We at Docbotic say that Sleepbot is based on CBT-I. But what’s CBT-I?
Let’s start with the basics.
What’s CBT?
CBT stands for cognitive behavioral therapy. It’s a type of structured, time-limited talk therapy with a licensed professional, like a social worker or psychologist, that can be very helpful for certain conditions like anxiety or insomnia. There’s evidence that shows that CBT can be as helpful as or even more helpful than other types of therapy and even antidepressants and other prescribed medication. Cool, huh?
What does CBT involve?
CBT centers on a few basic concepts, including that mental health issues can stem from unhelpful or untrue thinking patterns and learned patterns of unhelpful actions, and that people with mental health issues can learn how to cope differently. CBT is based on the concept that thoughts, behaviors, and actions all impact one another and that by changing one or more of those, the whole system can change.
In CBT, then, a client might work with a provider to recognize those unhelpful thinking patterns and actions and to change them.
So what’s CBT-I, then?
CBT-I is a specific type of CBT that treats insomnia. In CBT-I, a client would start by meeting with a provider that offers this type of treatment for an intake session. During the intake, the provider asks questions to get a sense of the scope of the problem. Questions center around how long the client has struggled to sleep, if the trouble is falling asleep, staying asleep, both, or something else, and asking about the client’s sleep-related behaviors.
What happens next?
After the first session, the provider will ask the client to keep a sleep log to see how long the client is in bed, how many hours the client sleeps, and how sleepy or fatigued the client is during the day by their lack of sleep.
The provider and client will explore together the client’s beliefs and ideas about sleep, such as a belief that they’ll never be able to sleep again, worrying about the impact of fatigue during the day, or other concerns.
The provider and client will also work on reassociating the bed and bedroom with sleep by only getting into bed when sleepy, avoiding other activities in the bed or bedroom as much as possible, and keeping a stable wake-up time.
In CBT-I, the client may also learn relaxation techniques in order to get familiar with relaxing and calming the body when in worry mode.
How Sleepbot uses CBT-I
Docbotic’s Sleepbot uses CBT-I concepts to help you get to sleep. Instead of having to find a provider that offers CBT-I, see if you can afford to see them and if they have availability, and then going that route, Sleepbot is a more accessible tool.
It’s a 4-week treatment via WhatsApp or text message that can help you sleep better, in just 2-3 weeks. Check it out today!
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