1025 Montgomery Hwy
Ste. 200, Vestavia Hills, AL 35216
(205) 637-3055
Secure HIPAA-compliant
Mon - Fri: 8AM- 5PM
Online store always open
Ste. 200, Vestavia Hills, AL 35216
Secure HIPAA-compliant
Online store always open
CBT-i
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for insomnia
Proven to help 70-80% of people, even those who have had insomnia for years.
Accountability, Guidance, Social Connection
None of the risks of medications
CBT-i is a type of cognitive behavioral therapy that has been specifically tailored to treat chronic insomnia.
Chronic insomnia is defined as having difficulty either failing or staying asleep at lease 3 nights out of the week that has been present for at least 3 months. The insomnia causes distress and/or impairment in functioning and is often associated with a feeling of fatigue.
10-15% of Americans have chronic insomnia.
It includes an initial evaluation to assess: the severity of the insomnia, typical sleep routines, and medical conditions that could affect sleep. At the evaluation, a sleep diary is given to track sleep and guide treatment. Then the patient attends 6 weekly group meetings to learn about sleep and how to implement the techniques to improve sleep.
CBTi works even for people who have struggled with stubborn insomnia for years or decades. With the right approach, you can retain your brain for better sleep.
Participants learn healthy sleep habits and routines, reduce behaviors that interfere with sleep and learn how to change thoughts and beliefs that interfere with sleep. (You would be surprised at the myths that most people believe about sleep!) CBT-i includes four main psychological techniques including bed restriction, stimulus control, cognitive restructuring and behavioral relaxation techniques.
Yes and no. While learning the cognitive and behavioral techniques is easy for most people, the behavioral component of restricting time in bed to match the amount of sleep that the person can generate can be challenging. However, compared to chronic insomnia, it is short-lived and leads to significant improvement in sleep.
There are several benefits to group therapy:
– accountability
– social connectedness
– increased capacity and access
– encouragement: from seeing that you are not alone in this
– guidance and troubleshooting for making changes in sleep habits, thoughts and beliefs
Yes, you can schedule individual appointments with one of our PMHNPs for CBTi if they have availability. There may be a wait list for both group and individual sessions.
Yes, for most people CBT-i is very safe! It is considered the first-line treatment for chronic insomnia by sleep experts and medical organizations. However, it is contraindicated in some people who should not undergo sleep restriction. We require a referral from your provider to ensure that is safe for you.
Yes! You can learn the CBTi while on your medications and then taper off it under the supervision of your provider as your sleep improves.
Yes, all patients who sign up for CBT-i are required to sign a contract that they will participate in group and complete homework assignments as these are a critical part of being successful with CBT-i.
If our CBT-i facilitator is in network with your insurance company, then CBT-i is likely be covered by your insurance (excluding cost of materials). We can verify your benefits to determine coverage.
Connect with us via chat, email, or phone.
Possible contraindications for CBT-i include having a seizure disorder, bipolar disorder, untreated PTSD with nightmares, severe depression and psychosis. Anyone who struggles with a substance use disorder or who is not motivated to make the changes required to improve sleep won’t do well with CBT-i.
We are recognizing more and more the long term risk of sleeping pills. Most sedatives increase the risk of developing dementia by 43-78%, depending on the study. Sleeping pills change what is called “sleep architecture, ” which refers to the different stages of sleep that are a normal part of each sleep cycle. Sedatives increase stage 2 sleep and decrease stage 3 sleep which worsens the overall quality of sleep.
Inadequate sleep significantly increases the risk of many chronic diseases including dementia and other metabolic diseases such as heart disease, diabetes and cancer. This is due to many factors including an increase in cortisol causing increased blood sugar, increased blood pressure, worsening atherosclerosis, sarcopenia (loss of muscle mass) and impaired immune functioning.
Without good sleep, the glymphatic system in the brain can’t clean out the tau and beta amyloid (core proteins found in the brains of patients with Alzheimer). Lack of sleep is also responsible for more car accidents than alcohol or drugs. Of note, the risk increases with every hour of less sleep. Sleep is not a luxury. It as an absolute necessity.
Sleep deprivation decreases attention and impairs many cognitive tasks including memory, judgment, problem-solving, creativity and decision making.
