Sleep therapy is a form of therapy designed to improve the quality of sleep and help with sleep disorders, such as insomnia. It is usually administered by a sleep psychologist and includes different types of treatment designed to help you overcome sleep problems. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Insomnia (CBT-I) is the most common first-line treatment for chronic insomnia. To identify patterns of sleep problems and decide on the best treatment approach, your therapist may start by asking you to keep a sleep diary. Behavioral therapy teaches you to avoid behaviors that keep you awake at night and to replace them with better sleep habits.
This relaxing sleep meditation helps you relax at bedtime, release tension, and ease the transition to sleep. Your therapist may also recommend modifying some aspects of the environment where you sleep to make it comfortable and conducive to uninterrupted sleep. You can also support your therapy by making positive lifestyle choices that benefit your ability to sleep. If you're having trouble sleeping, a specialized therapy known as CBT-I can help you improve the quality of your sleep. Cognitive therapy teaches you to recognize and change the negative beliefs and thoughts (cognitions) that contribute to your sleep problems. In the case of sleep restriction, another practice related to behavioral behavioral therapy, a person limits the time spent in bed without sleep.
Because worrying about not being able to sleep creates anxiety that keeps you awake, letting go of this worry and making no effort to sleep can, paradoxically, help you relax and fall asleep. Like caffeine, nicotine and sugary foods are stimulants, and while alcohol can make you sleepy, it interferes with sleep quality and can worsen sleep disorder symptoms. If you feel discouraged by the pace of recovery, remember that therapy for sleep disorders is very effective in the long term. However, sleeping pills don't cure the problem or address the underlying symptoms; in fact, they can often worsen long-term sleep problems.
