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Tracy The Sleep Coach

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CBTI Insomnia Treatments

Cognitive Behavioural Therapy for Insomnia

Insomnia, the most common sleeping disorder, makes it difficult to get to sleep or stay asleep. The leading insomnia treatment is called Cognitive Behavioural Therapy for Insomnia (CBTi) CBTi has over 100 ‘gold standard’ randomized controlled trials supporting its use in chronic insomnia.  Sleeping pills help with sleep – C[...]

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Jade Jemma, Sales Strategist, London
Mindset Self Compassion

Practicing Self-Care Is Important: 8 Simple Ways To Get You Started

8 simple ways for practicing self-care that will help you to become more relaxed, producti[...]

ACT Mindset

Acceptance in the Context of Insomnia

What is 'acceptance' in the context of insomnia? Acceptance Acceptance is not resign[...]

Mindset

Are you too perfect to get good sleep?

Is perfectionism related to insomnia? The answer is yes, but not in the way you might e[...]

CBTI Insomnia Treatments

Paradoxical Insomnia – Sleep State Misperception

It’s actually really common to come across people who say they just don’t sleep. They[...]

Mindset

The ‘best way’ to relax and how to use it

I often get asked about the ‘best way to relax’. This is especially true when it come[...]

Mindset

The Term ‘Insomniac’ Makes Recovery Harder

I don’t like the word ‘insomniac’. Why is that? Imagine a person says: I have i[...]

CBTI Non Insomnia Sleep Disorders

Sleep Paralysis – What is it?

I get a lot of questions about sleep paralysis. Sleep paralysis is an inability to mov[...]

hi, im tracy
Get To Know Me

Get To Know Me

I'm a compassionate sleep coach that helps adults with insomnia reclaim the active and vibrant lives they want and deserve. I would love to help you sleep better!

Want Slumber Solutions?

Want to improve your sleep?

Get your Slumber Solutions PDF and Tips Email Series - start improving your sleep tonight!

publications

Featured In

The Independent

Insomnia.Sleep-Disorders.net

We Are The City

The Deep Sleep Co

Deep Into Sleep Podcast

A Cuppa With The Coach

The Sleep Whisperer Podcast World Sleep Day Edition

The Sabir Bhatti Show

Meno Delight

Excel Against The Odds Podcast

Categories

  • ACT
  • CBTI
  • Insomnia Treatments
  • Mindset
  • Non Insomnia Sleep Disorders
  • Self Compassion

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The ideal thing to say to yourself at night when you wake up is....nothing! There's nothing to comment on unless we make it something to comment on. However, it takes time to get to that place. Here are some thoughts to get you started on that road! If you'd like more specific, tailored support, DM me and we can set up a coaching session. #sleeptips #sleepwelltonight #insomniabrunch #insomniaproblems #sleepaid #cbti #mentalwellness #mentalwellnessjourney #bedheads
The ideal thing to say to yourself at night when you wake up is....nothing! There's nothing to comment on unless we make it something to comment on. However, it takes time to get to that place. Here are some thoughts to get you started on that road! If you'd like more specific, tailored support, DM me and we can set up a coaching session. #sleeptips #sleepwelltonight #insomniabrunch #insomniaproblems #sleepaid #cbti #mentalwellness #mentalwellnessjourney #bedheads
The ideal thing to say to yourself at night when you wake up is....nothing! There's nothing to comment on unless we make it something to comment on. However, it takes time to get to that place. Here are some thoughts to get you started on that road! If you'd like more specific, tailored support, DM me and we can set up a coaching session. #sleeptips #sleepwelltonight #insomniabrunch #insomniaproblems #sleepaid #cbti #mentalwellness #mentalwellnessjourney #bedheads
The ideal thing to say to yourself at night when you wake up is....nothing! There's nothing to comment on unless we make it something to comment on. However, it takes time to get to that place. Here are some thoughts to get you started on that road! If you'd like more specific, tailored support, DM me and we can set up a coaching session. #sleeptips #sleepwelltonight #insomniabrunch #insomniaproblems #sleepaid #cbti #mentalwellness #mentalwellnessjourney #bedheads
The ideal thing to say to yourself at night when you wake up is....nothing! There's nothing to comment on unless we make it something to comment on. However, it takes time to get to that place. Here are some thoughts to get you started on that road! If you'd like more specific, tailored support, DM me and we can set up a coaching session. #sleeptips #sleepwelltonight #insomniabrunch #insomniaproblems #sleepaid #cbti #mentalwellness #mentalwellnessjourney #bedheads
The ideal thing to say to yourself at night when you wake up is....nothing! There's nothing to comment on unless we make it something to comment on. However, it takes time to get to that place. Here are some thoughts to get you started on that road! If you'd like more specific, tailored support, DM me and we can set up a coaching session. #sleeptips #sleepwelltonight #insomniabrunch #insomniaproblems #sleepaid #cbti #mentalwellness #mentalwellnessjourney #bedheads
The ideal thing to say to yourself at night when you wake up is....nothing! There's nothing to comment on unless we make it something to comment on. However, it takes time to get to that place. Here are some thoughts to get you started on that road! If you'd like more specific, tailored support, DM me and we can set up a coaching session. #sleeptips #sleepwelltonight #insomniabrunch #insomniaproblems #sleepaid #cbti #mentalwellness #mentalwellnessjourney #bedheads
Tracy the Sleep Coach
tracythesleepcoach
•
Follow

