Co-authored by Alisha Brosse, Ph.D.
Insomniacs everywhere are grateful that cognitive-behavioral therapy for insomnia (CBT-I) is an effective intervention. Yet many struggle to find the resources (time, money, and access to a behavioral sleep specialist) to utilize this treatment. End the Insomnia Struggle is a new book that can provide you with an accessible and cost-effective way to apply CBT-I to your specific sleep needs. This book combines CBT-I and acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT). It provides step-by-step guidance for developing your own treatment plan according to your particular challenges with insomnia.
End the Insomnia Struggle is published by New Harbinger Publications and available October 1, 2016. Here is an excerpt from the book. This excerpt is reprinted with permission: New Harbinger Publications, Inc., copyright © 2016 [Ehrnstrom & Brosse].
Effectiveness as Your Compass (Chapter 1)
When we are asked a question (“Should I cut out my naps?” “When I wake up in the middle of the night, should I stay in bed or get up and do something?”), our most frequent answer is, “It depends.” There is not a single right answer, nor a wrong way to do things. We can give you our best educated guess, based on what we understand about sleep physiology, and we will be doing that throughout the book. These recommendations will be helpful, on average. But you are not average. You are you. And you today, with your current health, life stresses, activities, and habits, are not exactly the same as you six months from now.
So when it comes to giving advice about your sleep, it is all about what works, not about rigid rules that apply to everyone. However, it is about what works in the long run, not just what works today. Things that give you short-term relief, such as a daytime nap, often come at the price of keeping insomnia around longer (much more about this in chapter 2).
We use the word “effective” to capture this idea of what works in the long run. You will notice that we use this word a lot in this book! We will help you use effectiveness as your compass to guide your treatment program.
Check back in the next few weeks for more excerpts from our book.