Behavioral Sleep Medicine

Sleep profoundly impacts mental health. Sleep impacts your ability to regulate emotions, process stress, and use cognitive functions. Poor sleep increases irritability, anxiety, depression risk, and impairs decision-making. Improvements in sleep are associated with overall better mood, pain management, physiological health, and well-being.

Insomnia: Insomnia is the inability to sleep despite the time and ability to do so. Insomnia usually starts due to an acute change and is often sustained by behavioral components and beliefs. Therapy teaches behavioral and cognitive strategies that support quality sleep. Cognitive behavioral therapy for Insomnia (CBT-i) has been shown to improve sleep in many individuals, including long-term sufferers of insomnia.

Fatigue: Fatigue disrupts brain circuits, triggers stress hormones, and impairs emotional regulation. This can create a vicious cycle where exhaustion worsens stress, leading to anxiety, irritability, depression, brain fog, and reduced motivation, making daily tasks overwhelming and life feel helpless. This constant mental load overloads the nervous system, keeping it in a stressed "fight-or-flight" state, while also compromising cognitive functions like focus and decision-making. Therapy aims to support nervous system regulation and teaches behavioral skills to manage fatigue.

CPAP/BIPAP adjustment training: Wearing a CPAP or BIPAP can be a daunting task. It can be difficult to relax and rest with a new device on your face. It can also feel claustrophobic to place a mask over your face. When prescribed a sleep device, wearing that sleep device is associated with better sleep, reduced migraines, and reduced risk for conditions like heart disease, stroke, and dementia. Thus, consistent use of your CPAP/BIPAP is often recommended. Therapy aims to help improve tolerance and consistency of use of your sleep device.

Evidence-based services for coping with sleep issues include:
-Cognitive behavioral therapy for Insomnia (CBT-i): Typically ranges from 6 - 8 bi-weekly sessions.
-Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT): Typically ranges from 8 - 20 weekly sessions.
-Behavioral Therapy: Typically ranges from 8 - 12 weekly sessions.
-Exposure Therapy: Typically ranges from 12 - 20 weekly sessions.
-Mindfulness Based Therapy: Typically ranges from 8 - 20 weekly sessions.

*More sessions can be added as desired and clinically appropriate.