On keeping a sleep diary when you're sleep-deprived
At the end of June i had an appointment with a sleep doc, who wanted me to keep a sleep diary. Which i didn't think much of during the appointment, as i've been tracking my sleep for a long while, but the format was different and my brain latched on to the need to track. Hard. So my sleep got worse for a while, just from all the "must remember, must remember" thinky-thoughts every time i woke up.
Anxiety's a real asshole.
But then came my first appointment with a therapist specializing in insomnia-focused cognitive behavioral therapy--which is, i learned, accepted as the best first option for insomnia that doesn't have a physical component. Among other things, he wanted me to also keep a sleep diary. Luckily, my sleep-deprived brain actually went "Oh! We need to talk about that..." and so i got some ideas on how to manage the anxiety of doing the more specific tracking.
The tracking's been interesting in and of itself. Seeing my patterns in a different context makes me take a step back, emotionally. He's having me use the app CBT-i Coach (fully downloadable data and an actually good privacy policy, since no account is needed to use it) and it's got some good tools built in.
No big revelations or changes yet. It just feels as though i'm doing something right and headed in a good direction.
And hey, getting a rare solid-six-hours last night probably helps, too.
- current soundscape: a fan and night insects