Insomnia, the most common sleeping disorder, makes it difficult to get to sleep or stay asleep. The leading insomnia treatment is called Cognitive Behavioural Therapy for Insomnia (CBTi) CBTi has over 100 ‘gold standard’ randomized controlled trials supporting its use in chronic insomnia. 

Sleeping pills help with sleep – CBTi helps people to conquer the real reasons for their sleeping issues. Pills help people get to sleep in the short term, but CBTI treats the underlying causes of persistent sleeplessness by addressing the thinking and behaviours that are causing it in the first place.

So what is CBTi?

CBTi is a collection of techniques that change the behaviours and thinking associated with insomnia. There are always two major components to the therapy – Stimulus Control and Time in Bed Restriction.

Stimulus Control

Stimulus control works to change our ‘association’ with the bed. When we lose sleep night after night but remain in bed while we are awake, we disrupt our natural psychological and physiological relationship with our bed. We come to associate our bed with being awake – and often to our thoughts, fears, and anxieties about losing sleep. Stimulus control is a set of strategies that help people re-associate their bed with sleeping. They go from ‘nowhere to sleep’ to ‘this is where I sleep’ they help reset that relationship.

Bed Restriction

Time in bed restriction is in part a kind of stimulus control. It requires waking at the same time of the day and ensuring that you are only in bed for the same amount of time that you are sleeping. Accurate diaries are important for me to plan your personal strategy for bed restriction. This strategy helps re-associate your bed with sleep by limiting the time you stay in bed – and it also helps reset your circadian rythm.

It sounds harsh to ‘restrict time in bed’ for people who aren’t sleeping, but look at it this way: the therapist is allowing you the same time you were sleeping already, just no more! It’s a hard part of the strategy, but it is really critical. You can go from very choppy sleep to short, but solid sleep. When you’re sleeping consistently for that time, and depending on your needs, we slowly increase the time.

Another key component to CBTi is learning to manage feelings and thoughts around sleep. This is done through cognitive therapy and relaxation training. Often this gets left out by those attempting CBTi on their own, or they read a strategy and only use it when it’s most challenging – when they can’t sleep. Relaxation training and challenging irrational thinking about sleep is a skill that needs practice so that it can be used effectively when it’s needed. 

Why CBT-I and not Pills?

Sleeping medications can be a successful short term treatment for sleep problems, but they aren’t treating insomnia. Many people can take sleeping pills and still have insomnia – which shows itself again when they come off the sleeping pills. The people who don’t continue to have insomnia are often people who developed ways of ‘not thinking about sleep’. They come to not worry about sleep and they didn’t become worried about stopping or develop ‘just in case’ measures for sleeping. This reduction of sleep effort is a key component of CBTi strategies. It is critical to recovering from insomnia even if you are on sleeping pills.

CBTi is not for everyone though. People with an increased risk of falling, risk of fragility fracture, need for total vigilance in their work, other sleep disorders (particularly sleep apnoea, parasomnias), people with unmanaged anxiety, phobias, or mood disorders, and people who are undergoing certain other therapies, such as exposure treatments for phobias and PTSD.  

