Stumbling across Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Insomnia (CBT-I) and Behavioral Sleep Medicine (BSM)

So, for those of you wondering what I have been up to, I am still on my quest to cure my chronic insomnia.  Anything I have mentioned in previous posts that was helpful, has not been lasting.

So, I went to a new sleep doctor (an MD--neurologist), and she recommended something called Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Insomnia (CBT-I), as well as hypnotherapy.

How could I have been searching for insomnia cures for years and never heard of this?

And how can an MD recommend something as wacky-sounding as hypnotherapy? It must really work.

Well, in my desperation, I decided I had nothing to lose except more money.

Here is some information on CBT-I:
http://sleepfoundation.org/sleep-news/cognitive-behavioral-therapy-insomnia
http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/insomnia/in-depth/insomnia-treatment/art-20046677

So, I found a certified behavioral sleep medicine provider here:
http://www.behavioralsleep.org/findspecialist.aspx

I was surprised at how few there are in the country. Fortunately there is one in my metro area -- but only one! If there are none near you, or you can't afford it, I found this on-line version. I can't vouch for it myself, as I haven't tried it, but it might be helpful: http://cbtforinsomnia.com

There are various methods used in CBT-I. The sleep restriction therapy did not help me, and actually made me feel worse. Stimulus control and sleep hygiene didn't help, and were things I already knew about anyway.  Meditation seemed like it could be helpful but I can't get my mind to stay still, no matter how much I try. Biofeedback using a thermometer to measure my skin temperature is another techniques that is fairly simple but I have been lazy about. But some of these things might help you!

And then we come to hypnotherapy….now that is helping. I had no idea what it is, and of course I envisioned a pocket watch dangling before my eyes. But hypnotherapy is not anything like stereotypical hypnosis. Rather it is like letting yourself fall into a daydream. I found it difficult to do on my own, due to my active mind, but I have downloaded guided hypnotherapy sessions from iTunes as well as some iPhone apps, and these are really helping me.  I have tried several and found the ones I liked best based on the voice, style, length, etc.

Another thing the sleep therapist recommended is progressive relaxation.  This has also been helpful. I have found some downloads that have both progressive relaxation and guided hypnotherapy.  I am trying to do this before I go to sleep as well as when I wake up.

My therapist told me it really takes 3-4 weeks to kick in, and I have been doing this about 2 weeks now (and not every day).  But so far, I am learning a lot about my mind and body by doing this, and I think the awareness itself is helpful, as are the techniques.

Wow, wouldn't it be great if there was an insomnia cure or at least relief that was so low-tech and so cheap? The sleep doctor told me that insomnia is so hard to address because every case is unique, so there is no standard treatment and no way to know what will help any one individual. (unlike, say, sleep apnea).

I am hoping this is really solid and lasting, for me and you and all the other insomniacs out there. Maybe this sleep behavioral therapy can help a lot of people.

Finally getting to the root of my insomnia-entirely new information

Updated July 8, 2015: Please read this, but please also read the updated post found here.

Last time I blogged about "earthing" and how it helped me sleep. Unfortunately, it was a very short-lived respite from the hell of insomnia. Since then, I have been searching, seeing more doctors, and doing more research. I have finally come across something completely new to me that I think might be the source of my insomnia and it is called the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis. 

It's even more complicated than it sounds, and there are plenty of sources on the internet to learn more about it, so I am not going to try to explain it. But, suffice to say, it controls many mechanisms in your body, including thyroid and adrenal glands. And many things can go wrong with the HPA axis based on genetics, nutrition, and more. 

I found a doctor who tested my thyroid and cortisol levels. It turns out that sleep can be affected by both high and low levels of various hormones in the body. This is the best summary I can recommend on this issue:

http://www.stopthethyroidmadness.com/2013/09/14/three-sleeping-issues/

A light bulb really clicked when I learned how low cortisol can cause insomnia, and then recalled how the Fisher Wallace Stimulator is advertised as "shown to lower cortisol." Maybe that is why the FWS made my insomnia much worse.

So far, medication I am taking has already helped my sleep. I am not yet at the place where I would like to be--a solid night of restful sleep--but I feel like I am much closer to it than ever before and working with doctors to get the right approach. It seems to me that doctors should check thyroid and adrenal levels before prescribing the FWS.

I hope this helps you!