Cognitive behavioural therapy is a talking therapy that helps change how you think about yourself and the world. These changes can help you deal with stress and anxiety, which are the most significant causes of poor sleep.
CBT is one of the most effective ways to deal with the things that affect your mental health, such as stress, anger, jealousy, and other negative thoughts. This article explores the ins and outs of CBT and how it can help with sleep.
Let’s jump in!
What is CBT?
CBT teaches lessons on making sense of overwhelming problems and feelings and dealing with them helpfully and practically.
CBT is a self-help therapy delivered by a psychologist who works with you to deal with the things that impact you here and now.
The therapy deals with anxiety and troubling thoughts but does not focus on past events. It addresses current problems and issues, not the underlying causes of mental health conditions, such as trauma.
Whether CBT is suitable for you depends on whether stress, anxiety, and current problems keep you awake. If they do, CBT could help with sleep.
How does CBT help with sleep?
CBT for sleep focuses on sleep hygiene (good sleeping habits) and stimulus control (strengthening the connection between the bed and sleep behaviour). Underlying this is intervention on anxious and worrying thoughts.
Another branch of therapy, CBT-i (I for Insomnia), takes a deeper dive into sleep problems with long-term treatment.
CBT helps with sleep problems from stress, anxiety, and worrying thoughts from current issues. It works on the idea that your faulty or irrational thoughts keep you awake by triggering anxiety.
Dealing with anxiety positively affects the brain and body by controlling the release of cortisol (stress hormone) and serotonin (mood-regulating hormone), keeping your fight or flight response at bay.
Additionally, CBT helps you practically break down problems, giving your mind a welcome break from worries of the unknown.
How does CBT work?
CBT is also proven to deal with depression, panic, bulimia, obsessive-compulsive disorder, PTSD, bipolar, and phobias.
CBT involves one-to-one or group therapy sessions in which you and your psychologic identify situations and feelings that cause you problems.
You can have negative thoughts, emotions, physical feelings, and actions with every problem, event, or difficult situation.
CBT works on these elements individually and links them together, helping change how you think about and approach problems.
It can alter what you do about problems and how you approach solutions – this can be the difference between good and bad actions.
However, CBT is not a quick fix, requiring multiple sessions and patient participation rather than attendance. The therapist cannot change how you think – only you can by listening to the advice and putting it into action.
What is the best CBT for sleep?
CBT is the perfect therapy if your sleep problems are caused by thoughts and behaviours that trigger anxiety, panic, or depression.
If you have Insomnia, you should try CBT-i, which trains you to use techniques to overcome sleep problems while in bed. It teaches you how to use your body clock and get a grip on anxiety and difficulties so that you sleep better.
CBT-I is a psychological therapy for adults with Insomnia that is proven to work for most people. It is worth a go if Insomnia affects your life.
How do I get started with CBT?
You can visit your GP to discuss your sleep problems and CBT or refer yourself directly to an NHS psychological therapies service (IAPT) without a referral. The NHS offers fast access to CBT, including group and one-to-one sessions.
Another option is to go private. Going private will ensure you beat the waiting list, and you can choose your psychologist. Expect to pay around £70 per therapy session.
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