The thoughts that keep you awake at 2am rarely get questioned. This CBT-I guide adapts Socratic questioning to insomnia: eight questions to test a sleep thought against the evidence, how to rewrite it without promising sleep, and why it belongs in daylight.
It’s 11:20pm and the thought arrives fully formed: tonight is going to be another bad one. It feels like a forecast, not a guess. Cognitive defusion is the skill of unhooking from that thought so it carries less weight, and the research behind it is stronger than you might expect. Here are ten techniques drawn from ACT, popular books, and everyday practice, with guidance on choosing the few worth keeping.
Caffeine blocks adenosine and degrades sleep quality. Here’s how that plays out differently for people with chronic insomnia, and why the standard advice misses the bigger picture.
Here’s what to expect in your first CBT-I session: sleep history, treatment planning, next steps and sleep tracking.
Sleeping pills are approved in Canada for seven to ten days, yet many
prescriptions run for years. This post covers what the head-to-head trials of
CBT-I and sleep medication show at follow-up, why as-needed dosing can make insomnia harder to shift, and how a supervised taper works alongside treatment.
At 3 AM, your brain is not known for its nuanced interpretation of clinical research. Most articles about the long-term impact of insomnia lump together two very different experiences: chronic insomnia and chronic sleep deprivation. That distinction changes what you need to worry about, what you don’t, and what kind of help will actually make a difference.
Most people with chronic insomnia aren’t just tired, they’re in a quiet war with a part of themselves. Your sleep mindset might be what’s keeping the cycle going.
Exercise improves sleep quality, but more isn’t always better. A 2025 analysis of 86 trials explains the right dose, type, and timeline for insomnia.
You’re tired — but your shoulders are up near your ears and your jaw is clenched around nothing. PMR works by tensing first. Here’s the clinical protocol, step by step.
The lights go off and your mind turns on. Not winding down — planning, replaying, rehearsing. Here’s why guided imagery works for insomnia, and exactly how to practise it.
