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For many sleep problems such as insomnia, therapy can be more effective than sleeping pills—but without the unpleasant side effects or long-term health concerns. Why therapy for sleep disorders and not medication? When you’re desperate for sleep, it can be tempting to reach for a sleeping pill or an over-the-counter sleep aid.
Why therapy for sleep disorders and not medication?
They may help get through the day, but the cumulative effects of sleep deficiency will still take a toll both in the short- and long-term. For this reason, it is important to refuse to accept a lack of sleep as normal and instead focus on sleeping more and getting higher quality rest.
Why is it important to refuse to accept lack of sleep?
Most people occasionally experience sleeping problems due to stress, hectic schedules, and other outside influences. However, when these issues begin to occur on a regular basis and interfere with daily life, they may indicate a sleeping disorder.
Do I have a sleeping disorder?
If you have ongoing or worsening problems with insufficient sleep or daytime sleepiness, working with your doctor is a good first step to getting relief. Your doctor can assess your situation and recommend treatment that best suits your needs.
Should I talk to my doctor about my lack of sleep?
Are most sleep disorders treatable?
These sleeping problems may eventually go away once treatment is obtained for the underlying cause. When sleep disorders aren't caused by another condition, treatment normally involves a combination of medical treatments and lifestyle changes.
Can insomnia never be cured?
No matter what your age, insomnia usually is treatable. The key often lies in changes to your routine during the day and when you go to bed.
Do psychologists treat sleep disorders?
Sleep psychologists study sleep and treat sleep disorders. They are highly trained mental health professionals. They develop an understanding of normal and disordered sleep. Sleep psychologists seek to understand the root of what may be causing your sleep disorder so that they can treat it.
How are sleep disorders treated?
Depending on the type of sleep disorder you have, your doctor may recommend a medical treatment that can include: Sleeping pills or melatonin supplements. Allergy or cold medication. Medications for underlying health issues.
Is insomnia a mental illness?
Insomnia is caused by difficulty falling asleep, difficulty staying asleep or waking up too early in the morning. Insomnia is rarely an isolated medical or mental illness but rather a symptom of another illness to be investigated by a person and their medical doctors.
Can insomnia be permanent?
Insomnia is a sleep disorder in which you have trouble falling and/or staying asleep. The condition can be short-term (acute) or can last a long time (chronic). It may also come and go.
What causes sleep disorders?
Factors that can cause sleep problems include: Physical disturbances (for example, chronic pain from arthritis, headaches, fibromyalgia) Medical issues (for example, sleep apnea) Psychiatric disorders (for example, depression and anxiety disorders)
What are the 5 stages of sleep in psychology?
Sleep occurs in five stages: wake, N1, N2, N3, and REM.
Who can help with sleep problems?
If your primary care doctor thinks you need a neurologist, ask if they can connect you with one who specializes in sleep medicine. Sleep medicine specialist. A sleep medicine specialist is the best person to diagnose and treat your insomnia.
Does insomnia cause death?
You may fall asleep no matter what you are doing, even if that sleep isn't as restful as your body needs. However, severe, chronic sleep deprivation may actually lead to death. This can occur in extremely uncommon disorders such as fatal familial insomnia or sporadic fatal insomnia.
Are sleep disorders Common?
Sleep disorders are very common in the U.S. today. Insomnia is characterized by being unable to sleep when you're tired, feeling exhausted when you wake up, and you can't get enough sleep to feel well-rested.
Who diagnoses sleep disorders?
A sleep specialist is a doctor who diagnoses and treats sleep disorders. Most sleep specialists train in internal medicine, psychiatry, pediatrics, or neurology during residency. After completing residency, they complete a fellowship program in sleep medicine.
What is the best medication for insomnia?
Chronic insomnia affects 15% of the population. Benzodiazepines are frequently used to treat insomnia; however, there may be a withdrawal syndrome with rapid eye movement (REM) rebound. Two newer benzodiazepine-like agents, zolpidem and zaleplon, have fewer side effects, yet good efficacy.
How common is insomnia?
Transient insomnia is extremely common, afflicting up to 80% of the population. Chronic insomnia affects 15% of the population.
What are nonpharmacologic behavioral methods?
