Scott slept well his entire life until he listened to a podcast that led him to worry about how much sleep he was getting and the health consequences of insufficient sleep. That night, Scott had a terrible night of sleep and this triggered a vicious cycle of ever-increasing worry about sleep and increasingly worse sleep that lasted for ten months.

In this episode, we'll discover how Scott managed to get his sleep back on track, how well he sleeps now, and what life is like now he no longer worries about sleep.

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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: Scott slept well his entire life until he listened to a podcast that led him to worry about how much sleep he was getting and the health consequences of insufficient sleep. That night, Scott had a terrible night of sleep and this triggered a vicious cycle of ever-increasing worry about sleep and increasingly worse sleep that lasted for ten months.

Martin Reed: In this episode, we'll discover how Scott managed to get his sleep back on track, how well he sleeps now, and what life is like now he no longer worries about sleep.

Martin Reed: A full transcript of this podcast, and an accompanying video, can be found at insomniacoach.com/podcast

Martin Reed: Alright, Scott. Thank you so much for being on with us today.

Scott Johnson: Yeah, it's a pleasure. Thanks for having me.

Martin Reed: Can you tell us a little bit more about your insomnia? When did it begin and how did sleep become a problem for you?

Scott Johnson: Yeah, that was a question that went through my mind for weeks after the insomnia set in. I just couldn't figure it out, and then one day I was discussing my insomnia problem with a friend of mine and I really was able to pinpoint the exact time and date that it had occurred.

Scott Johnson: I'm an avid podcast listener, especially when it's a health-related issues, and I remember that day that insomnia occurred that a friend of mine sent me a link to a very popular podcast featuring, I believe his name is Dr. Matt Walker.

Scott Johnson: As I was driving home listening to the podcast, even though I didn't have insomnia or sleep issues at the time, I started thinking and evaluating my own sleep patterns. "Well, am I getting the desired amount of sleep that he's recommending, and if I don't, then all of these health-related issues are going to start setting in. I'm going to start having cancers, heart disease is going to go up, my mortality rate is, I'm going to live shorter."

Scott Johnson: My anxiety started building as I was driving to the house and then I started having a conversation with my wife and explaining to her the podcast, and then again continuing to evaluate my own sleep pattern, even though I didn't even have a problem. Then as bedtime started settling in a little bit, anticipatory anxiety just really kicked in. My mind started racing wondering if I was going to be able to sleep tonight.

Scott Johnson: That's the night that I got zero hours of sleep, and then of course you get into this vicious cycle. The next day you start again analyzing why I didn't sleep, and at the time I didn't know it was because of the podcast. That was the only thing at the time that I could pinpoint back, but this was months later after thinking about, "How did this all start? Why did it occur? Did I change something in my lifestyle? Am I eating the right foods? Am I vitamin deficient?"