CBT for Insomnia (CBTi) Archives

Worrying and Insomnia

Worrying can be a big contributing factor in insomnia. We can lie in bed, worrying about things that happened during the day, unable to sleep because we can’t slow our minds down. Or maybe we’re worrying about what we have to do tomorrow, these thoughts racing around in our heads and keeping us awake. Or […]

Cognitive Defusion for Insomnia

In Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), cognitive fusion refers to when we become so stuck in our heads, we become fused with our thoughts. When we’re in a state of cognitive fusion, it can be hard to quiet our minds enough to fall asleep, and so cognitive fusion can contribute to insomnia.The opposite of cognitive […]

The Thought Record in CBT

The most effective way to practice cognitive restructuring is to complete a thought record or thought diary. The thought record is one of the foundational tools of CBT. In the thought record we write down: Our automatic negative thoughts The situations that triggered them The moods, emotions, feelings, and physical symptoms or sensations we experience […]

Insomnia and Letting Go of Thoughts

It can hard to sleep if our minds are racing. Perhaps we’re worrying about tomorrow, planning our days and going over things in our heads as we try to fall asleep. Or we’re stuck dwelling on something that happened earlier in the day, ruminating and thinking in circles, unable to quiet our minds. Or maybe […]

Cognitive Restructuring and Reframing Thoughts

In CBT we use a technique called cognitive restructuring to modify our automatic negative thoughts to make them better reflect reality. With cognitive restructuring we’re not trying to engage in “positive thinking.” Positive thinking isn’t helpful because it doesn’t reflect reality either. Instead, cognitive restructuring involves reframing our negatively biased thoughts in order to see […]

Automatic Negative Thoughts

We constantly have all sorts of thoughts automatically popping into our heads. In CBT, it’s our automatic negative thoughts (sometimes referred to as ANTs) that we’re most concerned with. Automatic negative thoughts play a huge role in both initiating and maintaining our negative moods. And they often set off vicious cycles and downward spirals that […]

Thoughts Are Not Facts

One of the main things we focus on in CBT is how we can modify our negative thoughts in order to improve how we feel. But why is it okay to change our thoughts? If we have a thought, isn’t it important? Shouldn’t we listen to our thoughts and what they say? Well it is […]

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Guided Relaxation Meditation for Insomnia and Sleep

In this 20-minute Guided Relaxation Meditation we connect with our breathing while moving our attention through our bodies, relaxing each part as we go. You can listen to it as you fall asleep or just to help you relax before going to bed. This relaxation exercise in adapted from the CBT-I program developed by Dr. […]

CBT for Insomnia: Positive and Negative Sleep Thoughts

There are two elements to Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Insomnia (CBTI). In this post we’ll look at the cognitive aspect of CBTI and how our thoughts impact our sleep. In the next post we’ll look at the role of behavior on our sleep. Negative thoughts about sleep are often a big contributing factor to insomnia. […]

CBT for Insomnia: Sleep Hygiene and Sleep Efficiency

The behavioral element in Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Insomnia (CBTI) has two components, sleep hygiene and sleep efficiency. Sleep hygiene involves developing habits and routines that reduce insomnia. And we also create an environment that is conducive to sleep and helps us sleep better. Our sleep is also better when we have a consistent sleep […]