Photo by Hugh Kretschmer

Who Can Help: Snooze Assistance By Susan Roberts, March & April 2007 How to find a certified sleep coach

• Try This First: Sleep Hygiene
• Relax and Live Longer (September & October 2006)
• 10 Ways to Get a Better Night’s Sleep Without Pills (AARP Bulletin Online)
• I Am Snoring, Hear Me Roar (AARP Bulletin Online)
• Forget Sheep: Walk Your Way to Better Sleep (AARP.org)
• Back to Main Article

Long overlooked as a pillar of health, sleep is finally receiving the attention it deserves from doctors. In the United States there are now hundreds of centers specializing in sleep problems (see www.sleepcenters.org). Many of these, however, tend to focus on sleep apnea and related disorders, with treatments for insomnia limited mainly to drugs. Though cognitive-behavioral therapy for insomnia (CBT-I) has been around for decades, there are currently only 90 doctors fully qualified in its practice (see www.aasmnet.org).

If you cannot find a certified practitioner in your area, sleep researcher Michael Perlis, Ph.D., of the University of Rochester suggests contacting the one nearest you and asking if he or she knows of someone who has received training in CBT-I. Failing that, you can coach yourself through the process with online CBT-I sites such as those created by Gregg D. Jacobs, M.D., of Harvard Medical School (www.cbtforinsomnia.com) and by the National Sleep Foundation (www.centers.sleepfoundation.org/insomnia).