Sorry friends, I kind of left you hanging after my sleep study post, not having followed up for a WHILE. I was unsure exactly how to address the results that I got. Ultimately, I decided just to word vomit about it, like you do.
The Results
After all that rigmarole I am happy(ish) to report that they did not detect any sleep disorders, aside from generalized insomnia. So on the one hand, that is great! I do not have sleep apnea, restless leg syndrome, etc. and therefore don't have to do anything to treat them. On the other hand...what do I do with that? I still have not slept well for umpteen years, so obviously there is SOMETHING to address.
Recommendation
The advice given to me was to look into behavioral sleep medicine, which I had not heard about previously. Check out this interesting summary article about the topic. Basically, behavioral sleep medicine is a cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), that focuses on the way that you perceive the sleeping process and how to adjust your associated behaviors to reach your sleep goals. While I do think this therapy is worth trying, I do not feel optimistic that it will be my saving grace. After all, during the time that I've lived with insomnia I have worked with several therapists, multiple of which specialized in CBT.
My Next Steps
Due to my skeptical nature, I thought about how else I could meet my sleep goals and broke it down into a list.
Here goes:
- Find a new psychiatrist (I haven't seen one since I finished graduate school) who can work with me to adjust my medication.
- Reduce my drinking, which is known to affect sleep quality pretty dramatically. One of these days I'll make a post about how I plan to address this one.
- Finish reading Why We Sleep: Unlocking the Power of Sleep and Dreams to see if there is any information that might give me more ideas.
- Yeah, ok, I'll try the behavioral sleep medicine...I guess.
Now I'll probably drop the subject for another month and leave you hanging once again. Except that drinking goal, you'll be seeing more about that. Until then, I wish you all many good night's rest and some hugs from someone you love (if you're into that).
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