Effectiveness of CBTI

Cognitive-Behavioral Treatment for Insomnia gives people longer and deeper sleep than people on Zopiclone. CBTi is also more effective long term. The evidence is robust, reliable and long term, including with a varied group of patient populations. These groups include people with chronic pain, fibromyalgia and other conditions. It is effective in over 80% of people for whom it is suited, making it the British Medical Association’s top recommendation for treatment of chronic insomnia.

The main reason people haven’t heard of CBTI is because there are not enough practitioners! I practice CBTi with my clients and would be happy to help you overcome your insomnia.

This website contains information that is for informational purposes only. Nothing on this website should be construed as personal healthcare advice. Always seek the advice of your own healthcare professionals when working to improve your sleep.

3 weeks ago
View on Instagram |
1/5
Yesterday was only Wednesday but I'd had seven messages already asking... 'Should I take X medication?' 'How much Y should I take?' I explained why I can't answer those questions: I'm not a doctor, a psychiatrist or a pharmacist. And - most importantly even if I was...I'm not YOUR doctor, psychiatrist or pharmacist! If ANYONE is giving you this kind of one to one personal advice online and they are not your healthcare provider - RUN AWAY. They are either totally unqualified to give you that advice - or, if they are qualified, they also KNOW VERY WELL that it is irresponsible (dangerous), unethical and possibly illegal if you are not THEIR patient. The trouble is this: The internet lets us have quick, easy, casual conversations. These conversations happen in groups, in Facey, on Insta, everywhere. The only difference between healthcare providers down the street in the brick building and ones online are the expectations that the online space creates for those quick easy casual conversations. These issues of safety and professionalism are so important that we have regulatory bodies that exist to protect people from regulated professionals (but not from unqualified people...which is very frustrating!) One rule is scope of practice - we can't do what we aren't trained to do. Another rule is 'duty of care' - if we give advice, we have to be sure it's appropriate (which means we need to do an assessment). These apply in a brick building AND in a zoom room. If we break these rules, we can lose our license to practice. So the bottom line: a 'quick bit of advice on what meds to take across the DMs is a) unsafe for you b) risky for me and c) ain't gonna happen! You might be thinking....well Tracy that's pretty unhelpful. What can you do? A lot. Ask my clients! "Now I fall asleep within half an hour (which I've never done before) I wake up a couple of times during the night but can go back to sleep rather fast. It feels absolutely fantastic. Thank you Tracy from the bottom of my heart for being you!! You have totally changed my life" Drop me a DM if you'd like to get some proper, qualified sleep help!
Tracy the Sleep Coach
tracythesleepcoach
•
Follow

Insomnia, the most common sleeping disorder, makes it difficult to get to sleep or stay asleep. The leading insomnia treatment is called Cognitive Behavioural Therapy for Insomnia (CBTi) CBTi has over 100 ‘gold standard’ randomized controlled trials supporting its use in chronic insomnia. 

Sleeping pills help with sleep – CBTi helps people to conquer the real reasons for their sleeping issues. Pills help people get to sleep in the short term, but CBTI treats the underlying causes of persistent sleeplessness by addressing the thinking and behaviours that are causing it in the first place.

So what is CBTi?

CBTi is a collection of techniques that change the behaviours and thinking associated with insomnia. There are always two major components to the therapy – Stimulus Control and Time in Bed Restriction.

Stimulus Control

Stimulus control works to change our ‘association’ with the bed. When we lose sleep night after night but remain in bed while we are awake, we disrupt our natural psychological and physiological relationship with our bed. We come to associate our bed with being awake – and often to our thoughts, fears, and anxieties about losing sleep. Stimulus control is a set of strategies that help people re-associate their bed with sleeping. They go from ‘nowhere to sleep’ to ‘this is where I sleep’ they help reset that relationship.

Bed Restriction

Time in bed restriction is in part a kind of stimulus control. It requires waking at the same time of the day and ensuring that you are only in bed for the same amount of time that you are sleeping. Accurate diaries are important for me to plan your personal strategy for bed restriction. This strategy helps re-associate your bed with sleep by limiting the time you stay in bed – and it also helps reset your circadian rythm.

