What is CBTI-I (Cognitive Behavioural Therapy for Insomnia)?
Insomnia is the most common sleep disorder affecting up to 15% of the population. People suffering from insomnia may experience the following:
- Difficulty falling asleep
- Difficulty staying asleep
- Early morning awakenings
- Getting unrefreshed sleep
These symptoms can change over time and individuals may even have periods where their sleep is quite normal. With insomnia you never know what to expect!
These night time problems can have a huge impact on the individual’s ability to function during the day and can really impact quality of life.
The CBT-I programme is now the evidence based, gold standard, treatment for insomnia. Long term use of sleeping medications are now being discouraged by the medical guidelines.
The programme consists of four treatment sessions. The individual is given the tools to manage their insomnia by behavioural changes and changing the way they think about sleep. Topics covered include sleep education, sleep hygiene, stimulus control therapy, techniques on how to deal with the busy mind. A new sleep schedule will also be built for the individual to allow the body to get back into a normal rhythm.
The programme is tailored towards the individual and follow up is part of the programme.
The programme has a success rate of over 80%.
