Found this over at a sleep forum and thought the online course might be helpful to somone -
Q. My sleep problems seem hopeless and unchangeable. Can this class really help me?
A. The principles taught in this class have been shown to be highly effective for some sleep problems, but not all. In a study done at the University of Virginia, 73% of people with moderate to severe sleeping problems who went through an online program similar to ours recovered completely.
Q. What is CBTi?
A. This class is based on cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia (CBTi), which is recognized by sleep experts and primary care providers as the first-line, gold standard approach for the treatment of insomnia. For an excellent description of CBTi from the Stanford Sleep Center, go here.
Q. I’ve had my sleep problems for decades. If I’ve always been a bad sleeper, how could a 5-week class make any difference?
A. The instructor of this class, Dr. Jocelyn Sze, received her training in CBTi working with Vietnam veterans suffering from 40+ years of debilitating insomnia. While at the San Francisco VA Medical Center, she developed and ran an ongoing 5-week CBTi class similar to the one presented here. Both Dr. Sze and her patients were continuously struck by the amount of change and progress that can be made after just one month of applying CBTi principles, even for those with decades long bouts of insomnia who had thought they had tried everything.
Q. Who can take this class?
A. Adults of all ages with sleep problems.
Q. What’s the cost?
A. This class is entirely free. There are no fees or product endorsements associated with this class.
Q. I have chronic pain, sleep apnea, a really stressful work environment, etc. making it impossible to get good sleep. That means I shouldn’t bother with this class, right?
A. In many ways, having these types of sleep-interfering factors makes it even more important to learn principles for optimizing sleep and reducing insomnia given such constraints. Untreated sleep apnea is one exception that can strongly interfere with success in this class (i.e., while this class may help you improve sleep quality/quantity, your daytime tiredness will likely still remain if you have untreated sleep apnea).
Q. My sleep problems seem really unique. I don’t think a class could apply to me.
A. Interestingly, because people often don’t talk much about their sleep problems, a lot of people have the assumption that they are alone in their sleep problems. It turns out, a whopping 75% of Americans report occasional bouts of insomnia, with 20% reporting problems almost every night. Insomnia isn’t just characterized by difficulty falling asleep. Many people instead struggle with things such as waking up at specific times in the middle of the night, waking up earlier than they want, or feeling unrefreshed and groggy upon waking up in the morning. These are all problems that are addressed in this class.
Q. Aren’t sleeping pills the only answer for real sleep problems?
A. It makes sense why a lot of people believe this, given the billions of dollars spent annually on sleeping pill commercials trying to convince you of this message. Unfortunately, what the science tells us is that sleeping pills lose effectiveness after 2-4 weeks of regular use. You build up a tolerance to the medication and then they stop working. What’s more, many people develop what’s called an insomnia rebound: after you cease regular use, withdrawal effects can lead to symptoms coming back even stronger. Thus, people often incorrectly conclude that they “need” sleeping pills to sleep, when really what they are doing is merely using the pills to address the withdrawal effects of the drug itself.
The website address is - www.dobetter.com/sleep