It sounds harsh to ‘restrict time in bed’ for people who aren’t sleeping, but look at it this way: the therapist is allowing you the same time you were sleeping already, just no more! It’s a hard part of the strategy, but it is really critical. You can go from very choppy sleep to short, but solid sleep. When you’re sleeping consistently for that time, and depending on your needs, we slowly increase the time.

Another key component to CBTi is learning to manage feelings and thoughts around sleep. This is done through cognitive therapy and relaxation training. Often this gets left out by those attempting CBTi on their own, or they read a strategy and only use it when it’s most challenging – when they can’t sleep. Relaxation training and challenging irrational thinking about sleep is a skill that needs practice so that it can be used effectively when it’s needed. 

Why CBT-I and not Pills?

Sleeping medications can be a successful short term treatment for sleep problems, but they aren’t treating insomnia. Many people can take sleeping pills and still have insomnia – which shows itself again when they come off the sleeping pills. The people who don’t continue to have insomnia are often people who developed ways of ‘not thinking about sleep’. They come to not worry about sleep and they didn’t become worried about stopping or develop ‘just in case’ measures for sleeping. This reduction of sleep effort is a key component of CBTi strategies. It is critical to recovering from insomnia even if you are on sleeping pills.

CBTi is not for everyone though. People with an increased risk of falling, risk of fragility fracture, need for total vigilance in their work, other sleep disorders (particularly sleep apnoea, parasomnias), people with unmanaged anxiety, phobias, or mood disorders, and people who are undergoing certain other therapies, such as exposure treatments for phobias and PTSD.  

Effectiveness of CBTI

Cognitive-Behavioral Treatment for Insomnia gives people longer and deeper sleep than people on Zopiclone. CBTi is also more effective long term. The evidence is robust, reliable and long term, including with a varied group of patient populations. These groups include people with chronic pain, fibromyalgia and other conditions. It is effective in over 80% of people for whom it is suited, making it the British Medical Association’s top recommendation for treatment of chronic insomnia.

The main reason people haven’t heard of CBTI is because there are not enough practitioners! I practice CBTi with my clients and would be happy to help you overcome your insomnia.

This website contains information that is for informational purposes only. Nothing on this website should be construed as personal healthcare advice. Always seek the advice of your own healthcare professionals when working to improve your sleep.

3 weeks ago
View on Instagram |
2/5
I'm going a bit wild and changing up my carousels :) These three tips sometimes confuse people. They think 'oh I heard that before' or 'oh I tried that'. But when I ask some probing questions....they hadn't (through sometimes no fault of their own) maximised the possibilities of these fundamentals. You can find the basics online, of course - but nothing beats a pro-look at the whole situation to find the best tweaks to make for you!
I'm going a bit wild and changing up my carousels :) These three tips sometimes confuse people. They think 'oh I heard that before' or 'oh I tried that'. But when I ask some probing questions....they hadn't (through sometimes no fault of their own) maximised the possibilities of these fundamentals. You can find the basics online, of course - but nothing beats a pro-look at the whole situation to find the best tweaks to make for you!
I'm going a bit wild and changing up my carousels :) These three tips sometimes confuse people. They think 'oh I heard that before' or 'oh I tried that'. But when I ask some probing questions....they hadn't (through sometimes no fault of their own) maximised the possibilities of these fundamentals. You can find the basics online, of course - but nothing beats a pro-look at the whole situation to find the best tweaks to make for you!
I'm going a bit wild and changing up my carousels :) These three tips sometimes confuse people. They think 'oh I heard that before' or 'oh I tried that'. But when I ask some probing questions....they hadn't (through sometimes no fault of their own) maximised the possibilities of these fundamentals. You can find the basics online, of course - but nothing beats a pro-look at the whole situation to find the best tweaks to make for you!
I'm going a bit wild and changing up my carousels :) These three tips sometimes confuse people. They think 'oh I heard that before' or 'oh I tried that'. But when I ask some probing questions....they hadn't (through sometimes no fault of their own) maximised the possibilities of these fundamentals. You can find the basics online, of course - but nothing beats a pro-look at the whole situation to find the best tweaks to make for you!
Tracy the Sleep Coach
tracythesleepcoach
•
Follow

Insomnia, the most common sleeping disorder, makes it difficult to get to sleep or stay asleep. The leading insomnia treatment is called Cognitive Behavioural Therapy for Insomnia (CBTi) CBTi has over 100 ‘gold standard’ randomized controlled trials supporting its use in chronic insomnia. 

