SleepEasy Program to Reduce and Eliminate the Need for Sleep Medication—Without Withdrawal
Please read this page soon, well before you are actually going to begin reducing your sleep medication. Midway through this page are descriptions of two small accessories to purchase, which are important for your medication reduction.
Welcome to the SleepEasy Sleep Medication Reduction Program.
Although SleepEasy is about ultimately being able to sleep without medication, it's important to acknowledge that sleep medication is very useful for some people because it’s far better to sleep with medication than to not sleep.
This first week, continue to take the same dosage of medication. Although you won't be beginning to reduce your medication dosage this week, please read the guidelines on this webpage now or soon, as this preview can set you at ease about when the timing is good for you and how you will be able to reduce medication without withdrawal.
There are a number of steps on this page, but that is just to provide clarity. When you actually begin the process, you will follow just one clear and easy step at a time.
Sleep medication reduction should be carried out in consultation with your physician or nurse practitioner. Call your physician's office and get the email of the office manager. Create an email explaining how you want to proceed with the SleepEasy Sleep Medication Reduction program. Include the URL of this page, which explains the program to your physician or nurse practitioner. Then send your email to the office manager and ask him or her to forward it to your physician or nurse practitioner. Then your physician will be informed for when you have your appointment.
Midway through this page are descriptions of two small accessories [change to accessories] to purchase, which are important for your medication reduction.
The SleepEasy app gives you guidance about initially continuing to take your medication and adding the SleepEasy method. You'll find yourself falling asleep more quickly and easily than you previously did with just the medication. That's proof you're not just being drugged—your body is learning how to sleep better on its own. Continue taking your sleep medication for however many nights you wish, to build your confidence in your improved ability to sleep. As you gain confidence in that, the need for medication begins to naturally fall away.
When people don't have a sleep method and try to wean off medication, the reason they have withdrawal is because they are just taking something away, which leaves an emptiness. What you will be doing is different—you are first filling that inner place with your confidence in your ability to sleep with the SleepEasy method. Then the need for medication gradually falls away.
Don't just use your mind's determination to decide when to begin medication reduction ("I'm going to begin reducing medication soon!"). Instead, using the SleepEasy method plus your medication, wait until you are sleeping well with that combination for a while, so you have confidence in that. Wait until after you've had enough good nights' sleep so your nervous system is calming down. After that, then you can consider beginning to begin reducing your dosage of sleep medication. Then, when you're ready to reduce your medication a small amount, to make this easiest, you might wish to do so on a night when you have no early commitments the following morning.
Don't think about reducing sleep medication during a peak stressful period in your life. During that high stress period, call upon the support of medication. Reduce medication when life gets a little calmer.
Most medication reduction programs have people reduce from full dosage > ¾ > ½ > ¼ > sleeping without medication. Those amounts of reduction are too large a step. The SleepEasy Sleep Medication Reduction Program enables you to reduce 2% per night. That is such a small reduction, your body doesn’t notice it, making it even easier to reduce medication without withdrawal. At that gradual rate, complete reduction takes about two months, but you don't need to wait until after you have completed medication reduction to feel relieved. You will feel great relief to be in the process of reducing.
If your medication is in pill form, the precise and gradual reduction will involve you crushing your pills. If your pills are time-release, those shouldn't be crushed. Ask your physician to prescribe that medication in regular, not time-release form. Sending them the URL of this page gives your physician a full understanding of this program.
Materials
To follow this gradual reduction process, you will need the following:
Digital milligram scale $24.99 on Amazon. This makes it possible to accurately measure very small amounts of reduction. The use of this is explained below.
Pill crusher $7.49 on Amazon.
Steps
This will involve some preparation steps. However, once you are set, the medication reduction process is easy. Follow these instructions once you have your scale and pill crusher with you.
The report has 100 rows, corresponding to percentages going from 100% of medication, gradually down to 0.
With the buttons at the bottom of your report, you can:
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I recommend that you reduce 2% per night. That is such a small amount, your body won't even notice that reduction.
Do that for the first 60% of reduction, so that will take 30 days.
Then when you progress from 40% to 0, I recommend you reduce 1% per night.
With that, the complete process will involve about two months total.
While you'll feel very good when you can sleep well without any medication, you don't have to delay until then to feel good, because simply being in the process of gradually reducing will feel very encouraging right away.
Write down what reduction you are using that night, so the next night you know what next reduction to go to.
If you have a challenging night, the next night go back to a larger dosage you had been taking a few nights ago. Do that for enough nights to stabilize and feel confident again. Then again proceed gradually reducing.
Although that slows your progress, the knowledge that you have the "safety net" of being able to temporarily return to full dose for one night will give you comfort and assurance, and that comfort will help you progress.
When people take sleep medication, sometimes they wait until it makes them feel noticeably sleepy, and then they get into bed. Now, instead I suggest you get into bed sooner and use the SleepEasy recording. You have the safety net of knowing the medication will help. Using the method plus the medication will help you sleep faster than the medication alone, which is proof you are not just being drugged—you're doing something within yourself to help you sleep.
When you are progressing well with your sleep medication reduction, you can consider adding natural sleep supplements to give you comfortable support as you further reduce and then your pharmaceutical sleep medication and then want to sleep well without it. To get the most effective sleep supplement we have discovered, go to your app Resources section and click on the Sleep Supplements program to listen and learn more. Then for a link to purchase the supplements go to https://www.sleepeasymethod.com/resources
Most online sources say it is safe to take a natural sleep supplement while weaning off a low dose of sleep medication. Do your own online research and you and your physician can make the informed decision.
If you want to use a natural supplement, to have it available in time, I recommend you get it soon so it is available when you need it.
When you are ready to begin reducing your dosage of sleep medication, please reread this page and follow the clear steps, one small step at a time.
Congratulations! You are on your way to being able to sleep well without needing medication.