CBT for Insomnia
Have you ever noticed what a difference a good night of sleep can make?
Do you ever wake up in the morning from a great night’s sleep and realize that you are thinking more clearly and moving through your day with more clarity?
I love sleep!
And, when I don’t get good sleep, I become a grouch. My thinking slows down. I feel more fuzzy-headed and sluggish…It’s not good.
I know you’re not a cat, but do you ever wish you could sleep like this?
How do I know if I have insomnia?
When you turn off the lights, does it take you more than 30 minutes to fall asleep?
Do you wake up during the night and then have a hard time falling back asleep?
Do you wake up too early, before your alarm goes off?
How long has this been going on? If it’s been longer than three months, you may have insomnia, and it may be wise to get this further assessed.
Sometimes, other sleep issues could be impacting you, like sleep apnea or restless leg syndrome or another sleep disorder. That’s why it’s important to get a sleep assessment prior to starting any kind of treatment.
How does therapy help?
There are different approaches to working with sleep.
The first step is to assess and to understand what might be affecting your sleep.
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Insomnia (CBT-I)
CBT-I is an evidence-based program for improving sleep. In CBT-I, we look at specific behaviors that affect sleep (and there are several of them), and we see which ones are most aligned with your habits. If we know which habits are contributing to your insomnia, we can come up with a plan to change that.
CBT-I has been extensively tested, and it is the first line of treatment for insomnia (recommended over medication).
CBT-I is a 5-8 week program.
About 75% of people with chronic insomnia benefit from this intervention. The people who benefit most are the ones who follow the program closely.
Patients typically experience a 50-60% reduction in the time it takes to fall asleep and/or time awake after going to sleep.
Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR)
If you have experienced difficult or very stressful life events, that may be contributing to having less satisfying sleep. In that case, EMDR may be a useful approach for you. It helps to neutralize the emotions that often come up with memories of difficult past experiences, and when those memories are not as distressing, your body can relax and sleep better.