Sleeping pills help with sleep – CBTi helps people to conquer the real reasons for their sleeping issues. Pills help people get to sleep in the short term, but CBTI treats the underlying causes of persistent sleeplessness by addressing the thinking and behaviours that are causing it in the first place.

So what is CBTi?

CBTi is a collection of techniques that change the behaviours and thinking associated with insomnia. There are always two major components to the therapy – Stimulus Control and Time in Bed Restriction.

Stimulus Control

Stimulus control works to change our ‘association’ with the bed. When we lose sleep night after night but remain in bed while we are awake, we disrupt our natural psychological and physiological relationship with our bed. We come to associate our bed with being awake – and often to our thoughts, fears, and anxieties about losing sleep. Stimulus control is a set of strategies that help people re-associate their bed with sleeping. They go from ‘nowhere to sleep’ to ‘this is where I sleep’ they help reset that relationship.

Bed Restriction

Time in bed restriction is in part a kind of stimulus control. It requires waking at the same time of the day and ensuring that you are only in bed for the same amount of time that you are sleeping. Accurate diaries are important for me to plan your personal strategy for bed restriction. This strategy helps re-associate your bed with sleep by limiting the time you stay in bed – and it also helps reset your circadian rythm.

It sounds harsh to ‘restrict time in bed’ for people who aren’t sleeping, but look at it this way: the therapist is allowing you the same time you were sleeping already, just no more! It’s a hard part of the strategy, but it is really critical. You can go from very choppy sleep to short, but solid sleep. When you’re sleeping consistently for that time, and depending on your needs, we slowly increase the time.

Another key component to CBTi is learning to manage feelings and thoughts around sleep. This is done through cognitive therapy and relaxation training. Often this gets left out by those attempting CBTi on their own, or they read a strategy and only use it when it’s most challenging – when they can’t sleep. Relaxation training and challenging irrational thinking about sleep is a skill that needs practice so that it can be used effectively when it’s needed. 

Why CBT-I and not Pills?

Sleeping medications can be a successful short term treatment for sleep problems, but they aren’t treating insomnia. Many people can take sleeping pills and still have insomnia – which shows itself again when they come off the sleeping pills. The people who don’t continue to have insomnia are often people who developed ways of ‘not thinking about sleep’. They come to not worry about sleep and they didn’t become worried about stopping or develop ‘just in case’ measures for sleeping. This reduction of sleep effort is a key component of CBTi strategies. It is critical to recovering from insomnia even if you are on sleeping pills.

CBTi is not for everyone though. People with an increased risk of falling, risk of fragility fracture, need for total vigilance in their work, other sleep disorders (particularly sleep apnoea, parasomnias), people with unmanaged anxiety, phobias, or mood disorders, and people who are undergoing certain other therapies, such as exposure treatments for phobias and PTSD.  

Effectiveness of CBTI

Cognitive-Behavioral Treatment for Insomnia gives people longer and deeper sleep than people on Zopiclone. CBTi is also more effective long term. The evidence is robust, reliable and long term, including with a varied group of patient populations. These groups include people with chronic pain, fibromyalgia and other conditions. It is effective in over 80% of people for whom it is suited, making it the British Medical Association’s top recommendation for treatment of chronic insomnia.

The main reason people haven’t heard of CBTI is because there are not enough practitioners! I practice CBTi with my clients and would be happy to help you overcome your insomnia.

This website contains information that is for informational purposes only. Nothing on this website should be construed as personal healthcare advice. Always seek the advice of your own healthcare professionals when working to improve your sleep.

