Experiencing a single night of bad sleep or insomnia is not uncommon. In fact, most, if not all of us have had a bad night of sleep once in awhile. The causes of it can range from having a stressful day, drinking alcohol too close to bedtime (yes, alcohol actually worsens the quality of sleep and causes more awakenings during the night), or even a noisy neighbor. We can often pinpoint the causes of these single nights and in fact, take measures to prevent them again in the future. For instance, visiting our Sleep Store, you can find a lot of products that can help you manage noise and other areas of your sleep environment.

But, what is chronic insomnia like?

A contributor at Prevention.com shares their story of what it is like to have repeated nights of bad sleep. The frustrations…aggravations…even the false sense of hope, when the insomniac tries out different possible solutions. In my behavioral sleep medicine practice, where I specialize in treating insomnia with Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Insomnia (CBT-I), one of the most common phrases I hear from my patients is that they are “tired, of being tired”. Most anyone with repeated nights of bad sleep can relate to feeling this way. For those of us who specialize in treating insomniacs, tackling those frustrations and doubts is part of the patient’s CBT-I.

What type of frustrations do you experience when you can’t sleep?

Dr. Mark