Like many people, David struggled with the odd night of poor sleep every now and again — but three years ago a night of absolutely no sleep led to sleep-related worry and the fear that he had lost the ability to sleep. This led to more nights of bad sleep (and many nights of no sleep whatsoever) and this compounded the problem. Eventually, David discovered that it was his worry and obsession with sleep that was perpetuating his insomnia. His recognition of this, along with the implementation of cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia (CBT-I), acceptance, and mindfulness techniques helped him get his sleep back on track.

David runs two websites: Letting Focus and Tenant's Guide to Successful Renting and is the author of Successful Property Letting – How to Make Money in Buy to Let.

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Transcript

Martin Reed: Welcome to The Insomnia Coach Podcast. My name is Martin Reed. I believe that nobody needs to live with chronic insomnia and that cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia (CBT-I) techniques can help you enjoy better sleep for the rest of your life.

Martin Reed: So, first of all, David, thank you for joining us today on the podcast.

David Lawrenson: Okay, thank you.

Martin Reed: So, let's start right at the beginning. Tell us a bit about when sleep became a problem for you. Are you able to recall what initially triggered your insomnia? And how long ago did this all begin for you?

David Lawrenson: Well, in a major way, it started about three years ago actually, around now. Yes, 2 years 11 months, 3 years ago. I had occasional problems with not being able to sleep very well, before that, on the odd evening, odd night. But the first time was about a half a year before it started in a big way. I went through a whole night without any sleep. But there have been a few times, as I was growing up, when I couldn't sleep for a long time.

David Lawrenson: And the funny thing was, my dad was suffering from insomnia. I think I heard him talk about it when I was young, little from the age of eight. And I think that was in the back of my mind. But the thing that really started it in the modern time, so this was three years ago, was I had this asthma develop. So, I hadn't had asthma before, and it was just crazy. I thought, "Well, what is this?" I go and play football, because I play football a couple of times a week, and I would really struggle to be breathing after it.

David Lawrenson: This went on for quite a while. And then, it got really bad, and finally, I couldn't sleep through the night. I was also quite worried about it. It took a bit longer than it should to sort of figure out what it was. But I was a little bit shocked to have asthma anyway. Never had it before. So, I had my first proper, I had another night with no sleep at all. And there were a couple of these. I got the asthma sorted out, but the sleep problem remained. And I have the occasional nights where, well sometimes a bit more than occasional, where I have a whole night where I didn't sleep at all. I'm beginning to think I've lost the ability to sleep.

David Lawrenson: Anyway, that was the start of it, and that was about three years ago now that it started. And it started with asthma, although I had the occasional night of non sleep before that, but not very many. That was when it started. And it started getting quite bad then.

Martin Reed: Yeah. It's quite a typical pattern.