Nonpharmacologic behavioral methods, such as sleep hygiene, hypnosis, relaxation training, sleep restriction, and cognitive therapies, have shown therapeutic benefit in the treatment of insomnia.14. The physician treating insomnia should make the appropriate diagnosis before initiating therapy.
How often does REM sleep occur?
REM sleep occurs about every 90 minutes and is sometimes followed by short periods of waking. During REM sleep, low voltage, fast EEG activity is associated with rapid movements of the eyes and low EMG tone in most antigravity muscles. Non-REM (NREM) sleep is divided into stages 1 to 4.
What is stage 1 sleep?
Stage 1 sleep is the transition from drowsy wake to sleep and is characterized by slow rolling eye movements and the disappearance of the EEG alpha rhythm. Stage 2, often the stage dominating much of the night, is light sleep, defined by the presence of sleep spindles and K complexes on the EEG.
Is nonpharmacologic behavioral therapy therapeutic?
Nonpharmacologic behavioral methods may also have therapeutic benefit. An understanding of the electrophysiologic and neurochemical correlates of the stages of sleep is useful in defining and understanding sleep disorders. Excessive daytime sleepiness is often associated with obstructive sleep apnea or depression.
Does Zolpidem cause sleep apnea?
These medications can also negatively affect obstructive sleep apnea. The newer hypnotics (zolpidem and zaleplon) have less respiratory suppressant effects. Medroxyprogesterone, protriptyline, and fluoxetine have been documented to have respiratory stimulant effects that may be clinically useful in some patients.12.
How to evaluate sleep disrupting thoughts?
In the second step, your therapist will teach you how to evaluate your sleep-disrupting thoughts. This involves questioning the evidence for your thoughts, analyzing unhelpful beliefs, and testing out the reality of negative predictions. 3. Replacing negative thoughts with realistic thoughts.
How does sleep restriction therapy work?
Sleep restriction therapy (SRT) reduces the time you spend lying in bed awake by eliminating naps and forcing you to stay up beyond your normal bedtime. This method of sleep deprivation can be especially effective for insomnia. It not only makes you more tired the next night but builds a stronger association between bed ...
How to use a sleep diary in CBT?
To identify patterns in your sleeping problems and decide on the best treatment approach, your therapist may start by asking you to keep a sleep diary. The details can be important, revealing how certain behaviors are ruining your chance for a good night’s sleep.
How does cognitive behavioral therapy help you sleep?
Cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) can improve your sleep by changing your behavior before bedtime as well as changing the ways of thinking that keep you from falling asleep. It also focuses on improving relaxation skills and changing lifestyle habits that impact your sleeping patterns.
How long does CBT help with insomnia?
Many CBT treatment programs for insomnia, for example, report significant improvement in sleep patterns following a course of 5 to 8 weekly sessions.
Is CBT good for sleep disorders?
Since sleep disorders can be both caused by and trigger emotional health problems such as anxiety, stress, and depression, therapy is an effective way of treating the underlying problem rather than just the symptoms, helping you develop healthy sleeping patterns for life. A recent study at Harvard Medical School found that CBT was more effective ...
Can hypnosis be used in CBT?
Hypnosis can also sometimes be used in CBT for sleep disorders. While you’re in a state of deep relaxation, the hypnotherapist uses different therapeutic techniques to help you change negative thought patterns or unhelpful habits and promote restful sleep.
What is sleep disorder?
What are sleep disorders? Sleep disorders are a group of conditions that affect the ability to sleep well on a regular basis. Whether they are caused by a health problem or by too much stress, sleep disorders are becoming increasingly common in the United States. In fact, more than one-third of adults. Trusted Source.
What are the effects of sleep?
Stress and anxiety. Stress and anxiety often have a negative impact on sleep quality. It can be difficult for you to fall asleep or to stay asleep. Nightmares, sleep talking, or sleepwalking may also disrupt your sleep.
What is a sleep study that evaluates oxygen levels, body movements, and brain waves?
They may also order various tests, including: Polysomnography (PSG): This is a lab sleep study that evaluates oxygen levels, body movements, and brain waves to determine how they disrupt sleep vs. home sleep study (HST) that is performed in your own and is used to diagnose sleep apnea.
