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How to deal with your insomnia — and finally get to sleep | Sleeping with Science
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How to deal with your insomnia — and finally get to sleep | Sleeping with Science

Understanding Insomnia and Its Solutions

What is Insomnia?

  • At least one out of every three people will experience some form of insomnia in their lifetime, characterized by difficulties falling asleep, staying asleep, or feeling refreshed after sleep.
  • Insomnia can lead to significant distress and impacts daily functioning.

Common Misconceptions About Sleep Aids

  • Popular options for managing insomnia include alcohol and THC (the psychoactive component of cannabis), but these substances often worsen sleep issues rather than improve them.
  • Melatonin may slightly enhance sleep quality but only improves sleep efficiency by a few percent.

Effective Treatment: Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Insomnia (CBTI)

  • CBTI is a drug-free approach that involves working with a clinician over several weeks, which can be done online.
  • This therapy focuses on changing habits, beliefs, and stress related to sleep, proving to be as effective as sleeping pills in the short term without negative side effects.
  • The benefits of CBTI can last for years even after therapy concludes.
Channel: TED
Video description

Having trouble falling asleep — or staying asleep? Alcohol, sleeping pills or drugs like marijuana help you in the short-term, but they’re only a quick fix, says sleep scientist Matt Walker. There is, however, one proven way to treat your insomnia and help you get the zzz’s you need. Sleep -- we spend one-third of our lives doing it, but what exactly do we get out of it? And how can we do it better? In this TED series, sleep scientist Matt Walker uncovers the facts and secrets behind our nightly slumber. Check out more episodes on TED.com: https://go.ted.com/sleepingwithscience Visit http://TED.com to get our entire library of TED Talks, transcripts, translations, personalized talk recommendations and more. The TED Talks channel features the best talks and performances from the TED Conference, where the world's leading thinkers and doers give the talk of their lives in 18 minutes (or less). Look for talks on Technology, Entertainment and Design -- plus science, business, global issues, the arts and more. You're welcome to link to or embed these videos, forward them to others and share these ideas with people you know. Become a TED Member: http://ted.com/membership Follow TED on Twitter: http://twitter.com/TEDTalks Like TED on Facebook: http://facebook.com/TED Subscribe to our channel: http://youtube.com/TED TED's videos may be used for non-commercial purposes under a Creative Commons License, Attribution–Non Commercial–No Derivatives (or the CC BY – NC – ND 4.0 International) and in accordance with our TED Talks Usage Policy (https://www.ted.com/about/our-organization/our-policies-terms/ted-talks-usage-policy). For more information on using TED for commercial purposes (e.g. employee learning, in a film or online course), please submit a Media Request at https://media-requests.ted.com