness, and sleeplessness. Some
people notice that it is easier to fall asleep in a living room chair than in bed. Stimulus control
treatment helps you re-associate the bed with sleep. There are three simple rules to follow as part
of this treatment approach;

1. Use your bed/bedroom for sleep and sex only; do not watch TV, listen to the radio, eat, or
read in bed. Using your bed for watching TV, eating, reading, discussing family
problems, doing leftover work from the office, or other non-sleeping activities, promotes
wakefulness and strengthens your associations of your bed as a place to be alert and
active. Barring these activities from your bed and bedroom will help promote the concept
that "bed" means "sleep."

2. Go to bed only when you are tired. People with insomnia often make the mistake of
going to bed before they are sufficiently tired. As such, they are not able to sleep, and
anxiety and ensuing sleeplessness result. Be sure that you are really feeling sleepy when
you go to bed.

3. Get out of bed if you can't fall asleep within 20-30 minutes; return to bed only when you
feel sleepy. Repeat this step as often as necessary during the night. People with insomnia
report that they often experience nights where they lay awake for hours on end "trying to
sleep." With mounting anxiety, they look at the clock, calculate time left until morning,
and worry about how awful they are bound to feel the next day. Such a pattern of
behavior causes the bed to become not a place for restful sleep, but rather, a place of
anxiety and frustration. To break this association, remember the "bed is for sleep only"
rule. After a short period of not sleeping, you need to get out of the bed and the bedroom.
After about 15-30 minutes of doing some quiet activity, you will want to assess whether
you are sufficiently tired to return to bed again. Getting out of bed when you think you
should be sleeping is probably a major change from what you have done, but this major
change is necessary to relearn a natural sleep pattern".

This indicates that in fact it is harmful to just lie there in bed.

However there is a crucial difference between what I am advocating here and what these fine
books are telling you to avoid.

Worthless lying in bed, while your thoughts are racing and you are anxious about not falling
asleep, not only stresses you out but also causes you to associate the bed and bedroom with
sleeplessness. That is what they are warning you about.

However valuable rest and relaxation, where you are gaining virtual sleep every minute of it, is
something you want to keep going. You will come to associate your bedroom with gaining
needed sleep/rest, with rejuvenation and refreshing your batteries. Deep relaxation is also restful
and enjoying. All of this is right in line with sleep. I'd wager you will develop no negative
associations from deep relaxation in your bed.

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 Chapter six
Summary

We have covered quit a few points here, lets review them;

1. The most dangerous thing about insomnia is the worry and anxiety about it. Do all you
can to avoid adding nervousness to sleep deprivation; the mixture is deadly.

2. Ways to avoid worry include refusing to think about it, changing the subject or
consciously thinking about something else, or reaffirming that we do not run our lives,
rather a Higher power does, who will also look out for our wellbeing.

3. Insomnia is technically curable, in practice it may be difficult, and you may be better off
just learning how to cope with it than to try curing it.

4. The sovereign cure for insomnia is to approximate sleep by rest and relaxation. Just lying
in bed can get you enough rejuvenation to keep you running the next day.

Here are some how-to articles on insomnia which I think you will enjoy.

http://www.wikihow.com/Fall-Asleep

http://www.wikihow.com/Sleep-Better

http://www.wikihow.com/Treat-Insomnia

http://www.wikihow.com/Rest-With-Your-Eyes-Open

To your sleeping success!!

Sarah Yutta

Afterword: this ebook is not free, but it costs no money. Instead what I want in return is for you to
try out the system, and write me at sarah@copingwithyourinsomnia.com telling me what was
your experiences until now and how has this booklet helped you. (You can also complain or send
me hate mail, it's okay, and I will read it.) Please be specific. This is called a testimonial, and will
help me market the book in the future. You can also send me points that I may have missed here
and ought to be included in future editions, or other methods you have tried that have worked for
you. You can point out mistakes I have made. I will send you something nice on insomnia in
appreciation. Thank you, and may you have restful nights!

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