Understanding Insomnia — and How CBT-I Can Help
If you’ve been struggling with sleep, you already know how exhausting insomnia can be — not just physically, but mentally. Lying awake, watching the clock, worrying about how tomorrow will feel, and wondering why your body won’t just sleep can quickly turn nights into a source of stress.
Many people I work with come to therapy saying some version of:
“I know what I’m supposed to do for sleep, but it’s not working.”
That experience is more common than you might think.
What Insomnia Really Is (and What It Isn’t)
Insomnia isn’t just about “bad sleep habits” or not trying hard enough. Clinically, insomnia involves difficulty falling asleep, staying asleep, waking too early, or feeling unrefreshed — despite having adequate opportunity for sleep.
Over time, insomnia can affect:
energy and concentration
mood and emotional regulation
anxiety and stress levels
confidence in your body’s ability to sleep
Insomnia can be short-term, often triggered by stress or life changes, or chronic, meaning sleep difficulties occur at least three nights per week for three months or longer.
What’s important to understand is this:
👉 Chronic insomnia is usually maintained by patterns that develop in response to early sleep disruption — not by a lack of discipline, motivation, or willpower.
These patterns are changeable, and that’s where CBT-I comes in.
What Is CBT-I?
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Insomnia (CBT-I) is an evidence-based treatment that focuses on addressing the factors that disrupt sleep, rather than forcing sleep to happen. CBT-I is considered the first-line treatment for chronic insomnia by major medical and sleep organizations. It is also relatively brief compared to many mental health treatments, typically taking about 5–8 sessions to complete.
CBT-I starts from the understanding that your body already knows how to sleep. When insomnia becomes chronic, it’s usually because certain patterns—often developed in response to an initial period of poor sleep—begin to interfere with natural sleep processes. Over time, these patterns can reduce sleep drive, disrupt circadian rhythm, and increase arousal around bedtime.
CBT-I works by:
identifying and removing sleep-disrupting behaviors and beliefs
restoring healthy sleep drive
realigning circadian rhythm
reducing sleep-related arousal
rebuilding confidence in your body’s ability to sleep
Unlike sleep medications, which may provide short-term relief, CBT-I focuses on creating the conditions that allow sleep to happen naturally again. The goal isn’t perfect sleep or rigid rules—it’s helping your system settle so sleep has space to return.
How Does CBT-I Work?
CBT-I works by addressing the mental and behavioral patterns that can keep insomnia going—especially those that increase arousal, disrupt circadian rhythm, or undermine confidence in sleep. Rather than forcing sleep, CBT-I focuses on removing what’s getting in the way so sleep can return, because your body already knows how to sleep.
1. Reducing Arousal and Sleep Disruptors
Many people with insomnia develop understandable patterns in response to poor sleep that unintentionally keep insomnia going—such as worrying about sleep, spending more time in bed trying to “catch up,” or developing conditioned arousal, where the body becomes alert when trying to sleep. While these responses make sense, they are treatable and often what makes the biggest difference in sleep returning.
CBT-I helps identify and reduce these sleep disruptors by:
addressing sleep-related worry and mental effort around sleep
reducing behaviors that unintentionally increase nighttime alertness
supporting habits that help the nervous system downshift into a state of quiet wakefulness
The goal isn’t perfect sleep habits—it’s lowering arousal so sleep has a chance to happen.
2. Resetting Natural Sleep Cues (Circadian Rhythm and Sleep Drive)
Sleep depends on two natural processes: circadian rhythm (your internal clock) and sleep drive (the pressure that builds the longer you’re awake). When insomnia becomes chronic, these systems can fall out of sync.
CBT-I works to:
strengthen sleep drive and restore the bed as a cue for sleepiness by reducing long periods of wakefulness in bed
realign circadian timing so your body knows when to feel alert and when to feel sleepy
support more consistent sleep–wake patterns
By restoring these natural cues, sleep becomes more predictable and consolidated over time.
3. Rebuilding Confidence in Sleep
Chronic insomnia often erodes trust in the body’s ability to sleep. Many people begin to fear bedtime or believe they’ll “never sleep normally again,” which increases pressure and arousal at night.
CBT-I works gradually to rebuild confidence by:
helping sleep feel less effortful and less fragile
reducing catastrophic thoughts about sleep
supporting consistent experiences of rest that restore trust
As confidence returns, the nervous system no longer needs to stay on high alert at night—making sleep easier to access.
Is CBT-I Right for You?
CBT-I is suitable for most people struggling with insomnia, whether it’s related to stress, anxiety, chronic pain, or no apparent cause. If you’ve been relying on sleep aids or simply feel stuck in a cycle of poor sleep, CBT-I might be the solution you’re looking for.
At Tella Psychology, we offer CBT-I as part of our holistic approach to mental health. Our goal is to help you address the underlying factors affecting your sleep and empower you with tools for lasting change.
Ready to Reclaim Your Sleep?
If insomnia is holding you back, know that help is available. Contact us today to learn more about our CBT-I program and take the first step toward better sleep and a brighter tomorrow. Sleep doesn’t have to be a struggle—we’re here to help you find rest and restoration.
