A sleep therapist can select multiple approaches to remove insomnia.
In the case of Sleep Coaching, we abide by two principles: i) Cognitive Behavior Therapy for Insomnia (CBT-I) combined with ii) the fundamentals of coaching.
The reason is that the former is the recommended approach for long-term removal of insomnia by Harvard Medical School, Mayo Clinic, WebMD, National Sleep Foundation, and the National Institute of Health, and the latter ensures that you achieve desired results in the fastest time possible.
Let us investigate what this means in practice in the next paragraphs.
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Insomnia
We commence the insomnia remediation process by investigating your current situation and the desired state.
The first stage is to optimize your sleep environment. This is the most straightforward part of the treatment. It covers topics such as temperature, noise, light, darkness, and various items.
The next stage is a behavioral component. Here we investigate your lifestyle and behavior. We adjust or remove the timing of sleep-impairing behaviors and introduce sleep-promoting ones. This part covers reactions, routines, and habits. These first two parts can also be called sleep hygiene since they represent a baseline needed for our body to initiate and sustain sleep.
The final part focuses on the mental component. Here we investigate your thoughts and associated beliefs. Several techniques are presented, and the participant decides the priority when and how to test and implement them in their life.
Every chapter of the coaching consists of two sections. First is the theory. Here we explain the topic, its background, and the logic. The second section is the applied part. In this stage, you implement specific action steps, observe, measure, and assess their effect on the main sleep indicators, and decide how to keep improving.
The process continues by removing all potential areas causing nightly hyperarousal until you reach the desired state - being able to fall asleep without problems.
Coaching
My role is to be your guide, support, training instructor, and, when you need it, inspiration. Let's see what this means in practice.
Guide
On one hand, I chart the overall path based on experiences of what works and then help you navigate through the potential situations of distress due to required changes.
Support
Ultimately it is always up to an individual to do the necessary steps, but the coach adjusts the amount of support you require in a specific situation. This may mean holding your hand at every step, only pointing the way or anything between. The level of support is always aligned between the trainee and the coach.
Trainer
Your coach not only knows but can also teach and even train you with a repertoire of proven techniques and approaches that you can apply to effectively cope with a specific problem or situation that is negatively affecting your sleep.
Inspiration
Anyone who ever faced insomnia knows that already after a few days of inability to sleep you can sense the distress piling up and your level of self-confidence dropping. In such situations, you need someone who not only will understand what you are going through, but who will also be able to get your confidence, hopes, and optimism back. And I’m not talking about superficial self-affirmatory style confidence but support in a style of “I’m here for you, you got this and we’ll get through this together. I’ll stand with you and we’ll batter this problem until it gives up and you can sleep again when you want and how long you want.”
How soon can you expect to sleep normally?
The duration of the coaching depends on various factors, some of them being – insomnia’s severity and duration, comorbidity, environmental factors, behavioral and mental habits, proneness to change, discipline for active and persistent course participation, etc.
On average, participants notice the first notable sleep improvements already after the third session.
Final Thoughts
It may sound complex, or a lot of work, but the process is quite simple.
Participants generally enjoy the process since it follows very structuralized logic and allows them to address or even investigate the relevant topics further, giving them an insightful introspective not only for improving their sleep but their lives overall.
And if you ever feel lost or need help you always have a personal coach readily available to you.
Are you ready to get rid of insomnia once and for all?
Ready for professional help?
Get in touch and we'll find a way to improve your sleep.
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