Insomnia is the chronic state of feeling “tired but wired.” You want to sleep but you can’t.

Whether it’s trouble falling asleep, staying asleep, or waking up too early, the experience of insomnia often comes with the worries about your life and where it’s going. There’s no denying that a lack of sleep impacts our mood and ability to focus and perform.

That’s because it impacts what neuroscientist Lisa Feldman Barrett refers to as your body budget. Body budget is how your brain allocates resources. Your body contains resources, which are generated by things like sleep, nutritious foods, exercise, and social connection. Your brain is the accountant, and it budgets those resources. Stress, poor diet, illnesses, and a lack of sleep deplete your resources. So, if the quality of your sleep is off, it strains your body’s resources.

I like working with sleep because it’s a clear and proven way to improve your body budget and mental health. Improving sleep will improve your ability to manage emotions, think clearly, and it’ll expand your window of tolerance for life’s natural ups and downs.

I have advanced training in Behavioral Sleep Medicine, including Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Insomnia (CBTi), which is considered the gold-standard for treating Sleep Disorders (insomnia, sleep apnea, circadian rhythm disorder). CBTi is a five-pronged approach that includes sleep restriction, stimulus control, cognitive restructuring, relaxation techniques, and sleep hygiene. I am also a member of the Society for Behavioral Sleep Medicine.