Over 50% of adults complain of difficulty sleeping, half of them to a chronic degree. We now know that sleeping pills are not a healthy long term solution to insomnia, and that it is possible to treat sleep issues successfully using cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia (CBT-I). CBT-I has been endorsed by organizations such as the National Institutes of Health, the New England Journal of Medicine, the Lancet and the American Psychological Association, as an evidence-based, effective and preferred method of treating insomnia.

Research on CBT-I shows the following:

  • 75% of insomnia patients experience significantly improved sleep

  • The majority become normal sleepers

  • 85-90% reduce or eliminate sleeping pills

  • CBT-I is more effective than sleeping pills

CBT-I achieves these results because it is based on the idea that insomnia can only be treated effectively by addressing the underlying causes of insomnia: thoughts and behaviors. These are learned and can be unlearned. We will work through your specific sleep issues (do you have a sleep onset or sleep maintenance problem, how much time is spent lying awake in bed, are you obsessing about your daytime functioning after poor sleep, setting up personalized weekly sleep diaries for your bedtime routine etc).

Techniques taught in CBT-I sessions include:

  • changing sleep thoughts and behaviors

  • lifestyle habits that improve sleep

  • relaxation techniques

I am trained in CBT-I through the Behavioral Medicine Insomnia Program, developed at Harvard Medical School after 20+ years of research. The protocol in my Sleep Solutions Clinic involves 5 appointments over the course of 6 weeks. The intake session takes 50 minutes, and the remaining 4 sessions are 25 mins. We will look at your personal issues with sleep, your history (if any) with sleep medication, and put together a new bedtime schedule based on your sleep logs, which will be adjusted over the course of the program using effective CBT-I techniques.

Please contact me for more information, and let’s put insomnia to bed once and for all!