Psychologist for Sleep Issues

It’s usually recommended to sleep between seven and eight hours a night. That said, sleeping needs vary depending on the individual’s age, health and lifestyle. For example, newborn babies usually sleep for at least 16 hours a day, whereas some older adults can feel great on only five hours of sleep.

Sleep disorders impact the quality, duration and cycle of sleep. While everyone finds it hard to fall or stay asleep from time to time, you may be suffering from a sleep disorder if you:

• Tend to have trouble sleeping;
• Feel exhausted during the day despite sufficient sleep; or
• Find it difficult to perform everyday activities.

A sleep psychologist specialises in helping patients to recover from sleep disorders. As skilled mental health professionals, we are highly trained and experienced in both typical sleep patterns and sleep-related disorders, such as:

• Insomnia
• Sleep apnea
• Narcolepsy
• Parasomnias
• Restless legs syndrome
• Disorders of the sleep cycle
• Reliance on sleep medications

Suffering from a sleep disorder? Often employing cognitive behavioural therapy, a sleep psychologist will work with you to alter behaviours or thoughts that negatively impact your sleep patterns. Our goal is to identify the disorder’s underlying cause and equip you with the tools to tackle its symptoms.

In general, sleep disorders stem from disruptions in your natural circadian rhythm. Specific causes vary depending on the type of sleep disorder and can include:

• Physical health conditions like heart disease, asthma, gastroesophageal reflux or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease or an overactive thyroid
• Neurological disorders, including Parkinson’s disease, strokes, and dementia
• Persistent pain from medical issues like arthritis
• Imbalances in brain chemistry
• Mental health issues, such as depression or anxiety
• Genetic influences, including mutations
• Adverse effects from certain medications
• Working night shifts
• Caffeine, nicotine or alcohol consumption

You might be more at risk of developing a sleep disorder if you:

• Experience an underlying health condition;
• Are stressed;
• Aged 65 or over;
• Work at unusual hours that throw off your natural sleep cycle; or
• Have a family history of sleep disorders.

Insomnia can be psychological and/or physical. Stress and fear can disrupt your ability to sleep just as much as physical pain or noisy surroundings.

To get to the source of your sleeping problems, book an appointment for insomnia counselling with our sleep psychologist today.

Psychologists can help you overcome your sleep disorder with a variety of evidence-based interventions. We’ll begin with an in-depth assessment of your sleep patterns before recommending the best course of action to identify and manage your concerns. Counselling for sleep problems can include:

• In relaxation training, you’ll learn techniques like deep breathing, progressive muscle relaxation, or meditation. Unwinding your mind before sleep can help you to doze off.
• Stimulus control therapy is about heading to bed only when truly sleepy. It advises against engaging in activities like reading, watching TV, eating close to bedtime, or using electronic devices in bed. Maintaining a regular wake-up time, even after a sleepless night, and limiting daytime naps are crucial elements of this approach. This therapy encourages using the bed solely for sleep to encourage their associations.
• Sleep restriction therapy involves aligning the time spent in bed with the actual amount of sleep you get. For those struggling with sleep, this method establishes a strict sleep schedule to reduce time spent awake in bed. For instance, if someone spends 8 hours in bed but only sleeps for 6, they would be scheduled for 6 hours of bedtime, waking up at a fixed time, irrespective of their desire to sleep more. As sleep quality improves, the duration in bed can gradually increase.
• CBT therapy for sleep issues introduces techniques to transform negative sleep thoughts into more positive and supportive ones, like “If I relax in bed, my body will naturally take care of rest.” This aspect of cognitive therapy focuses on identifying and altering unhelpful thought patterns about sleep, facilitating better sleep management and reducing sleep-related anxiety.

Cognitive behaviour therapy for insomnia (CBT-I) is the most widely used psychological intervention for insomnia³. CBT therapy for insomnia focuses on reframing unhelpful thoughts about sleep to remove difficulties.

One evidence-based technique in CBT-I is keeping a sleep diary that tracks daily routines, such as when you go to bed, when you wake up, the quality of your sleep, and other key information. Based on these details, your sleep psychologist works with you to develop a customised action plan tailored to meet your needs and therapeutic goals.

By actively challenging worry, anxiety, fear and other negative thoughts about sleep, you can learn to truly relax and sleep deeper.