Insomnia Specialist in Connecticut
Insomnia is a sleep disorder that can cause a significant amount of difficulty in your day-to-day life. This disorder can even affect your health by increasing your risk of serious health problems and lowering your immunity to colds and other germs. When you have insomnia, it’s important to seek help from an insomnia specialist who can provide you with the treatment you need.
Negative Effects of Insomnia
When you struggle with insomnia, it can affect your health and well-being in the following ways:
- Poor academic or job performance due to daytime sleepiness
- Slower time reacting and making decisions - which can increase the risk of being in a car accident or having a work-related accident
- Higher risk of chronic health problems, like heart disease
- Higher risk of anxiety and depression
- Being more receptive to colds and other contagious illnesses due to poor sleep quality and lowered immunity
Medical Treatment for Insomnia
Treatment for insomnia focuses on helping you fall asleep easier and stay asleep during the night, rather than waking up for long periods of time or waking up frequently. Medical management involves taking medications that allow you to fall asleep faster, but these medications can be habit-forming or not effective enough for treating insomnia on a long-term basis. They can also cause other side effects, such as making you feel sleepy during the day.
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Insomnia
Cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia (CBT-I) is intended to help you deal with insomnia on a long-term basis and eventually resolve your sleep problem. It involves learning to identify and change thoughts or beliefs that make it harder for you to sleep. It also involves making changes to your behavior to help you sleep better, such as practicing relaxation techniques, avoiding naps and using light therapy. While this approach does not produce immediate results, there are no risk of side effects.
Finding an Insomnia Specialist
When you decide to seek treatment for insomnia, it’s important to find the right healthcare provider. Your primary care doctor might be able to give you a prescription for sleep medication, but you need help from an insomnia specialist for CBT-I. Sleep specialists have the education, training and knowledge to provide you with effective and compassionate care for insomnia. These sleep experts study sleep disorders and sleep in general in order to help patients recover and improve their sleep quality.
The insomnia specialist you choose should be board certified by the American Board of Sleep Medicine. To find a specialist who can provide dependable CBT-I treatment for insomnia, look for one who has been certified in behavioral sleep medicine. Medical doctors, psychologists and other healthcare professionals can receive this certification.
If you need treatment for insomnia, please contact Sleep & Neuroscience Associates to make an appointment.