1 month ago
View on Instagram |
3/5
These shoes were made for showing off! They are one of the few pairs wide enough at the end so that I can wear them with my broken toe ! I also broke my face so that’s why there have been so few videos and stories the last few days. Damned cold sore :-/ So this is a time for showing off testimonials, happy clients and, well, these super cute shoes! ⁣ .⁣ .⁣ .⁣ .⁣ .⁣ #anxiety #bedtime #dogoftheday #goodnight #meditation #mentalhealth #momlife #nap #nightynight #puppiesofinstagram #puppylove #rest #selflove #sleep #sleepdeprived #sleeping #sleepingbeauty #sleepingcats #sleepless #sleeptight #sleeptime #sleeptraining #sleepwear #sleepwell #sleepyboy #sleepydog #sleepyhead #sleepypuppy #sleepytime #tired
Tracy the Sleep Coach
tracythesleepcoach
•
Follow

Insomnia, the most common sleeping disorder, makes it difficult to get to sleep or stay asleep. The leading insomnia treatment is called Cognitive Behavioural Therapy for Insomnia (CBTi) CBTi has over 100 ‘gold standard’ randomized controlled trials supporting its use in chronic insomnia. 

Sleeping pills help with sleep – CBTi helps people to conquer the real reasons for their sleeping issues. Pills help people get to sleep in the short term, but CBTI treats the underlying causes of persistent sleeplessness by addressing the thinking and behaviours that are causing it in the first place.

So what is CBTi?

CBTi is a collection of techniques that change the behaviours and thinking associated with insomnia. There are always two major components to the therapy – Stimulus Control and Time in Bed Restriction.

Stimulus Control

Stimulus control works to change our ‘association’ with the bed. When we lose sleep night after night but remain in bed while we are awake, we disrupt our natural psychological and physiological relationship with our bed. We come to associate our bed with being awake – and often to our thoughts, fears, and anxieties about losing sleep. Stimulus control is a set of strategies that help people re-associate their bed with sleeping. They go from ‘nowhere to sleep’ to ‘this is where I sleep’ they help reset that relationship.

Bed Restriction

Time in bed restriction is in part a kind of stimulus control. It requires waking at the same time of the day and ensuring that you are only in bed for the same amount of time that you are sleeping. Accurate diaries are important for me to plan your personal strategy for bed restriction. This strategy helps re-associate your bed with sleep by limiting the time you stay in bed – and it also helps reset your circadian rythm.

It sounds harsh to ‘restrict time in bed’ for people who aren’t sleeping, but look at it this way: the therapist is allowing you the same time you were sleeping already, just no more! It’s a hard part of the strategy, but it is really critical. You can go from very choppy sleep to short, but solid sleep. When you’re sleeping consistently for that time, and depending on your needs, we slowly increase the time.

Another key component to CBTi is learning to manage feelings and thoughts around sleep. This is done through cognitive therapy and relaxation training. Often this gets left out by those attempting CBTi on their own, or they read a strategy and only use it when it’s most challenging – when they can’t sleep. Relaxation training and challenging irrational thinking about sleep is a skill that needs practice so that it can be used effectively when it’s needed. 

Why CBT-I and not Pills?

Sleeping medications can be a successful short term treatment for sleep problems, but they aren’t treating insomnia. Many people can take sleeping pills and still have insomnia – which shows itself again when they come off the sleeping pills. The people who don’t continue to have insomnia are often people who developed ways of ‘not thinking about sleep’. They come to not worry about sleep and they didn’t become worried about stopping or develop ‘just in case’ measures for sleeping. This reduction of sleep effort is a key component of CBTi strategies. It is critical to recovering from insomnia even if you are on sleeping pills.

CBTi is not for everyone though. People with an increased risk of falling, risk of fragility fracture, need for total vigilance in their work, other sleep disorders (particularly sleep apnoea, parasomnias), people with unmanaged anxiety, phobias, or mood disorders, and people who are undergoing certain other therapies, such as exposure treatments for phobias and PTSD.  

Effectiveness of CBTI

Cognitive-Behavioral Treatment for Insomnia gives people longer and deeper sleep than people on Zopiclone. CBTi is also more effective long term. The evidence is robust, reliable and long term, including with a varied group of patient populations. These groups include people with chronic pain, fibromyalgia and other conditions. It is effective in over 80% of people for whom it is suited, making it the British Medical Association’s top recommendation for treatment of chronic insomnia.

