Below you'll find a list of all posts that have been categorized as “Insomnia”
Blue spectrum light, as emitted by electronic screens of all kinds disrupts sleep patterns and circadian rhythms when they are used in the evening and at night. These disruptions are especially problematic for people with mood disorders, who often experience difficulty sleeping and maintaining regular daily schedules of activities. We recommend blue light blocking glasses that block at least 90% …
The American Academy of Sleep Medicine (AASM) has issued updated guidelines for treatment of insomnia. Chronic insomnia disorder is a serious condition and requires careful diagnosis and treatment. It is often found together with mood disorders such as bipolar, major depression and anxiety, but has traditionally been treated as a less-important and temporary phenomenon. The AASM recommends that chronic insomnia …
Although there is reason for optimism about some of the newer medications for insomnia (orexin antagonists) that are coming to market, it remains true that sleeping medications are not the right answer for many people with insomnia. Cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia (CBTi) has several advantages as an initial treatment. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Insomnia First We have been writing …
Chronotherapy refers to treatments for depression, mania, or both, that focus on changing sleep and wakefulness patterns. This blog post provides an update of this important area. Background The International Society of Bipolar Disorders (ISBD) task force on chronobiology and chronotherapy published a comprehensive review of chronotherapy techniques and their effectiveness in bipolar disorder in 2019. This article summarizes the …
Sleepio is a six-session sleep improvement program, created by sleep expert Professor Colin Espie and featuring proven Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) techniques. We are happy to add this treatment option to the list of state of the art therapies available at Gateway Psychiatric. Sleepio joins SHUTi (now Somryst™) [updated 2022], a longer program that we have found to be extremely …
Why a post about how to supercharge your circadian rhythms? The fact is that for a lot of us our bodies and our brains have a hard time adapting to modern life and the result is poor quality sleep, daytime fatigue, and, for some, depression. What Are Circadian Rhythms? Circadian rhythms are what allow your body to go from vigorous …
Delayed circadian rhythms occur in a condition known as delayed sleep-wake phase disorder (DSWPD). This condition needs to be distinguished from disrupted circadian rhythms, a condition in which there are no strong circadian rhythms and therefore it’s hard for people to fall asleep, and when they do fall asleep they tend to have fragmented or light sleep. People with delayed …
How to find insomnia relief is a question that many people we work with struggle with. A recent editorial in JAMA Psychiatry and the accompanying research article suggests that the online program that we’ve been recommending to our patients for years (SHUTi) is the treatment of choice for insomnia. We have been extremely pleased with the results from this program which can …
An online sleep program using CBT for insomnia (Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Insomnia – CBTi) has been shown to reduce depression in a study published in the April 2016 edition of Lancet Psychiatry. CBT for Insomnia CBTi is the most effective program for treating chronic insomnia and chronic insomnia is a major risk factor for developing depression. Unfortunately, CBTi is …
Chronic Insomnia – What are the Best Treatments? The American College of Physicians just published guidelines on the treatment of chronic insomnia. These guidelines were based on a comprehensive review of the literature. They note that chronic insomnia is very common, but the literature on treatment is relatively poor. Many treatments that are used do not have good evidence …
