How Cognitive Behavior Therapy Can Be The Solution To Your Insomnia

Sleeping pills, for starters, can be useful for short-term use when you need to relieve stress or get over being jet lagged (via Sleep Foundation). But these medications can also have unwanted side effects, such as constipation, nightmares, dry mouth, dizziness, or tingling in the hands and feet. Approximately 80% of those who use sleeping pills report a hungover feeling the next day, experiencing drowsiness, lack of focus, or trouble balancing. They can also be habit-forming, so finding alternative ways to treat your insomnia might be worthwhile. Luckily, there are other options for treating insomnia, including lifestyle changes. However, cognitive behavioral therapy might be one possibility that improves your sleep for good.

Is work pushing you to your limits? Are you going through a difficult breakup which seems to be getting worse every minute? Or is something else bothering you? Whatever the cause of your stress may be, it's really no surprise that it could be affecting how you sleep.

Insomnia is a disorder that affects every facet of sleep including sleep latency, duration, and overall quality of sleep, reports the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute. For this reason, the condition can hinder one's ability to function during the daytime. People with insomnia often struggle to fall asleep, wake up during the course of the night, and may feel tired the next day. For those who experience ongoing insomnia that cannot be linked to an alternate health condition, these symptoms occur at least three nights a week for a stretch of three months or more.

Feeling good after a great night's sleep can make all the difference in the world to your day, and even your life. If you can't get to sleep, it's not only frustrating, but it can leave you feeling irritable and grouchy, not to mention lethargic (via Healthline). The concept of pressure points in the body, and using these to help with sleep as well as other issues, is nothing new. In fact, the use of acupressure points to improve health and wellness is part of what are called Asian bodywork therapies, which have roots in traditional Chinese medicine (via WebMD).

While stress is definitely something you don't need to add to your lengthy list of things to worry about, there could still be other things affecting your chances of hitting the hay. It may be something as simple as adjusting the thermostat or even eating some chocolate. Yep, you read that right. If you find yourself daydreaming of falling asleep instead of actually sleeping, you're going to want to read on for some of the most surprising reasons you're having trouble drifting off into dreamland.