The main reason people haven’t heard of CBTI is because there are not enough practitioners! I practice CBTi with my clients and would be happy to help you overcome your insomnia.

This website contains information that is for informational purposes only. Nothing on this website should be construed as personal healthcare advice. Always seek the advice of your own healthcare professionals when working to improve your sleep.

1 month ago
View on Instagram |
4/5
How long have you had insomnia? How long have you been waiting to recover? There are a lot of people out there who have suffered for a really long time - like a LONG time. They've been 'trying all the things' and the don't want to wait to get better - but they do. They might 'know' that these evidence based approaches work for the majority of people but they still don't take the plunge. Why? I asked a group this recently and got a very diverse range of answers. Here are a few of those responses - and I'll cover a few more next time... What reasons do YOU have? #sleepsupport #sleepconsultant #solovelysofree #empoweringwomen #fallinlovewithyourself #bedhairdontcare #wellnesscommunity #cbti #insomniabrunch
How long have you had insomnia? How long have you been waiting to recover? There are a lot of people out there who have suffered for a really long time - like a LONG time. They've been 'trying all the things' and the don't want to wait to get better - but they do. They might 'know' that these evidence based approaches work for the majority of people but they still don't take the plunge. Why? I asked a group this recently and got a very diverse range of answers. Here are a few of those responses - and I'll cover a few more next time... What reasons do YOU have? #sleepsupport #sleepconsultant #solovelysofree #empoweringwomen #fallinlovewithyourself #bedhairdontcare #wellnesscommunity #cbti #insomniabrunch
How long have you had insomnia? How long have you been waiting to recover? There are a lot of people out there who have suffered for a really long time - like a LONG time. They've been 'trying all the things' and the don't want to wait to get better - but they do. They might 'know' that these evidence based approaches work for the majority of people but they still don't take the plunge. Why? I asked a group this recently and got a very diverse range of answers. Here are a few of those responses - and I'll cover a few more next time... What reasons do YOU have? #sleepsupport #sleepconsultant #solovelysofree #empoweringwomen #fallinlovewithyourself #bedhairdontcare #wellnesscommunity #cbti #insomniabrunch
How long have you had insomnia? How long have you been waiting to recover? There are a lot of people out there who have suffered for a really long time - like a LONG time. They've been 'trying all the things' and the don't want to wait to get better - but they do. They might 'know' that these evidence based approaches work for the majority of people but they still don't take the plunge. Why? I asked a group this recently and got a very diverse range of answers. Here are a few of those responses - and I'll cover a few more next time... What reasons do YOU have? #sleepsupport #sleepconsultant #solovelysofree #empoweringwomen #fallinlovewithyourself #bedhairdontcare #wellnesscommunity #cbti #insomniabrunch
How long have you had insomnia? How long have you been waiting to recover? There are a lot of people out there who have suffered for a really long time - like a LONG time. They've been 'trying all the things' and the don't want to wait to get better - but they do. They might 'know' that these evidence based approaches work for the majority of people but they still don't take the plunge. Why? I asked a group this recently and got a very diverse range of answers. Here are a few of those responses - and I'll cover a few more next time... What reasons do YOU have? #sleepsupport #sleepconsultant #solovelysofree #empoweringwomen #fallinlovewithyourself #bedhairdontcare #wellnesscommunity #cbti #insomniabrunch
How long have you had insomnia? How long have you been waiting to recover? There are a lot of people out there who have suffered for a really long time - like a LONG time. They've been 'trying all the things' and the don't want to wait to get better - but they do. They might 'know' that these evidence based approaches work for the majority of people but they still don't take the plunge. Why? I asked a group this recently and got a very diverse range of answers. Here are a few of those responses - and I'll cover a few more next time... What reasons do YOU have? #sleepsupport #sleepconsultant #solovelysofree #empoweringwomen #fallinlovewithyourself #bedhairdontcare #wellnesscommunity #cbti #insomniabrunch
How long have you had insomnia? How long have you been waiting to recover? There are a lot of people out there who have suffered for a really long time - like a LONG time. They've been 'trying all the things' and the don't want to wait to get better - but they do. They might 'know' that these evidence based approaches work for the majority of people but they still don't take the plunge. Why? I asked a group this recently and got a very diverse range of answers. Here are a few of those responses - and I'll cover a few more next time... What reasons do YOU have? #sleepsupport #sleepconsultant #solovelysofree #empoweringwomen #fallinlovewithyourself #bedhairdontcare #wellnesscommunity #cbti #insomniabrunch
Tracy the Sleep Coach
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Insomnia, the most common sleeping disorder, makes it difficult to get to sleep or stay asleep. The leading insomnia treatment is called Cognitive Behavioural Therapy for Insomnia (CBTi) CBTi has over 100 ‘gold standard’ randomized controlled trials supporting its use in chronic insomnia. 

