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Do you have chronic insomnia? It might not be depression: it might be caused by your thinking patterns. Cognitive-behavioral therapy for insomnia (CBT-I) is a type of counseling that helps you to change the way that you think about and react to your sleeplessness.
How Does CBT-I Work?
CBT-I focuses on exploring the connection between thoughts and sleeplessness. During treatment, a trained CBT-I provider helps to identify negative thoughts and behavior which can contribute to insomnia.
The provider will help you re-evaluate your thoughts and feelings about sleep, and to see if they're accurate. The provider will make sure you don't have any problematic behaviors that prevent you from sleeping better.
Cognitive-behavioral therapy for insomnia is often called a multicomponent treatment because it combines several different approaches. Sessions include cognitive, behavioral, and educational components.
Depending on your needs, the provider or sleep therapist may recommend some of these CBT-I techniques:
Stimulus control therapy. This method helps remove factors that condition your mind to resist sleep. For example, you might be coached to set a consistent bedtime and wake time and avoid naps, as well as use the bed only for sleep and sex.
Sleep restriction. Spending more time in bed than you need to can lead to poor sleep. This treatment reduces the amount of time you spend there, causing partial sleep deprivation, which makes you more tired the next night.
Sleep hygiene. This method of therapy focuses on changing lifestyle habits that influence sleep, such as not smoking or drinking too much caffeine late in the day.
Sleep environment improvement. Improve your sleep environment by getting rid of noisy belongings, hiding the clock, and creating a dark, cool sleeping space.
Relaxation training. Neutralize your thoughts and calm your body with relaxation training. Techniques may include meditation, imagery, muscle relaxation.
Remaining passively awake. According to a new study, a paradoxical intention can be defined as a person being able to fall asleep without going through any conscious effort of letting go of their worries. Letting go of this worry can help you relax and make it easier to fall asleep.
Biofeedback. This method allows you to observe indicators of how your body is responding to stress, such as heart rate and muscle tension, and then use that information to change your behavior.
What sorts of conditions are treated best with CBT for insomnia?
CBT-I doesn't just help people fall asleep faster and sleep more soundly – it also helps them maintain those benefits over the long term. It even helps chronic pain and mental health sufferers, and it can work as well as sleep medications. It's the best kind of therapy, and it doesn't have any known side effects.
Cognitive-behavioral therapy intervention requires you to practice many times, and studies have shown that some approaches may cause you to lose sleep. But in the long run, it will be worth it.