When you think of possible treatments for insomnia, the first thing that comes to your mind probably isn't cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), but Alisha Brosse, author of End the Insomnia Struggle, joins the podcast today to discuss why it should be. Simply put, CBT involves the interrelationship between the way we think about things, how we feel about those things, and how we respond behaviorally. And when CBT is applied to sleep disorders, it also involves the physiological contributions and consequences of our thoughts, feelings, and actions.

"We help people change their behaviors and attitudes so they can let their body do what it instinctively needs to do," explains Brosse. Many people who suffer from insomnia begin to think night after night about the consequences of inadequate sleep, and how it will affect the following day. They'll also change their behaviors, perhaps by staying in bed for longer (without actually sleeping), consuming more caffeine during the day, or cutting back on social activities at night. In CBT, these behaviors are referred to as compensatory, and are actually counterproductive to sleep.

Brosse offers an eye-opening discussion that touches on a variety of topics, including the methods and strategies used to help people who suffer from different types and stages of insomnia, a number of other conditions and factors that can either trigger a lack of sleep or be the consequence of it, and the common mistake of assuming that mental disorders always precede or are the cause of sleep issues. Tune in for all the details, check out her book on Amazon or Barnes and Noble, and visit her website at bouldercbt.com.