CBT-I is a cognitive and behavioral-based therapy that is rapidly becoming a first line treatment for insomnia around the world. We ask psychologist and neuroscientist Dr Lindsay Browning to explain what CBT-I is, how it works, and why it's so effective. Prefer to read? Download the full episode transcript here
Skip to highlights
02:04 introduction to Dr Lindsay Browning 03:51 the importance of a checking a sleep expert's credentials 08:49 the difference between counselling and cognitive therapy 11:19 intentional bias and how negative thoughts influence reinforce negative behaviors 15:00 how CBT-I has replaced sleeping pills as a recommended first-line treatment for insomnia 18:10 different CBT-I delivery systems: therapist, group therapy, online, self-directed 21:55 CBT-I group therapy vs one-to-one- therapy 23:45 explaining how a typical CBT-I therapy session works 26:22 completing a sleep diary 28:47 can you use a sleep tracker when doing CBT-I 32:35 behavorial recommendations and sleep restriction 34:45 Pavlov's dog and classical conditioning 41:55 stimulus control 44:34 CBT-I is not a magic bullet 45:42 cognitive aspects of CBT-I 49:54 keeping a bedside journal to clear your thoughts before bedtime 53:16 how long does a course of CBT-I last?
CBT-I (cognitive behavior therapy for insomnia) has in recent years become a first line recommended treatment in many countries for treating sleep problems that would have previously been tackled with prescription meds.
The reason for the rise in popularity of CBT-I is that studies have repeatedly shown positive, lasting effects that when patients successfully complete a course of treatment.
CBTI combines a suite of psychological and behavorial tools and techniques, and is designed to challenge the negative thought patterns associated with insomnia, and introduce behavorial changes to reduce the anxieties associated with sleep.
For this episode we talked to Chartered Psychologist and sleep therapist, Dr Lindsay Browning all about CBT-I, how it works, what a typical CBT-I treatment plan looks like, plus lots more. This Episode's Guest: Dr Lindsay Browning
Dr Lindsay Browning is a neuroscientist and sleep consultant from the UK with a Doctorate (DPhil) from the University of Oxford, an MSc. in Neuroscience and a BSc. in Psychology.
Having realised that there was a desperate need for help for people suffering from insomnia she founded Trouble Sleeping in 2006.
Dr Browning is a Chartered Psychologist, Associate Fellow of the British Psychological Society, a member of the British Sleep Society and a member of the American Academy of Sleep Medicine. Resources: Trouble Sleeping - https://troublesleeping.co.uk/
Twitter - https://twitter.com/DrBrowningSleep
Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/DrBrowningSleep/
Linkedin - https://www.linkedin.com/in/DrBrowning/
Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/DrBrowningSleep More Episodes
Full transcript Jeff Mann: 00:08 Welcome to the Sleep Junkies podcast. My name's Jeff and I'm the founder and the editor of sleepjunkies.com. And at Sleep Junkies we cover the whole conversation on sleep, so we talk about the health and the science aspects.
00:23 We talk about the culture of sleep, we talk about the sleep industry, we talk about interesting new sleep products. Pretty much if there's an interesting topic and it's got anything to do with sleep, we'll cover it
00:34 And today's podcast is going to be all of that. The topic of CBT, which stands for cognitive behavioural therapy for insomnia. And the reason we're going to talk about CBTi today is hopefully dispel a few myths, hopefully be a bit of it an explainer. A bit of an education to anyone that's looking for an effective treatment for insomnia. It's a cognitive and behavioural therapy. It's about changing your behaviour and changing your thinking rather than taking a medication.