Support for Partners of People with Insomnia and Sleep Disorders?

I have been married to someone suffering from insomnia for over 13 years and while I truly love this man, I find it increasingly difficult to maintain a healthy relationship given the unpredictability and effects his erratic sleep pattern has on our marriage.

The strange thing is - out of the millions of people suffering from sleep disorders - I cannot find any resources other than my new blog (which I started out of desperation) that offer support for partners of people with sleep disorders and insomnia and so I'm reaching out here.

Do your partners struggle too and/or is your marriage/relationship affected by sleep apnea, insomnia, etc? If so, I'd love to hear from them or you. As I said, I have TONS of compassion for anyone struggling with sleep issues - and - I think it's equally important for those trying to care for anyone struggling - to also get support.

Much thanks to all, Hannah

Insomniache.com

Hi Hannah, and welcome to MyApnea.Org! I agree with you that there do not seem to be many resources for the partners or families of those struggling with sleep disorders. My relationship with my family was definitely impacted by my struggle with sleep apnea before I was treated. I literally slept at the other end of the house because my snoring disturbed everyone else! I have also been on the other side of that struggle, losing sleep because of someone else's snoring until their sleep apnea was treated. I have not experienced the struggle of a partner's insomnia, but I can only imagine how difficult it must be. Hopefully, other Forum users will contribute their stories to this new topic! If anyone out there knows of resources that may be helpful, please share!

Thanks for your comments Dan. I'm sorry to hear that you've been impacted yourself (both sides).

It's so strange that there's not more support for partners of people that are struggling with sleep disorders in general. I know for my husband there's a bit of shame and embarrassment to talk about how bad something as simple as lack of sleep affects him - and maybe that's why there's not a lot of partners out there talking about it either. But as you know, it's real. And I hope more light continues to get shed on the topic for both the folks struggling to sleep - and those witnessing and living alongside it.

Again, appreciate the support.

Hi Hannah. Has your husband sought treatment from a sleep medicine doctor? There may be treatments that could help improve his insomnia.

Hi there - Yes. He's tried everything. He's now trying Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and it seems to be helping. Fingers crossed (again!).

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Insomnia (CBT-I) has been shown to be very effective in helping people who suffer with insomnia. The National Sleep Foundation has some interesting information here: https://sleepfoundation.org/sleep-news/cognitive-behavioral-therapy-insomnia.

Yes. I've seen the site. Let's hope it keeps working. Parts of it go against everything you'd think would help - like staying up later and rising earlier. We shall see!