Should you worry if you can’t fall asleep? How to adjust your lifestyle to ensure a healthy sleep? Is it worth talking to a professional and what’s the cost? We’ll share how to deal with sleeping issues using CBT-I therapy.
Insomnia covers various problems: difficulty falling asleep, regular awakening in the middle of the night and inability to fall asleep again, and interrupted sleep. About a third of the world’s population experience insomnia. condition.
Often people underestimate the importance of sleep for health. They monitor their nutrition and regularly visit the gym but they may lack sleep. Lack of sleep affects mood, reduces motivation, and concentration, and leads to mistakes in work. Chronic lack of sleep is fraught with serious diseases: hypertension, impaired glucose tolerance, obesity, and a higher risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease. `
Statistics of visits to doctors show that insomnia in the elderly occurs much more often than in young people. According to the statistics, the two main categories of his patients are men and women 60+, as well as women 40-55 years old. Sleep disorders are not accidental, the main causes of insomnia in the elderly, men and women after 60, are:
- Stressful conditions. The experiences characteristic of people in years in the evening, before going to bed, often negatively affect the functions of the nervous system.
- Snoring, night breathing problems, seizures.
- Excessive excess weight and sedentary lifestyle.
- Stress can cause insomnia in the elderly
- Bad habits. Alcohol abuse.
- Non-compliance with sleep hygiene. Incorrect, uncomfortable bed, constant background noise (for example, from a working TV), light, lack of evening airing.
How to understand that you face trouble sleeping?
Answer “yes” or “no” to the next questions:
- Fall asleep with great difficulty in the evening?
- Sleep restlessly nightly, wake up often, and can not fall back asleep?
- Consider the alarm clock your worst enemy and can not get up in the morning?
- Feel dependent on coffee and energy drinks?
- Lack of sleep deprives you of the strength and desire to work, do household chores, play with children, and meet friends?
If you answered “yes” 2 or more times, you are familiar with sleep issues. They may be solved with the help of a professional sleep mentor, either offline or using special CBT-I coach apps.
How does the sleep coach work?
A sleep consultant will help:
- suggest improvements for bedroom environment and sleep habits; create a personalized sleep plan;
- stay motivated to reach your sleep goals;
- adapt to a different time zone while trans-meridian flights.
Many sleep coaches implement the fundamentals of cognitive behavioral therapy. CBT-I is advised as the first method for treating insomnia without any pills by leading American and European organizations of physicians (American College of Physicians, European Sleep Research Society).
This method makes it possible to cure chronic insomnia in more than 80% of cases, implies drug-free treatment, and provides a long-term effect.
Here are important steps of cognitive behavioral treatment that make it efficient:
- explanation of the basics of sleep physiology and the rules of sleep hygiene;
- using sleep deprivation and stimulation control methods, correction of sleep-wake mode;
- changing the behavior and beliefs of a person in relation to sleep;
- learning ways to relax and relieve stress;
- suggestions in case of sleep regression.
Advantages of cognitive behavioral treatment:
- High effectiveness;
- Long-lasting effects;
- Low rate of side effects.
How is the consultation going?
Before the meeting, a sleep coach analyzes your questionnaire. At the appointment you together with a sleep expert analyze:
- specific situation in detail: possible health factors affecting sleep, sleep conditions, life situation, sleep problems, and patterns. It usually takes 30-40 minutes.
- the situation strategically: what are the pros and cons of various methods of treating insomnia.
Then you begin to tactically work out the whole complex of factors that affect sleep.
How much does it cost?
As the sleeping training process goes, the majority of sleep offerings involve e-mail, mobile, or message assistance. Usually coaches charge from $50 for a single consultation to $700 for the whole 4-weeks course, including additional online consultations and individual plans for working on sleep and suggestions. The cost depends on the coach’s knowledge and the level of assistance they can give you. It takes a long time to search for the best sleeping assistant and a number of services for you and your family.
Digital options cost less. Besides various apps and platforms offer other features such as an online library with various sleep sounds and sleep stories, or chat with your personal sleep account completely for free.
Who is at risk and to whom it may appeal to?
In the elderly, insomnia is often caused by vascular lesions of the brain and neurodegenerative diseases such as Parkinson’s or Alzheimer’s disease. Women almost always have trouble sleeping at the beginning of menopause. In addition, problems with falling asleep and sleep quality often haunt anxious people with increased responsibility, and these are more often women. Men reach the doctor when the symptoms are already so pronounced that they interfere with working and living normally.
Among people of various professions, those who work on an irregular schedule with alternating shifts day/night have the most problems with sleep: dispatchers, train drivers, and airplane pilots.
Neurologists note that people who are engaged in intellectual work usually do not sleep well. Physical labor is the best cure for insomnia. When a person is physically tired, he falls asleep soundly and sleeps for a long time.
So in conclusion, you always can choose live consultation, however, the whole world now is looking to the offline side as it is usually cheaper and for sure online sleep coach is much more comfortable as it is simpler to plan things. Insurance rarely covers such options as sleep coaches so you always have to think about your health in advance and to pay special attention to it. It is reasonable to deal with these problems until they turn into chronic ones and involve a professional, for example, a slip coach.
Take care of your health and sleep well!
