Using CBT to Cure Insomnia Problems

CBT, or Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, is  essentially a psycho-therapeutic method for dealing with some insomnia problems. It's an approach which aims specifically at cognitive, emotional, and behaviors considered dysfunctional or problematic and in turn, lead to sleeplessness. There is enough empirical evidence to suggest that CBT can be useful and effective as one of many insomnia cures and treatments. There's even a great deal of testimonial evidence that suggests CBT is most beneficial when used to augment other insomnia treatments, such as meditation, white noise, and audio therapy.

CBT uses 4 basic components to try and combat people afflicted with sleeplessness. 

1. Stimulus control
2. Sleep scheduling
3. Sleep restriction
4. Sleep hygiene education

When deciding whether or not to go the route of CBT, it's critically important that you first rule out other possible culprits for your insomnia. This is a good general rule for any sleep disorder. In order to be sure your issue actually requires one or more insomnia cures, the following must be eliminated, or upon discovery, properly addressed:

• Other psychological issues, such as mood disorders, depression, anxiety disorders, PTSD, e.t.c...
• Unknown physical illness or disease that remains undiscovered. Insomnia can manifest as the body's immune system reacts to a new problem, sending alarm signals to the brain that can cause insomnia.
• Known medical conditions, such as chronic pain, diabetes, hyperthyroidism, menopause, sleep apnea, restless leg syndrome, e.t.c...
• Medication side effects, whether being used as a prescribed treatment or a simple over the counter self medication. It's always important to note the side effects, and to watch out for those drugs that contain large amounts of caffeine. (a substantial amount of over the counter pain medication has caffeine included)

For all these reasons it is important to be assessed by a medical professional first and foremost, and properly tested for any possible ailments and conditions that could either be the cause, or a significant contributing factor to your insomnia. Otherwise you may end up finding insomnia cures that you don't even need.


The second step in CBT for dealing with sleeplessness is to have you author a sleep journal. Some therapists require 1 week of notes, others like to have 2 weeks or more data on your sleep habits before suggesting further treatments. When writing this journal, the patient is asked to note the following:

• alcohol, tobacco, and caffeine use, (and when) 
• the timing of meals, 
• how many naps are taken (and when). 
• when you go to bed, 
• how long before you turn out the lights, 
• what time you fall asleep, 
• when and how many nighttime interruptions or awakenings occur, 
• when you wake up, and 
• how long after waking before you rouse from the bed.  

Diagnostically, properly noting these things is critical to finding an appropriate treatment within the main components of CBT. Some therapists have journal templates for use, which can make jotting these things down easier. That said, there are other important reasons to journal your process for sleeping. 

You should be as candid as possible inside the journal, elaborating on your thoughts regarding slumber. These thoughts can be noted at any time you have them. For example, when you have negative thoughts about sleep at night causing you to fear that slumber won't come, it will keep you awake. Often called somniphobia, this problem is actually known as "excessive nocturnal mentation". Noting thoughts like this for a qualified CBT therapist is extremely helpful in correcting your problem.

Also important is your sleep hygiene, which is another area CBT can be beneficial to you. As an example, if you are doing your daily work out at 9pm and need to sleep by 11 pm, your sleep hygiene is, for lack of a better term, crap. If you're eating heavy meals or egregious amounts of snacks late at night or close to bedtime, a) you won't sleep well, and b) insomnia will eventually be the least of your health problems. If you are required to be awake at 6am, and you put on your favorite video game at 12 am for a quick run through, well, you have issues with sleep hygiene without a doubt. CBT can advise you how to correct these lifestyle faux pas. 

Finally, CBT is effective for dealing with stress, which can be the worst culprit for sending you in search of insomnia cures. Qualified therapists can teach you ways of better managing stress - which in turn can allow you the respite you need from the chaos of the day.

Get some rest!  

 

Is Sleep Apnea A Silent Killer?

They say osteoporosis is a silent killer, as it's almost impossible to detect until the damage is done to your bone mass. It is usually discovered only after you've been hospitalized for a broken bone. Another condition that can lead to underlying serious illness is the condition known as sleep apnea. As insomnia cures develop over the years, more and more people are turning to sleep clinics and specialists to diagnose their sleeplessness - only to find out they have developed sleep apnea.

Sleep apnea is caused by pauses in breathing during sleep. A standard definition of an apneic event will be 10 continuous second intervals between breaths. This can cause a blood oxygen de-saturation of 3 to 4%. This condition is diagnosed normally with an overnight sleep study called a polysomnogram. Now, I'm not going to bore you with medical terminology, but it is worth noting that a decrease in your blood oxygen night after night, undiagnosed for years has many adverse effects on your well being.

I was actually inspired to write this article from a comment on my most recent post, titled Steve Martins Ambien Experience. While sleep apnea is not necessarily insomnia, it very much negatively affects the quality of sleep we get and thus I have studied it's causes and treatments often in my tenure. Of all the sleep disorders, sleep apnea can cause the greatest amount of direct physiological damage to our bodies, due to the reasons I listed above.

Sleep apnea occurs in two main types: obstructive sleep apnea, which is the more common form. This occurs when throat muscles relax. Central sleep apnea is the second form, and occurs when your brain cannot send proper signals to the muscles that control breathing. Additionally, some people have complex sleep apnea, which is a combination of both.

Some medical problems that can result from sleep apnea are:

• heart disease
• high blood pressure
• sexual dysfunction
• learning/memory problems
• Cardiovascular problems
• Complications with medications and surgery

There are other areas that can be severely affected by undiagnosed sleep apnea, these just scratch the surface.

Are You At Risk?
If you can answer yes to any of the following human conditions, you may be at risk for developing sleep apnea.

1. If you have high blood pressure or hypertension, sleep apnea is not uncommon.
   
2. You may have inherited a naturally narrow throat or have enlarged adnoids and/or tonsils, all of which can block your airway.
   
3. If you are male you are statistically twice as likely to develop sleep apnea.
   
4. Sleep apnea occurs 2 to 3 times more often in adults over 65.
   
5. A family history of sleep apnea puts you at increased risk.
   
6. The use of alcohol, sedatives or tranquilizers relax the muscles in your throat and can lead to blockage.

There have been remarkable advances in the treatment of this disorder, so if you are at all suspicious about this problem, see a sleep specialist to find out about the latest therapies, such as CPAP, oral appliances, or even surgery. The treatments will differ depending on the type of apnea you are diagnosed with, but all are ery effective.

Should you wish to try your own insomnia cure, or in this case sleep apnea cure, there are a few lifestyle adjustments you should make to alleviate the symptoms, but only until you get to a proper sleep specialist. These are not really cures (of course) but they can help.

1. Lose excess weight. Even a slight decrease in weight can help relieve constriction in your throat.
   
2. Avoid alcohol, sleep meds and tranquilizers.
3. Sleep on your side or abdomen rather than your back.
4. Keep your nasal passages open at night by using a saline nasal spray. My clinic has used this product as it contains aloe to keep from drying out the nasal passage. Decongestants and/or antihistamines work as well, but most of these types of medications are for short term use only.
5. Raise your torso and head 4 to 6 inches during your sleep. You can achieve this with a sleep aiding pillow, such as the one located here, which comes highly recommended. Other pillows come designed with people using CPAP therapy to assist their night time breathing. If you are already implementing a CPAP therapy, an excellent sleep aid pillow can be found here.
   

Remember, if you suspect that you or someone you love may have sleep apnea, don't wait for another insomnia cures post to nag you into doing something about it. Contact a sleep specialist and take a proper test now. You may add years to your life by being proactive.