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Week 3: I Think Positively
The third week's session suggested I replace my fretfulness about my insomnia — which triggered stress and, in turn, more sleeplessness — with what Dr. Jacobs calls "accurate, positive thoughts about sleep" (supplied in the material e-mailed to me). For example, Dr. Jacobs's research has taught him that we need less sleep than we think — seven hours is fine for most adults — and most of us can function effectively, for days and even weeks, on less. For the third week and then into the fourth, I followed the other rules as best I could, even though I badly missed hanging out in my bed. When I woke up at night, I read — and mostly dozed off quickly. If I couldn't fall back asleep, I went into the kitchen, wrote a letter or read the paper, and then headed back to bed and promptly fell asleep.
Given the changes I was having to make, I did wish Dr. Jacobs had come up with more enthusiastic responses to the sleep logs I sent. One evaluation from his office told me, for example, that I had woken up at the same time most days that week and had therefore "met this goal," but since I had lain in bed more than a half hour after waking most mornings, I therefore "did not meet this goal." I'd hoped for more encouragement, along the lines of "Great going!" and "Keep at it!"
I woke up almost every night, but I was sleeping longer than I was accustomed to, or even felt necessary — eight to nine hours some nights. I was also dreaming more than I had in years, and my dreams were vivid and detailed. In one, Kevin Costner and I spent a beautiful afternoon skiing together. He schussed down the slopes deftly, which he probably does in real life, too. I also schussed gracefully, which in real life I do not.
And I broke the pill habit. My first week, I'd taken sleeping pills twice when I'd woken in the night. I assumed we weren't supposed to use sleeping pills at all, so I didn't take any the second week. I was wrong: The third week's session included instructions on tapering off sleep medications (and it's important for regular users to follow them). In any case, with the exception of one additional night, I did not use sleeping pills for the rest of the program. And I didn't miss them.
Week 4: I Graduate
By the fourth week, to my delight, I felt I'd successfully completed the program. I wasn't perfectly consistent with my going-to-sleep and getting-up times and I still woke up most nights, but I didn't mind — my wakings were far fewer and less lengthy. (And they would get briefer and briefer; I now can fall back asleep within five minutes.) I dropped off without TV — and with lights out! — and woke up feeling refreshed. I felt so good, I only skimmed the instructions for the fourth and fifth weeks. These described relaxation techniques to lessen stress and promote a good night's sleep. I've saved them because I can always use tips on relieving stress, but I don't seem to need them for sleep at the moment.
I called Dr. Jacobs when I finished the program. The doctor sounded serious but passionate about what he does. "One of the reasons I got into this area was because of a period of insomnia I had back in the eighties. I was able to use CBT techniques, which solved my problem in a couple of weeks," he told me.
I told him that I felt the program had "cured" me by the end of the third week. "That happens with most people," he said. By then, most participants have reduced their insomnia to once a week and have added an hour per night of sleep. The fact that I sometimes slept more than I felt necessary was probably my body's effort to catch up after a long period of crummy rest, he explained.
The notion that we need eight hours of sleep a night is "a myth that has been promoted by some sleep researchers," Dr. Jacobs says. People prone to insomnia in particular may need less than eight hours — he told me we're called "short sleepers."
Why would researchers want to peddle an eight-hour agenda? "The pharmaceutical industry provides a lot of the funding for insomnia research," Dr. Jacobs says. If the industry can make us think we must get eight hours of sleep, he argues, it can sell more sleeping pills.
I thanked Dr. Jacobs for his help and told him I would spread the word about the eight-hour myth based on my own example. Seven hours seemed to do me just fine. "I couldn't sleep eight hours if I tried," he said cheerfully. Six hours can be enough for him, and if it isn't, "a 20-minute nap will carry me through the day."
I don't see the 20-minute nap in my future — in my opinion, any self-respecting nap should last an hour, and I had to give up long naps as part of the program. On the other hand, I'm a happy sleeper for the first time since I can remember. And I have Dr. Jacobs to thank for it.
