Category: Uncategorized
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You Don’t Have To Follow The Recommendations Of CBT For Insomnia Forever
CBT for insomnia is effective but its recommendations are hard to follow Cognitive behavioural therapy for insomnia (CBT for insomnia) can be a very effective treatment for chronic insomnia. However, the recommendations of CBT for insomnia can be somewhat difficult to adhere to: keeping to a regular bed and wake schedule (meaning no sleeping in…
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Six Good And Measurable Sleep Goals To Optimize Your Sleep
Goal-setting in sleep therapy In behavioural sleep medicine (and psychotherapy more generally speaking), goal-setting is an important part of treatment. This is because we want each person to get what they want out of treatment when it comes to improving their sleep. As clinicians, we can provide information on areas that the person can improve,…
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Five Values That Make Benefiting From CBT For Insomnia Harder
Cognitive Behavioural Therapy for Insomnia CBT for insomnia (CBT-I for short) is an effective evidence-based treatment for chronic insomnia. There is ample research out there for how effective CBT-I is for insomnia. In our own clinical trials, we typically see nearly 80% of people become good sleepers by just 4 sessions. This is because CBT-I…
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An Overview Of Chronic Insomnia
What is insomnia? Chronic insomnia is a sleep disorder that is associated with difficulty falling asleep, staying asleep, and/or waking up too early. Beyond this general definition, there are a few important aspects of insomnia that I believe are important for people to know. First, insomnia is not just a nighttime disorder. It is a…
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Why You Shouldn’t Always Give Yourself 20 Minutes To Fall Back Asleep
The problem with the 20 minute rule People with chronic insomnia have often heard the advice to get out of bed if you can’t fall asleep within 20 minutes. Inherently, this is not a bad idea. The recommendation comes from an evidence-based treatment for insomnia, known as stimulus control. The components of stimulus control are…
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How To Wake Up In The Morning Not Feeling Tired
A case of morning moodiness When people wake up, they often find themselves to be in a bit of a state of sleep drunkenness. They are tired, groggy, a little drowsy, and may be somewhat cognitively and physically impaired in terms of concentrating and moving with purpose. The problem is that some people, especially…
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How To Stop Feeling Tired And Sleepy Using Sleep Science
A pedantic discussion of fatigue and sleepiness People tend to use the terms feeling ‘tired’ and ‘sleepy’ interchangeably in daily life. However, in sleep science we like to make a distinction between being tired/fatigued and sleepiness. It sounds a little pedantic, but the reason is because there are important distinctions between these two states. Moreover,…
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Myth Busting Six Common Worries In People With Insomnia
Scary worries in the dark People with chronic insomnia have some pretty scary thoughts when they are anticipating another sleepless night. “I’m not going to be able to sleep and I won’t be able to function” “Tomorrow is going to be terrible” “Why can’t I sleep? I can’t handle another crappy night” As you might…
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How To Not Let One Bad Night’s Sleep Turn Into Insomnia
What if my sleep gets worse again? People with a past history of chronic insomnia are often very reactive about poor night’s of sleep. Even if they are generally doing well, there’s an underlying fear that ‘sleep is fragile’ and anything can upset the balance. Just like one bad apple spoils the bunch; one bad…
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Changes In Older Adulthood That Lead To Insomnia And Tips To Fix Them
Insomnia in older adults Chronic insomnia – difficulty falling asleep, staying asleep, or waking up too early – is quite common in older adults. Studies have found that 15 to 35% of the older population struggle with insomnia symptoms (Ohayon, 2002). In older adults, insomnia is linked to increased risk of accidents, physical and mental…