Why do high schoolers sleep less than 8 hours a night?
of high school students report getting fewer than 8 hours of sleep on weeknights. Most people occasionally experience sleeping problems due to stress, hectic schedules, and other outside influences. However, when these issues begin to occur on a regular basis and interfere with daily life, they may indicate a sleeping disorder.
What are the symptoms of sleep disorders?
However, general symptoms of sleep disorders include: difficulty falling or staying asleep. daytime fatigue. strong urge to take naps during the day. unusual breathing patterns. unusual or unpleasant urges to move while falling asleep.
How many people experience insomnia?
Up to 50 percent of American adults experience it at some point in their lives. The disorder is most prevalent among older adults and women. Insomnia is usually classified as one of three types: chronic, when insomnia happens on a regular basis for at least 1 month. intermittent, when insomnia occurs periodically.
How to reduce stress and anxiety?
incorporating more vegetables and fish into your diet, and reducing sugar intake. reducing stress and anxiety by exercising and stretching. creating and sticking to a regular sleeping schedule. drinking less water before bedtime. limiting your caffeine intake, especially in the late afternoon or evening.
How does lack of sleep affect mental health?
Lack of sleep directly affects how we think and feel. While the short-term impacts are more noticeable, chronic sleep deprivation can heighten the long-term risk of physical and mental health problems. To avoid these problems, it’s important to avoid sleep deprivation. Understanding this condition, including its causes, symptoms, diagnosis, ...
What are the causes of sleep deprivation?
Multiple factors can cause or contribute to sleep deprivation including poor sleep hygiene, lifestyle choices, work obligations, sleep disorders, and other medical conditions. Sleep deprivation is often driven by voluntary choices that reduce available sleep time.
Why do people with insomnia have trouble sleeping?
People with insomnia have trouble sleeping even when they have plenty of time to sleep. On the other hand, people with sleep deprivation don’t have enough time allocated for sleep as a result of behavior choices or everyday obligations.
What is the best way to prevent sleep deprivation?
Your doctor can assess your situation and recommend treatment that best suits your needs. In most cases, a focus on sleep hygiene — your sleep environment and daily habits — is a central component of preventing and treating sleep deprivation.
How does sleep affect waking?
Examples of these symptoms include: Slowed thinking. Reduced attention span. Worsened memory. Poor or risky decision-making. Lack of energy. Mood changes 6 including feelings of stress, anxiety, or irritability.
What does it mean to be well rested?
In reality, though, being well-rested is about more than just how many hours you sleep. As a result, the terms sleep deficiency or sleep insufficiency 3 are more frequently used to describe factors that reduce the quantity and/or quality of sleep and keep a person from waking up refreshed.
Can lack of sleep cause symptoms?
Research also suggests that some individuals are more likely to experience symptoms after a lack of sleep and that this may be tied to a person’s genetics 7.
Taking a Second Look
If you still can’t sleep with sleeping pills, some recommendations advise doctors to go back to the drawing board.
Habits That Might Make Insomnia Worse
Living with insomnia, you might have developed some habits that aren’t helping you sleep. In a small study of people who had treatment-resistant insomnia, almost all of them had picked up behaviors that could make their insomnia worse.
Mental Health and Insomnia
Your feelings about your insomnia are a lot harder to control than your caffeine intake. But they can also make your insomnia worse. Think about it: You’re having trouble sleeping, so you worry about how you’re going to function the next day, and those worries keep you awake. The next day, you worry about whether you’ll get any sleep that night.
Other Sleep Disorders and Insomnia
Other undiagnosed sleep disorders, such as restless legs syndrome and sleep apnea, can interfere with sleep, too. In a small study of people who didn’t respond to sleeping pills, many had undiagnosed sleep apnea. This sleep disorder causes you to temporarily stop breathing in your sleep.
Next Steps
Your doctor’s exam might lead to new lifestyle recommendations or treatments for other overlooked conditions. If you don’t have habits or health conditions that explain the problem, you might get a new prescription.
What happens if you don't sleep enough?
When you consistently don’t sleep enough, your levels of ghrelin, the “hungry” hormone, go up, and leptin, the “full” hormone, goes down. This imbalance encourages you to eat more than you need. Additionally, your body uses your sleep time to rebuild and repair itself. Not getting enough sleep can disrupt this process.
Why do I have trouble sleeping?
