Insomnia, a frequently occurring sleep problem, can create difficulties in falling asleep, staying asleep, or causing early waking followed by difficulty returning to sleep. To manage persistent sleep issues, it is generally recommended to begin with cognitive behavioural therapy for insomnia (CBT-I), which has proven to be an effective treatment. Following a structured CBT-I program, you can acquire skills to identify and modify the thoughts and actions contributing to or worsening your sleep problems and develop habits promoting peaceful sleep. Unlike sleeping medications, CBT-I helps address the underlying causes of your sleep issues.
How does CBT work for insomnia?
CBT-I examines the relationship between our actions, thoughts, and sleep patterns. A certified CBT-I provider assists in identifying the ideas, feelings, and behaviors that are causing the symptoms of insomnia throughout treatment. Examining activities to see if they encourage sleep and testing thoughts and feelings about sleep to see if they are accurate are both included. After that, a professional will explain or reframe any misunderstandings or difficulties in a manner that promotes sound sleep.
Your sleep therapist may suggest some of these CBT-I methods, depending on your needs:
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Stimulus control therapy
With this technique, you can eliminate the things that make it hard for you to fall asleep. For instance, you might receive coaching on how to establish regular bedtime and wake-up times, stay away from naps, only use your bed for sleeping and having sex, leave your bedroom if you can’t fall asleep within 20 minutes, and only come back when you’re ready to do so.
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Sleep restriction
Sleep problems can result from developing a habit of lying in bed when you’re awake. Your time in bed is cut short during this treatment, which results in partial sleep deprivation and increases your fatigue the next night. Your time in bed is gradually extended once your sleep quality has improved.
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Sleep hygiene
Changes to basic lifestyle choices that affect sleep are made using this therapeutic approach, such as quitting smoking, reducing coffee intake in the afternoon, reducing alcohol use, and engaging in regular exercise. Also, it offers advice on how to fall asleep faster, like techniques for relaxing an hour or two before bed.
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Sleep environment improvement
This offers suggestions on how to make your bedroom a good place to sleep, like keeping it cold, quiet, and dark, avoiding having a TV there and hiding the clock.
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Relaxation training
You can relax your body and mind using this technique. There are many methods, such as visualisation, muscle relaxation, and meditation.
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Remaining passively awake
This avoids attempting to fall asleep and is also called paradoxical purpose. Ironically, fretting about not being able to sleep can keep you awake. If you can let go of this concern, you might find it simpler to relax and sleep.
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Biofeedback
With this technique, you can see how to change biological indicators like muscular tension and heart rate. You can be given biofeedback equipment to use at home by your sleep specialist to track your daily habits. This knowledge can be used to spot patterns that interfere with sleep. The best treatment strategy may incorporate a number of these techniques.
