Insomnia: A Guide to Better Sleep for South Carolina Adults

What Insomnia Is

The National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) calls insomnia a common sleep disorder: trouble falling asleep, staying asleep or getting good quality sleep. Short-term insomnia may be caused by stress or by changes in your schedule or environment, and it can last for a few days or weeks.

Chronic insomnia, the NHLBI says, happens 3 or more nights a week, lasts more than 3 months and cannot be fully explained by another health problem. The DSM-5-TR calls this insomnia disorder, and a qualified clinician makes the diagnosis after a full evaluation.

Why Insomnia Deserves Care

Poor sleep night after night affects how you feel and function during the day: energy, focus, patience and mood. Worry about sleep can become part of the problem, which is why the most effective treatment works on both habits and thoughts about sleep.

If you feel drowsy, let someone else drive until your sleep improves.

CBT-I: The Recommended First Treatment

The NHLBI says cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia (CBT-I) is usually recommended as the first treatment option for long-term insomnia and can be very effective. It is a 6- to 8-week plan that combines cognitive work on the worry about not sleeping, relaxation, sleep education, sleep restriction and stimulus control.

CBT-I can be delivered in person, by phone or online, so it fits secure video visits well.

Habits That Help

Get up at the same time every day, including weekends. Use the bed for sleep, not for scrolling or work. If you cannot sleep, get up and do something calm until you feel sleepy. Stop caffeine by early afternoon and keep alcohol away from bedtime. A sleep diary for a week or two, noting when you go to bed, when you wake and how rested you feel, makes a first visit more useful.

How Hope Behavioral Medicine Helps

Your first visit is a full evaluation of your sleep, your habits, your stress and your mood, with a look for other things that can disturb sleep, such as pain, another health problem or sleep apnea. Treatment focuses on techniques from CBT-I. Medication is considered only when indicated, decided jointly with you, and we focus on lasting change.

You can be seen in person in West Ashley or by secure video anywhere in South Carolina.

If you are having thoughts of suicide, call or text 988. In an emergency, call 911 or go to the nearest emergency room.

Where to Get Care

• Insomnia care in West Ashley
• Insomnia care by telehealth across South Carolina

Read More

• Short-Term or Chronic Insomnia? How to Tell, and When to Get Help: The difference between a rough patch of sleep and chronic insomnia, the signs it is time to get help, and what an insomnia evaluation looks at.
• CBT-I: How Insomnia Treatment Works Without Relying on Sleep Aids: What cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia (CBT-I) involves, why it is the recommended first treatment for long-term insomnia, and how it works by video.
• Sleep Apnea and Poor Focus: When Tiredness Looks Like ADHD: How untreated sleep apnea causes daytime sleepiness, poor focus and forgetfulness, the signs to watch for, and how it is diagnosed.

Sources

NHLBI, What Is Insomnia?; NHLBI, Insomnia Treatment; American Psychiatric Association, DSM-5-TR (insomnia disorder).

This guide is general information, not medical advice, and does not create a patient–provider relationship. Every situation is different, so see a provider who can evaluate yours and develop a plan of care.