Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Insomnia (CBT-I)
The gold-standard treatment for clinical insomnia
Sleep isn't supposed to take effort. Ever.Â
It's time for bed, but bedtime just isn't the same. The bed is no longer a relaxing place, and sleep has become another household chore. Tossing and turning, feeling exhausted but still awake, watching the clock wondering how you'll get through the next day. Sound familiar? Insomnia often starts during a period of stress, trauma, a life change, or some other event, but what maintains it can be more complex. What may surprise you is that sleep itself isn't usually the problem. It's everything that keeps preventing it from happening naturally.
What exactly is CBT-I?
Core Components
1. Sleep Hygiene
This component improves the parts of our routine and environment that have been getting in the way of our sleep or making insomnia worse.Â
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2. Stimulus Control
When we have insomnia, the bed can become psychologically associated with wakefulness and anxiety instead of sleep. This component helps to re-associate your bed with sleep.
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3. Sleep-Efficiency Training
Using information about your sleep, which you'll track between visits (this only takes about a minute per day), we can make precise, temporary adjustments to the timing of your sleep in a way that helps it become consolidated (less fragmented). This reduces time awake in bed, and allows you to start sleeping in more consolidated blocks of time.Â
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4. Cognitive Therapy & Relaxation
Our own thoughts, emotions, and beliefs about sleep can (and usually do) play a significant role in the progression of insomnia. This component addresses the mental and emotional experiences around sleep that keep us awake, frustrated, and worried about tomorrow.Â
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Insomnia (CBT-I) is a brief (4-6 session) evidence-based therapy for insomnia. It is one of the most widely preferred treatments and long-term solutions for insomnia, and it is backed by many years of research. Sleep physicians absolutely love it, and often refer patients to psychologists who offer it.Â
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You and Dr. Kelemen work together to understand and address the actual root causes of your insomnia and what has been maintaining it over time.Â
Benefits of CBT for Insomnia
Sleep Quality & Duration
Tools That Last
Safe and Effective
CBT-I can significantly improve the overall quality and duration of your sleep. It helps to reduce time spent falling asleep, consolidates fragmented sleep caused by nighttime awakenings, and results in less time awake in bed.Â
CBT-I helps repair dysfunctional sleep patterns, and leaves you with knowledge and skills you can use for life.Â
CBT-I has been shown to be just as effective as, or more effective than, medications used to treat insomnia.
We are an independently-owned private practice based in Nashua, NH and offer insomnia treatment online throughout New Hampshire and Massachusetts