Ashley Mason

Yeah, broadly speaking.

Yeah, broadly speaking.

By the way, I do not do pediatrics, so please assume everything we're talking about today is adults.

By the way, I do not do pediatrics, so please assume everything we're talking about today is adults.

Yeah, that's at any given point in time. Insomnia is, for most people, probably quite episodic. It's not necessarily a permanent state. People go in and out of it. And the question is, how quickly do people go out of it when they go in it? And that's what CBTI is so beautiful for. It's helping people get out of it quickly.

Yeah, that's at any given point in time. Insomnia is, for most people, probably quite episodic. It's not necessarily a permanent state. People go in and out of it. And the question is, how quickly do people go out of it when they go in it? And that's what CBTI is so beautiful for. It's helping people get out of it quickly.

There's going to be things in your life that are going to just happen, and they're going to put you over the threshold for insomnia. So maybe we can talk for a minute about how insomnia begins and then how it's perpetuated, because these things are actually quite different.

There's going to be things in your life that are going to just happen, and they're going to put you over the threshold for insomnia. So maybe we can talk for a minute about how insomnia begins and then how it's perpetuated, because these things are actually quite different.

So you and I and everybody have a certain level of predisposing factors that are going to put us at risk for having sleeping problems, in particular insomnia. then we may experience what's called a precipitating factor.

So you and I and everybody have a certain level of predisposing factors that are going to put us at risk for having sleeping problems, in particular insomnia. then we may experience what's called a precipitating factor.

That could be a major life event like losing your job, getting a divorce, getting in a car accident, some major unexpected, unhappy life event that might throw you into a bout of insomnia. That event will end, though. That event ends. The car accident ends. It resolves. The job loss ends. You get a new job or you don't. The divorce ends. You move on.

That could be a major life event like losing your job, getting a divorce, getting in a car accident, some major unexpected, unhappy life event that might throw you into a bout of insomnia. That event will end, though. That event ends. The car accident ends. It resolves. The job loss ends. You get a new job or you don't. The divorce ends. You move on.

But in the meantime, when you're dealing with that event, you develop behaviors to cope with it. And so you might, for example, pop a Benadryl to help you sleep or an Ambien, something stronger. You might start taking naps the next day after a bad night of sleep to try and cope with it. You might start reading in bed a lot or flipping through your smartphone in bed.

But in the meantime, when you're dealing with that event, you develop behaviors to cope with it. And so you might, for example, pop a Benadryl to help you sleep or an Ambien, something stronger. You might start taking naps the next day after a bad night of sleep to try and cope with it. You might start reading in bed a lot or flipping through your smartphone in bed.

Doing all these different types of behaviors to try and help yourself calm down and actually get to sleep, which in the short term make a lot of sense. You're trying to help yourself in the acute moment. But in the long term, these kinds of behaviors aren't actually doing you any favors. And over time, that precipitating factor is going to go away.

Doing all these different types of behaviors to try and help yourself calm down and actually get to sleep, which in the short term make a lot of sense. You're trying to help yourself in the acute moment. But in the long term, these kinds of behaviors aren't actually doing you any favors. And over time, that precipitating factor is going to go away.

But all of these behaviors that you've started doing to respond to the precipitating event, they're what stick around. And those are what are going to perpetuate insomnia symptoms and problems.

But all of these behaviors that you've started doing to respond to the precipitating event, they're what stick around. And those are what are going to perpetuate insomnia symptoms and problems.

So there's, of course, genetic predisposing factors. I've had patients come and say, I'm a really light sleeper. Can you fix that? That's going to be pretty tough to fix. I'm going to recommend something like earplugs, an eye mask, a white noise machine, what have you. But yes, there are going to be predisposing factors.

So there's, of course, genetic predisposing factors. I've had patients come and say, I'm a really light sleeper. Can you fix that? That's going to be pretty tough to fix. I'm going to recommend something like earplugs, an eye mask, a white noise machine, what have you. But yes, there are going to be predisposing factors.