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Hi, I'm Janet Kennedy. I'm a licensed clinical psychologist and sleep specialist in New York
City. You can find out more about me and my work on my website, nycsleepdoctor.com. If
you're having trouble sleeping, the first thing to do is take a look at your lifestyle
and make sure that you're in good health and that your habits are not interfering with
your sleep. Getting exercise and taking care of the stress in your life is also really
important. If that's not enough though, you might me interested in taking medication.
Medications can offer a temporary fix for insomnia and if your sleep in disrupted by
something that is transient in your life then medication might be a really good option.
The problem with medication though, is that it doesn't fix the underlying problem, so
if you're not sleeping because you're under a tremendous stress or you're depressed or
there are things going on in your life that you feel are out of control, when you stop
taking medication, the sleep problems will resume. So if that's the case, you can consider
also getting some psychotherapy. Cognitive behavior therapy for insomnia has been proven
scientifically and has been found to be more effective than medicine alone. That's because
it takes the underlying cause of the insomnia and gives you strategies to handle the natural
variations in sleep that happen day to day. So there are different options available to
you if you're having trouble sleeping and the right solution is gonna depend on your
situation. If you need help making a decision, talk to your doctor about it, because your
doctor can give you some helpful guidance.