Insomnia:
Cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) is recommended by the NICE guidelines as the first-line treatment for Insomnia. During your treatment, your therapist will assess the components of your insomnia and they will work with you to monitor the problem by keeping a sleep log. They will provide psycho-education about the function of sleep and what can making sleep difficult to achieve and maintain. Your therapist will look at your pre-bed routine and how you use the space in which you sleep in. They will highlight factors that may be interrupting your ability to sleep and how these can be adjusted to improve your sleep quality. Your therapist will collaborate with you to develop a bespoke treatment plan, involving stimulus control, relaxation training, worry management and if needed, they will guide you through a programme of sleep restriction. Relapse maintenance will form an important aspect of your treatment, to help maintain the gains you have achieved during therapy.
What to look out for:
Dissatisfaction with sleep quality or quantity (difficulty initiating or maintaining sleep) despite adequate opportunity.
The above occurs at least three times per week for more than months.
The sleep disturbance causes significant distress or impairment in functioning.
Difficulty concentrating or poor memory due to poor sleep quality.
Worry about sleep and the consequences of lack of sleep.
Changing behaviour due to lack of sleep or likelihood of tiredness.
Sleep disturbance is not better explained by and does not occur exclusively during the course of another sleep, medical, or psychiatric disorder or as the result of a substance.
Treatment FOCUS
Type: CBT
Sessions: 6+
Length: 50 mins
Treatment Focus:
Assessment
Sleep monitoring
Psycho-education
Stimulus Control
Sleep Restriction
Relaxation Training
Worry management
Relapse Prevention
Links
NICE Guidelines
https://cks.nice.org.uk/insomnia
NHS