Sleeplessness can be caused by a variety of different life stressors, long work days, or underlying illnesses. These factors can make us tired and lead to difficulty concentrating the next day.
Why does lack of sleep affect cognitive abilities?
This is because lack of sleep can disrupt stress hormones, affecting your cognitive abilities. 4. Irritability is another common lack of sleep effect. Feeling irritable and anxious may affect your feelings of motivation and engagement with your daily activities, making them feel more difficult and overwhelming.
How much sleep does a person need?
Lack of sleep effects. The average adult needs seven to nine hours of restorative sleep per night, although this number can fluctuate by individual. 1 Being well-rested can greatly improve mood, overall health and well-being. However, despite the importance of sleep, a large majority of people do have trouble sleeping at some point in their lives. ...
How does lack of sleep affect your life?
Even in the short term, lack of sleep symptoms can affect and disrupt your day-to-day life. Not getting enough sleep can have an almost immediate effect on your mood, energy levels, and ability to focus. 3 Many people who sleep poorly report an increase in stress levels that may result in difficulty dealing with daily problems in life.
How does sleep affect the brain?
Sleep deprivation effects on your brain may inhibit the ability of your brain cells to communicate swiftly and effectively, making you sluggish and impeding your alertness. Your neurons can have trouble communicating. How much sleep do you need by age? As you get older, you require less sleep for optimal functioning.
How much sleep do you need for a child?
In general, infants need around 12–16 hours of sleep per day. Young children of three to five years old need 10–13 hours per day, while children between six and twelve need between 9–12 hours.
Medical uses
- A recent study at Harvard Medical School found that CBT was more effective at treating chronic insomnia than prescription sleep medication. CBT produced the greatest changes in patients ability to fall asleep and stay asleep, and the benefits remained even a year after treatment ended.
Overview
- A sleep disorder is a condition that frequently impacts your ability to get enough quality sleep, leaving you feeling exhausted or sleepy during the day. The most common sleep disorders include insomnia, sleep apnea, narcolepsy, restless legs syndrome (RLS), and circadian rhythm sleep disorders often triggered by shift work or jet lag. Cognitive behavioral therapy is the most widely …
Treatment
- The length of therapy also depends on the type and severity of your sleep disorder. While CBT is rarely an immediate or easy cure, it is relatively short-term. Many CBT treatment programs for insomnia, for example, report significant improvement in sleep patterns following a course of 5 to 8 weekly sessions. Improving your sleep environment and sleep hygiene. Your sleep environmen…
Mechanism
- CBT addresses negative thoughts and behavior patterns that contribute to insomnia or other sleeping problems. As the name suggests, cognitive behavioral therapy involves two main components:
Causes
- The cognitive aspects of CBT include thought challengingotherwise known as cognitive restructuringin which you challenge the negative thinking patterns that contribute to your sleep problems, replacing them with more positive, realistic thoughts. The idea is that if you change the way you think, you can change the way you feel, and ultimately how you sleep.
Prevention
- Sleep restriction therapy (SRT) reduces the time you spend lying in bed awake by eliminating naps and forcing you to stay up beyond your normal bedtime. This method of sleep deprivation can be especially effective for insomnia. It not only makes you more tired the next night but builds a stronger association between bed and sleep rather than bed and lying awake. Stimulus control t…
Benefits
- Relaxation training. When practiced regularly, relaxation techniques such as mindfulness meditation, progressive muscle relaxation, and breathing exercises can help you relax at night, relieving tension and anxiety and preparing you for sleep.
Other uses
- Hypnosis can also sometimes be used in CBT for sleep disorders. While youre in a state of deep relaxation, the hypnotherapist uses different therapeutic techniques to help you change negative thought patterns or unhelpful habits and promote restful sleep.
Results
- Making improvements to your sleep often takes time and commitment. Its essential that you find a therapist whos right for you: someone who you can trust, someone you feel comfortable talking to, someone who will serve as a partner in your recovery. Once youve found the right therapist, its important to stick with treatment and follow your therapists advice. If youre feeling discouraged …
Resources
- Finding a therapist Directory of licensed ABCT professionals in the U.S. and Canada. (Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies) The Therapy Directory Therapists in the U.S. and Canada. (Psychology Today) Find Psychological Therapies Directory of psychologists in the UK. (NHS)