Tired but Wired
September 13, 2019
Sleep Deprivation and Parenthood
October 11, 2019
You might be thinking to yourself–I have sleep troubles here and there, and sometimes it really feels like my sleep issue is out of control. But how do I know if I have insomnia?
Great question! There is a precise definition for whether or not you meet the clinical criteria for insomnia. If you haven’t yet, hop over here and take this quick questionnaire and this will begin to give you an idea.
The diagnostic criteria for clinical insomnia, according to the 5th edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual, are as follows:
1) You have difficulty initiating or maintaining sleep or early-morning awakening that leads to dissatisfaction with sleep quantity or quality.
2) You experience this difficulty even with adequate opportunity to sleep, at least 3 nights per week and for at least 3 months.
3) Your sleep issue is not explained by presence of mental disorders, substance use disorders or medical conditions and is not associated with another sleep disorder.
4) Your sleep disturbance results in impairment in social, occupational, educational, academic, behavioral, or other important areas of functioning, as well as causing significant distress.
You might say, “well, I don’t quite meet criteria for insomnia, but I still have sleep issues and they’re causing significant problems!”
And that’s OK. You don’t have to meet the criteria for full clinical insomnia to benefit from treatment (specifically, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Insomnia, or CBT-I. Read more about this treatment at my blog post here).
In fact many people with what we call subthreshold symptoms of insomnia do quite well with a brief course of CBT-I, and by learning these skills you can prevent a future episode of full-blown insomnia.
Remember: nothing takes the place of an assessment by a trained professional. So if you’re not sure about the severity of your sleep issues, reach out to me today to schedule a free 15-minute phone consultation to see if you might benefit from CBT-I. Together we can help you get control of your sleep again!
