Insomnia is a common sleep disorder that affects millions of people across the world. Insomnia can affect your sleep and lower the quality of your life if not checked early. However, there are safe and effective treatments that can help you restore your dream sleep moments. People suffering from insomnia have difficulties falling asleep, staying asleep, and often wake up too early and won’t get back to sleep. Experts have recommended Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for insomnia owing to its effectiveness in treating chronic disorders. Often, doctors prefer this form of insomnia treatment South Yarra as the first line of treatment before opting for other treatment options.
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for insomnia (or CBT-I) is a carefully structured treatment plan that is designed to help people with insomnia to identify and replace their thoughts and behavior patterns that are responsible for their sleep problems. As a non-drug treatment plan, it doesn’t come with any negative effects that are common with drug-based treatments. What’s more, the program is aimed at treating the underlying or root cause of the problem and not the symptoms, which is what drugs address. Before you start your treatment, you will need to keep a record of your sleep patterns for a period not less than one week or two weeks, depending on the recommendation of your sleep therapist.
How CBT-I work
This program has the cognitive aspect which is primarily concerned with helping a patient to recognize and alter behavior, beliefs that are responsible for sleep problems. This therapy is essential in helping you take control of your thoughts and eliminate worries that cause you sleepless nights. On the other hand, the behavioral aspect of the plan helps one to develop desirable sleep habits and avoid those that make him or her lack a good sleep.
Depending upon your condition, your sleep therapist may prefer one or a combination of the following techniques:
• Stimulus control therapy: This therapy helps in eliminating factors that are conditioning your minds to switch off from sleeping. Your therapist may train you to adopt a consistent bedtime and wake time and leave the bed if you cannot catch sleep after a given number of minutes.
• Sleep restriction: Lying in even when you are not sleepy can lead to poor sleep. With sleep restriction, you will significantly reduce the amount of time you usually spend in bed. partial sleep deprivation. This means you will feel tired the desired sleep before insomnia set in.
• Sleep hygiene: It involves changing your basic lifestyle habits that are responsible for your sleep patterns. They include smoking and taking caffeinated drinks late in the day. It also includes coaching you on tips to help you sleep better and longer.
Whichever approaches your sleep therapist may adopt, you need to commit to the plan if you have to achieve the end goals. Do not let your behavior and beliefs deny you sleep and wear you down. Contact an experienced sleep therapist to recommend the best Insomnia Treatment South Yarra that will address your specific problem.
