Tired of Sleeping Pills? CBT-I Is a Non-Medication Treatment for Chronic Insomnia

If you've struggled with falling asleep or staying asleep for a while, chances are you have tried some form of sleeping pill or sleep aide. And if you're reading this, chances are it's not working or you feel it's no longer worth the side effects or risks and are looking for a non-medication treatment for insomnia. The good news is that there is another option. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Insomnia, or CBT-I, is considered a first-line treatment for chronic insomnia, and its benefits tend to last after treatment ends in a way medication effects often do not. It's effectiveness comes from addressing the mental, emotional, and behavioral factors that maintain insomnia while helping you re-connect with your body's natural sleep-wake cycles.

Why So Many People Are Ready to Ditch the Sleeping Pills

I speak with many people who have tried prescription sleep aids, over the counter sleep aids, or supplements hoping it will fix their insomnia. Sleep medications can be helpful for some people and may reduce insomnia symptoms while they are being used, but medication alone does not necessarily address the behavioral patterns, conditioned arousal, and anxiety that can keep chronic insomnia going.

Some common concerns about sleep aids include:

• Tolerance or reduced effectiveness with some medications

• Dependence/withdrawal concerns with certain drugs

• Next day grogginess

• Simply not wanting to be reliant on pills

Medication can make sleep easier in the short term, but chronic insomnia usually involves more than simply not feeling sleepy enough at bedtime.

CBT-I as a Non-Medication Treatment for Insomnia?

CBT-I is a form of therapy that addresses the thoughts, emotions, and behaviors that contribute to and maintain insomnia. It can often be completed in just 5-8 sessions. Treatment begins with a thorough assessment of your sleep difficulties combined with data from a daily sleep diary. Together, you and your CBT-I therapist use that information to identify the patterns contributing to your insomnia and develop an individualized treatment plan. You can learn more about what actually happens in CBT-I in the article What Happens During CBT-I Therapy. CBT-I is designed change the underlying issues maintaining your insomnia so you can experience lasting effects.

How to Find a CBT-I Therapist for Your Insomnia

If you're tired of the sleeping pills and ready to try something different here is how you can find a CBT-I therapist. First, a note that CBT-I is not the same as regular Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) and CBT-I requires specialized training. A great place to start is the CBT-I Directory from the University of Pennsylvania. This vetted list of CBT-I professionals allows you to search geographically to find a provider in your area. Searching for 'insomnia' or 'CBT-I' in therapist directories like Psychology Today may yield some providers but make sure to ask if they are trained in CBT-I and about their experience treating insomnia.

About the author: Katie Bernard, LCSW, is a Florida therapist specializing in Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Insomnia and anxiety therapy for adults. She provides online therapy throughout Florida and limited in-person care in Sarasota | Lakewood Ranch.