If you are looking for a gentler approach toward addressing your chronic problems with sleep, please consider learning about The Rest RESET program. It is a specific journaling practice that will help your nervous system purge the negative thoughts, emotions, and fears that may be at the root of your chronic insomnia. * Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research. (2024, November 6). Napping: Do’s and don’ts for healthy adults. Mayo Clinic. https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/adult-health/in-depth/napping/art-20048319 **Faraut, B., Gaillard, L., Labonne, A., Dubois, J. M., Adrien, J., & Léger, D. (2025). Napping during cognitive behavioural therapy for insomnia: Friends or foes?Journal of Sleep Research, 34(2), e14343. https://doi.org/10.1111/jsr.14343

CBT-i for Chronic Insomnia: Does It Really Work?

CBT-i is all about squeezing the wake window shut with self-imposed sleep restriction. In simple terms, if sleep does not come right away, get up! If you wake in the middle of the night and can’t get back to sleep within a certain time frame, usually 20 minutes, get up! Essentially, you spend less time in bed so your sleep drive can overpower wakefulness.

CBT-i is hailed as the golden ticket to cure insomnia. But does it work for the chronic insomniac?

Traditional CBT-i can result in significant sleep improvements for some and even remission for others. The American College of Physicians and American Academy of Sleep Medicine recommend it as the first line treatment for chronic insomnia. Numerous studies and meta-analyses support the effectiveness of CBT-i (Boness, et al., 2006)*

But I was a tough case!

For chronic insomniacs, being advised to stay awake can feel like torture. Watching the clock? Suddenly, you’re in alert mode, causing your brain to rev up instead of easing down. Reducing sleep? This only invites more daytime drowsiness for those already facing excruciating fatigue.

Let’s face it, sleep restriction is far from easy for shift workers, drivers, or parents managing little ones. In fact, it is difficult for any chronic insomniac craving sleep! While recognized as the first-line treatment, its demand for strict behavioral changes can be counterintuitive and challenging for many.

I tried CBT-i. I could not do it. It seemed so harsh and cruel to a person who was already deep in suffering. If you have tried CBT-i, but could not handle the harshness, its not because you are too weak, undisciplined or broken. Perhaps your brain perceived danger and was just trying to help you stay safe.

Maybe a gentler approach might be more helpful for your situation? If you are curious about The Rest ReSET program, please check it out. It is a specific journaling practice that will help your nervous system purge negative thoughts, emotions, and fears that may be at the root of your chronic insomnia.

*Boness CL, Hershenberg R, Kaye J, Mackintosh MA, Grasso DJ, Noser A, Raffa SD. An Evaluation of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Insomnia: A Systematic Review and Application of Tolin’s Criteria for Empirically Supported Treatments. Clin Psychol (New York). 2020 Dec;27(4):e12348. doi: 10.1111/cpsp.12348. Epub 2020 Jun 4. PMID: 33692609; PMCID: PMC7939024.