Insomnia

Insomnia is a common sleep disorder – you may have trouble falling asleep, staying asleep, or getting the quality of sleep you need/desire. Insomnia can interfere with daily functioning, mood, motivation, and even your physical health. Chronic insomnia can affect your memory and concentration, and can raise your risk of high blood pressure, coronary heart disease, diabetes, and cancer. Insomnia can occur regardless of having the time and environment to sleep well.

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Did you know: the average adult requires between 5-10 hours of sleep per night. That is a huge variety! Not everyone needs a set number of hours of sleep: some can function properly on less sleep, while others require more.

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Short-term insomnia may be caused by stress or changes in your routine or environment and can last for a few days/weeks. Chronic insomnia, however, occurs more days than not and is not fully explained by general life changes/stressors or other health problems.  

 

Possible signs of insomnia include:

• Lying awake for a long time before you fall asleep. Usually, this looks like “tossing and turning” or just not being able to fall asleep.

• Frequently waking up throughout the night, resulting in sleeping for only short bursts of time. While it is normal to have brief periods of waking up throughout the night, periods of awakenings greater than about 15 minutes can result in loss of restful sleep.

• Waking up earlier than desired and not being able to get back to sleep.

• Generally poor quality – or restless – sleep. Sometimes, even if you get a “full night’s sleep,” you may still not feel rested or restored.

 

The good news is that insomnia treatment can be quick and effective! Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Insomnia, or CBT-I, is an effective and lasting treatment that addresses behaviors surrounding sleep. While CBT-I does not rely on medication to improve sleep, you are encouraged to continue taking your medication as prescribed by your doctor. CBT-I targets behaviors and environmental factors that may impact your sleep quality and helps you practice more effective ones.

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Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Insomnia has been found to provide benefit in at least 70-80% of individuals with insomnia. CBT-I is a 6- to 8-week treatment to help learn how to fall asleep faster and stay asleep longer and is recommended as the first-line treatment for chronic, or long-term, insomnia because of how effective it is. CBT-I includes the following:

• Cognitive Therapy to reduce sleep-related anxiety

• Relaxation techniques

• Sleep education to learn about sleep and good sleep habits

• Sleep restriction therapy which provides an optimum amount of time to spend in bed to train your body and your mind for effective sleep

• Stimulus control therapy to regulate a sleep-wake cycle to condition your being in bed with being asleep

 

If you are struggling with insomnia, give us a call to learn more about CBT-I and how you can improve your sleep.