Sleeping pills help with sleep – CBTi helps people to conquer the real reasons for their sleeping issues. Pills help people get to sleep in the short term, but CBTI treats the underlying causes of persistent sleeplessness by addressing the thinking and behaviours that are causing it in the first place.

So what is CBTi?

CBTi is a collection of techniques that change the behaviours and thinking associated with insomnia. There are always two major components to the therapy – Stimulus Control and Time in Bed Restriction.

Stimulus Control

Stimulus control works to change our ‘association’ with the bed. When we lose sleep night after night but remain in bed while we are awake, we disrupt our natural psychological and physiological relationship with our bed. We come to associate our bed with being awake – and often to our thoughts, fears, and anxieties about losing sleep. Stimulus control is a set of strategies that help people re-associate their bed with sleeping. They go from ‘nowhere to sleep’ to ‘this is where I sleep’ they help reset that relationship.

Bed Restriction

Time in bed restriction is in part a kind of stimulus control. It requires waking at the same time of the day and ensuring that you are only in bed for the same amount of time that you are sleeping. Accurate diaries are important for me to plan your personal strategy for bed restriction. This strategy helps re-associate your bed with sleep by limiting the time you stay in bed – and it also helps reset your circadian rythm.

It sounds harsh to ‘restrict time in bed’ for people who aren’t sleeping, but look at it this way: the therapist is allowing you the same time you were sleeping already, just no more! It’s a hard part of the strategy, but it is really critical. You can go from very choppy sleep to short, but solid sleep. When you’re sleeping consistently for that time, and depending on your needs, we slowly increase the time.

Another key component to CBTi is learning to manage feelings and thoughts around sleep. This is done through cognitive therapy and relaxation training. Often this gets left out by those attempting CBTi on their own, or they read a strategy and only use it when it’s most challenging – when they can’t sleep. Relaxation training and challenging irrational thinking about sleep is a skill that needs practice so that it can be used effectively when it’s needed. 

Why CBT-I and not Pills?

Sleeping medications can be a successful short term treatment for sleep problems, but they aren’t treating insomnia. Many people can take sleeping pills and still have insomnia – which shows itself again when they come off the sleeping pills. The people who don’t continue to have insomnia are often people who developed ways of ‘not thinking about sleep’. They come to not worry about sleep and they didn’t become worried about stopping or develop ‘just in case’ measures for sleeping. This reduction of sleep effort is a key component of CBTi strategies. It is critical to recovering from insomnia even if you are on sleeping pills.

CBTi is not for everyone though. People with an increased risk of falling, risk of fragility fracture, need for total vigilance in their work, other sleep disorders (particularly sleep apnoea, parasomnias), people with unmanaged anxiety, phobias, or mood disorders, and people who are undergoing certain other therapies, such as exposure treatments for phobias and PTSD.  

Effectiveness of CBTI

Cognitive-Behavioral Treatment for Insomnia gives people longer and deeper sleep than people on Zopiclone. CBTi is also more effective long term. The evidence is robust, reliable and long term, including with a varied group of patient populations. These groups include people with chronic pain, fibromyalgia and other conditions. It is effective in over 80% of people for whom it is suited, making it the British Medical Association’s top recommendation for treatment of chronic insomnia.

The main reason people haven’t heard of CBTI is because there are not enough practitioners! I practice CBTi with my clients and would be happy to help you overcome your insomnia.

This website contains information that is for informational purposes only. Nothing on this website should be construed as personal healthcare advice. Always seek the advice of your own healthcare professionals when working to improve your sleep.

2 months ago
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