Cognitive Behavioural Therapy for Insomnia - Sleep Hygiene

(This video is part 2 of 6: for other videos in this series about CBT for Insomnia, scroll down to the end of this blog post)

Sleep hygiene for insomnia and other sleep problems is one of those really ‘popular’ topics online. With countless articles and other resources often repeating the same advice. Sleep Hygiene routines can become very regimented and almost ‘perfectionistic’ but if they don’t help you to sleep well consistently, then it’s most likely not appropriate to the root cause of your long-term insomnia or sleep problems. 

As I explain in more detail in this video, sleep hygiene routine or evening routine for insomnia specifically is not as complicated to figure out. But what is really important is that it is personalised to you and it is actually effective in helping you to sleep well consistently every night. 

Bedtime routine tips are often very superficial, most of the time only really talking about the physical part (cleansing routines, light exposure, comfort of bed and pillow etc). But in order for any evening routine or sleep hygiene routine to be effective, we have to integrate the emotional and mental relaxation parts as well. Without those, you start to see a gap in how effective all your efforts become. 

Learning how to overcome insomnia without medication (or other sleep problems) takes time and really working with figuring out what works for you as a person. There are no quick overnight tips that magically will fix everything, if it was that easy to overcome long-term sleep problems, no one would struggle.

So even when working with CBT for insomnia, you have to look at how effective whatever you are doing is. Natural treatment for insomnia has to include and respect the real root cause of your sleep problems. That’s why in my practice I talk about lifelong Sleep Skills. Those will always work for you with who you are and the lifestyle that you lead simply because they are things that you can adjust or tweak based on what is going on in your life.

In today’s video, I walk through how I approach this part of working with clients. And there are no ‘5 steps to’, so bear with me as I explain these things to you. 

I’ll talk about the pros and cons of sleep hygiene which is such a core part of CBT-I treatment plan.

Beatrix

Part 1 of the Cognitive Behaviour Therapy video series: Practical Sleep Education - click here to watch video one

Part 3 of the Cognitive Behaviour Therapy video series: Practical 'Sleep Restriction' - click here to watch video three

Part 4 of the Cognitive Behaviour Therapy video series: Stimulus and Cognitive Control - click here to watch video four

Part 5 of the Cognitive Behaviour Therapy video series: Thought Control, Thought Distraction, Paradoxical Intention - click here to watch video five

Part 6 of the Cognitive Behaviour Therapy video series: How to deal with 'dysfunctional' beliefs - click here to watch video six