What Is Cognitive Behavioral Therapy?

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CBT-I is recommended by medical guidelines as the treatment of choice for insomnia disorder.

CBT-I typically lasts for 4-8 sessions and performs as well or better than hypnotic sleep medications.

These five signs suggest that CBT-I may be the right choice if you are suffering from insomnia.

If you have trouble sleeping at night, you are in good company. Up to one in ten adults in the United States struggle with insomnia disorder at any given point in time.

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Insomnia (CBT-I) is recommended by the American Academy of Sleep Medicine as the treatment of choice for insomnia disorder. CBT-I is a brief, therapeutic intervention that takes 4-8 sessions on average. Research suggests that CBT-I works as well as or better than hypnotic medications for improving sleep quality and quantity, with fewer side effects. Individuals who complete CBT-I also tend to continue to see additional improvements in sleep even after the treatment ends.

While completing CBT-I, you will keep a sleep diary, which allows your provider to make personalized recommendations based on your unique sleep-wake patterns. During the treatment, you will also learn techniques such as stimulus control, relaxation, and cognitive flexibility to improve your sleep. CBT-I involves much more than just sleep hygiene and can be life-changing for people who have long been suffering from poor sleep.

If CBT-I is the first-line recommendation for insomnia, does that mean it will work for you? Although there are never any guarantees when starting a new type of psychotherapy, here are five signs that now could be the right time to start CBT-I:

You consistently have trouble sleeping. If you have........

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