cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia

We are very fortunate to have Dr. Richard Blackburn, who heads up Nystrom's Sleep Academy, share with us a ton of helpful and enlightening information about sleep. If you're like me, I thought to myself, "Sleep is great, but I don't have enough time to sleep and I'm doing just fine." or if you struggle with sleep, you do not want to miss these podcasts! 

We planned for one hour and there was so much helpful and practical information, that we decided to just keep recording! Listen, learn and share these episodes with others because healthy sleep is a real game-changer and improvement upon our overall quality of life.

Do you have feedback or topic requests? Email us at podcast@nystromcounseling.com

We'd love to hear from you!

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“The lines between sleep, health and mental health in general are blurred.”

Sleep is an important topic. It comes up on a regular basis when we meet with our patients. But what are the best treatments to prescribe? Is medication the way to go? What are our options?

On this episode of Quick Takes, Dr. David Gratzer hosts CAMH psychiatrist and sleep medicine specialist, Dr. Michael Mak. They discuss the impact of sleep (or lack thereof) on mental health and the current psychopharmacological and therapeutical treatments available.

** During this episode’s conversation we learn about:**

• the impact insomnia and other sleep disorders have on mental health
• how the new family of insomnia treatments compares to the old
• possibly the best form of treatment currently available
• and how mobile apps and web tools play a role in sleep therapy.

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Quick Takes is a production of the Center for Addiction and Mental Health. You can find links to the relevant content mentioned in the show and accessible transcripts of all the episodes we produce online at CAMH.ca.

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Heather Jim, PhD,  is a senior member and co-leader of the Health Outcomes and Behavior Research Program at Moffitt Cancer Center in Tampa.  Today she walks us through ways to combat sleep issues related to chronic Graft vs. Host Disease.  Hopefully the tips here will help all of us get a better night's sleep.

Heather begins by walking us through the importance of sleep, and how that changes as we age.  Interestingly, 30% of the general population report sleep problems, but for transplant recipients, that number can rise as high as 60%. We cover some of the most common types of sleep issues, including sleep apnea, insomnia, and restless leg syndrome.

While there are sleeping medications out there, Heather explains Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Insomnia, or CBTI.  While there are psychologists and social workers who specialize in CBTI, there are many practices we can all employ on our own, to stop sabotaging our sleep cycles.  This includes mobile apps, linked below in our show notes.

There are seven rules CBTI rules to help improve sleep:

1. Set aside an hour to wind down before bed (this includes turning screens off!)
2. Only go to bed when you start to feel sleepy.
3. If you can't fall asleep in 20-30 minutes, get up and do something boring.
4. Use an alarm clock to get out of bed at the same time every day.
5. Use your bed and bedroom only for sleep and sexual activities.
6. Limit naps during the  day, especially after 1pm.
7. Limit the time spent in bed to actual time sleeping.

Heather explains that good quality sleep is not only important for patients, but for caregivers as well.  Sometimes, transplant can be more stressful for the caregiver, and if they don't take care of themselves, it will harm their ability to help their patients.

Resources:

Shut Eye App: https://www.shuteye.ai/

Somryst App: https://www.somryst.com/

Calm App: https://www.calm.com/

Heather Jim's Bio: https://moffitt.org/research-science/researchers/heather-jim/

National Bone Marrow Transplant Link - (800) LINK-BMT, or (800) 546-5268.

nbmtLINK Website: https://www.nbmtlink.org/

nbmtLINK Facebook Page:  https://www.facebook.com/nbmtLINK

nbmtLINK YouTube Page can be found by clicking here.

Thank you to this season's sponsors:

Pharmacyclics: https://www.pharmacyclics.com/

Janssen: https://www.janssen.com/

Kadmon: https://kadmon.com/

Sanofi: https://www.sanofi.com/

Nick and Daniel trade off describing their favorite myths and misconceptions about insomnia and sleep.

Show Notes:

• Does everyone need 8 hours of sleep per night?
• Should I go to bed at the same time every night?
• The crucial difference between feeling tired and feeling sleepy
• If I’m not getting 8 hours of sleep, am I at risk for major health issues?
• Do I need to avoid blue light before bed?
• Do things cause insomnia or beliefs about things? See also: Nick's Complete Guide to Insomnia
• The problem with sleep hygiene
• Sleep is more about what you don’t do than what you do.
• Sleep effort and the perfect metaphor for insomnia
• Is it important to get an even number of sleep cycles?
• Beware the Sleep Hygiene Industrial Complex
• If I have a big day coming up, should I get into bed early?
• Can I pay off my long-term sleep debt?
• How important is it to understand what caused my insomnia?
• Triggering factors vs maintaining factors in insomnia
• Insomnia and threat-monitoring
• Is insomnia even a sleep disorder?
• Does sleep quality deteriorate with age?
• Should I avoid exercise in the evenings?
• Intention is everything when it comes to sleep.

You can follow Daniel Erichsen online in the following places:

• Podcast
• YouTube
• Twitter

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