Say Good Night to Insomnia » (First Edition)

Gregg D. Jacobs, Ph. D., is an insomnia specialist at the Sleep Disorders Center at the University of Massachusetts Medical School. As a senior scientist at Harvard’s Mind/Body Medical Institute and an assistant professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School, he spent almost twenty years treating and researching insomnia. More information on the studies supporting his program is available on his Web site, www.cbtforinsomnia.com.

The bestselling guide to curing insomnia without drugs by "a pioneer" of the field, now updated with the latest research (The Wall Street Journal)

For the past ten years, sleep-deprived Americans have found natural, drug-free relief from insomnia with the help of Dr. Gregg D. Jacobs’s Say Good Night to Insomnia.

Jacobs’s program, developed and tested at Harvard Medical School and based on cognitive behavioral therapy, has been shown to improve sleep long-term in 80 percent of patients, making it the gold standard for treatment. He provides techniques for eliminating sleeping pills; establishing sleep-promoting behaviors and lifestyle practices; and improving relaxation, reducing stress, and changing negative thoughts about sleep.

In this updated edition, Jacobs surveys the limitations and dangers of the new generation of sleeping pills, dispels misleading and confusing claims about sleep and health, and shares cutting-edge research on insomnia that proves his approach is more effective than sleeping pills.

Say Good Night to Insomnia is the definitive guide to overcoming insomnia without drugs for the thousands of Americans who are looking for a healthy night’s rest.

Foreword Herbert Benson xi

Preface: The New State of Sleep Science xiii

Introduction: Conquer Insomnia and Change Your Life xxix

Part I Getting Started

1 You Can Say Good Night to Insomnia 3

2 Some Basic Facts About Sleep and Insomnia 12

3 Putting Sleeping Pills to Rest 27

4 Conducting Your Own Insomnia Self-Assessment 43

Part II Changing Sleep Thoughts and Behaviors

5 Changing Your Thoughts About Sleep 69

6 Establishing Sleep-Promoting Habits 86

7 Lifestyle and Environmental Factors That Affect Sleep 100

Part III Managing Insomnia by Managing Stress

8 The Relaxation Response 125

9 Learning to Think Away Your Stress 148

10 Developing Stress-Reducing, Sleep-Enhancing Attitudes and Beliefs 164

Appendix A Managing Shift Work 183

Appendix B Managing Jet Lag 187

Appendix C Infants' and Children's Sleep 191

Appendix D Additional Relaxation Scripts 197

Sources and Suggested Reading 203

Acknowledgments 209