Ashley Mason

Well, I've been interested in sleep for a long time. I was fortunate to go to the University of Arizona for my doctoral work. When I was there, the late Dick Bootson was also there. And he's one of the co-inventors of cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia. And I think I found it particularly interesting because it works so well.

Well, I've been interested in sleep for a long time. I was fortunate to go to the University of Arizona for my doctoral work. When I was there, the late Dick Bootson was also there. And he's one of the co-inventors of cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia. And I think I found it particularly interesting because it works so well.

We have so many different psychological treatments, and they all have varying degrees of efficacy and effectiveness. And the thing about cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia is that it's kind of like a recipe. If you do it, it works.

We have so many different psychological treatments, and they all have varying degrees of efficacy and effectiveness. And the thing about cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia is that it's kind of like a recipe. If you do it, it works.

And this was always just so interesting to me because it was so different than so many other psychotherapies out there that had just so much more unpredictable outcomes. I would say that I became much more interested in it after my postdoctoral work when I'd gotten to UCSF. I was a postdoc at UCSF, but I started my assistant professorship at UCSF. And

And this was always just so interesting to me because it was so different than so many other psychotherapies out there that had just so much more unpredictable outcomes. I would say that I became much more interested in it after my postdoctoral work when I'd gotten to UCSF. I was a postdoc at UCSF, but I started my assistant professorship at UCSF. And

There was this gaping hole in treatment availabilities for people with insomnia. And I thought, oh, this might be a good way for me to get back into some clinical work. I was doing just research at the time.

There was this gaping hole in treatment availabilities for people with insomnia. And I thought, oh, this might be a good way for me to get back into some clinical work. I was doing just research at the time.

I fell back in love with it because there's almost nothing as rewarding as being able to see a patient seven times and that seventh time have them say something to you along the lines of, I have my life back. I'm going to go get my driver's license back. I'm not afraid to drive with my kids in the car anymore. I'm going to go back to work. I have my life back. Not much better than that.

I fell back in love with it because there's almost nothing as rewarding as being able to see a patient seven times and that seventh time have them say something to you along the lines of, I have my life back. I'm going to go get my driver's license back. I'm not afraid to drive with my kids in the car anymore. I'm going to go back to work. I have my life back. Not much better than that.

And so I grew the clinic that I do CBT-I in and now I just love it so much that I do it on top of my job. Like I do it at night with patients after hours because it's the most rewarding thing and you can have such a big impact and people need it.

And so I grew the clinic that I do CBT-I in and now I just love it so much that I do it on top of my job. Like I do it at night with patients after hours because it's the most rewarding thing and you can have such a big impact and people need it.

Broadly speaking, most people at some point in their lives are going to have an issue with insomnia. I think some 90% of adults at some point are going to struggle with insomnia. And point estimates, I think at any given moment, might be between 5% and 10%. The interesting thing about insomnia is that it's a very clinical diagnosis. There's no blood test for insomnia.

Broadly speaking, most people at some point in their lives are going to have an issue with insomnia. I think some 90% of adults at some point are going to struggle with insomnia. And point estimates, I think at any given moment, might be between 5% and 10%. The interesting thing about insomnia is that it's a very clinical diagnosis. There's no blood test for insomnia.

We can't put you in a sleep lab overnight and do a test to see if you have insomnia. And we don't diagnose insomnia based on one night of bad sleep. If someone says, oh, I didn't sleep at all last night, or I haven't slept even for just the last week, that's not going to get you a diagnosis of insomnia. And there's a whole suite of different somnias that we could talk about.

We can't put you in a sleep lab overnight and do a test to see if you have insomnia. And we don't diagnose insomnia based on one night of bad sleep. If someone says, oh, I didn't sleep at all last night, or I haven't slept even for just the last week, that's not going to get you a diagnosis of insomnia. And there's a whole suite of different somnias that we could talk about.

But I think the point that is the most salient is just that when you have a problem sleeping and when it's been going on for a long time, at least like three-ish months, when you really feel it's a problem, that's when it's time to get help. Because there's plenty of people who don't sleep a whole lot, but it's not distressing to them. It's not causing any problems in their life.

But I think the point that is the most salient is just that when you have a problem sleeping and when it's been going on for a long time, at least like three-ish months, when you really feel it's a problem, that's when it's time to get help. Because there's plenty of people who don't sleep a whole lot, but it's not distressing to them. It's not causing any problems in their life.

they're not going to meet a definition of insomnia per se. It's the folks who will tell you that I can't sleep. I haven't been sleeping for months. It's interfering with my life. It's really upsetting. And they've probably already started trying a whole bunch of things to try and help themselves to fix it. And this is where things get interesting.

they're not going to meet a definition of insomnia per se. It's the folks who will tell you that I can't sleep. I haven't been sleeping for months. It's interfering with my life. It's really upsetting. And they've probably already started trying a whole bunch of things to try and help themselves to fix it. And this is where things get interesting.