Insomnia Treatment in Sydney

Tired But Wired?

You're exhausted, but as soon as your head hits the pillow, your brain switches on. This isn't just "poor sleep"—it's a state of hyperarousal. And it responds well to the right approach.

Book an Appointment How Therapy Works

Understanding Insomnia

Insomnia usually shows up as one or more of the following, at least several nights a week:

  • Difficulty falling asleep—lying awake for 30+ minutes with a busy mind
  • Frequent awakenings—waking multiple times and struggling to resettle
  • Waking too early—up at 4am with a mind that won't switch off
  • Non-restorative sleep—the hours look okay, but you wake exhausted

The daytime toll is significant: fatigue, irritability, fogginess, poor concentration, and the feeling of running on fumes. Occasional bad nights are normal. The problem is when the pattern becomes persistent and self-reinforcing.

There is nothing wrong with you

Insomnia isn't a sign that you're broken or that your sleep system is faulty. You're caught in a pattern—a feedback loop that makes perfect sense given what's happened. The same mechanism that created the problem can undo it.

The Core Mechanism

Insomnia is rarely about a lack of sleepiness. It's about an excess of arousal.

For capable, high-functioning people, this creates a particular trap. Your brain is an excellent problem-solving machine. When sleep goes wrong, it does what's worked for everything else: it tries harder, researches more, monitors closely, and worries about consequences. Unfortunately, this is the exact opposite of what sleep requires.

The Sleep Paradox

Try harder to sleep
→
Increased arousal
→
Less sleep
→
Try even harder

Sleep is one of the few areas of life where strategic effort backfires. You can't will yourself to sleep any more than you can will yourself to digest faster. The art is getting out of your own way.

The Vicious Cycle

1

The Trigger

A stressful period, illness, travel, or life change disrupts your sleep for a few nights.

2

The Monitoring

You start watching your sleep: "Am I going to sleep tonight? How many hours do I have left?" The bedroom becomes a place of effort and vigilance.

3

The Conditioning

Your brain learns that bed = pressure, frustration, alertness. Sleep becomes a performance with an audience of one.

4

The Maintenance

Even after the original stress passes, the pattern persists. The insomnia is now self-maintaining.

The key insight: The original trigger is often long gone. What keeps insomnia going is the response to insomnia—the monitoring, the effort, the catastrophic beliefs. Treatment targets this maintaining system, not the original cause.

How Insomnia Therapy Works

I use CBT-I (Cognitive Behavioural Therapy for Insomnia) as the backbone, with a particular focus on the arousal that keeps insomnia going. This isn't generic sleep hygiene advice you can find on Google. It's a structured, evidence-based approach tailored to your pattern.

What We Work On

1

Assessment & Clear Formulation

We map your sleep pattern, arousal profile, and the habits and beliefs keeping the cycle running. Understanding what maintains your insomnia is the foundation.

2

Sleep Consolidation

A carefully set sleep schedule to rebuild your natural sleep drive and reduce fragmented time awake in bed. This isn't punishment—it's recalibration.

3

Stimulus Control

Retraining your brain so that bed reliably signals sleep—not thinking, worrying, scrolling, or struggling. Breaking the bed-wakefulness association.

4

Cognitive Work

Addressing the catastrophic sleep beliefs ("If I don't sleep tonight, tomorrow is ruined") and the pressure that spikes arousal. Changing your relationship with tiredness.

5

Arousal Regulation

Practical skills to lower pre-sleep alertness—without turning bedtime into another job. The goal is less doing, not more doing.

"What did you do on your best sleep nights?" The honest answer is usually: nothing special. That's the goal—getting back to the place where you just lie down and sleep.

The Philosophy

Most insomnia treatments fail because they add more interventions to an already overloaded system. You've probably tried harder sleep hygiene, supplements, apps, meditation, and strict routines. Each new technique carries a hidden cost: it adds arousal ("Is this working? Did I do it right?").

Hammer vs Screwdriver

Strategic thinking is your hammer—brilliant for most problems. But sleep is a screw. Applying hammer-force makes it worse. You need a different tool.

Drinking Seawater

When you're desperate for sleep, trying harder feels like it should help. But it's like drinking seawater when you're thirsty—the solution worsens the problem.

Body Systems

You don't problem-solve your digestion, immune system, or heartbeat. Sleep is the same—millions of years of evolution have fine-tuned it. You just need to stop interfering.

Minimum Necessary Force

High stakes doesn't mean you need a complex solution. When sleep works well, you're doing the least—that's the proof it's working.

What recovery looks like

You have a bad night and think: "Weird anomaly." No spiral, no narrative about what this means. The new pattern eventually does all the work for you. Many people reach a point where they genuinely forget they ever had insomnia.

When Medical Input Comes First

Part of doing this work well is knowing when to screen and refer. If you have any of the following, it's worth discussing with your GP first (and we can coordinate care):

Signs to discuss with your doctor

  • Loud snoring, witnessed breathing pauses, or waking gasping—possible sleep apnoea
  • Significant daytime sleepiness, dozing unintentionally—may indicate underlying sleep disorder
  • Uncomfortable leg sensations with urge to move—possible restless legs syndrome
  • Shift work or strongly delayed sleep phase—circadian rhythm issues
  • Medications or substances affecting sleep

Many people benefit from CBT-I alongside medical care. The key is getting the right map first.

Quick Self-Assessment

How Severe Is Your Insomnia?

Rate the following over the last two weeks. Seven questions, two minutes.

1 of 7
Difficulty falling asleep
2 of 7
Difficulty staying asleep
3 of 7
Problem waking up too early
4 of 7
How satisfied are you with your current sleep pattern?
5 of 7
How noticeable to others is your sleep problem in terms of impairing your quality of life?
6 of 7
How worried or distressed are you about your current sleep problem?
7 of 7
To what extent does your sleep problem interfere with daily functioning (fatigue, concentration, memory, mood)?
--
out of 28
--
Score Ranges
No clinically significant insomnia0–7
Subthreshold insomnia8–14
Moderate clinical insomnia15–21
Severe clinical insomnia22–28

Note: This is a screening tool, not a diagnosis. If you're concerned about your sleep, consult a psychologist or GP.

Common Questions

Is CBT-I better than sleep medication?

CBT-I is the first-line treatment for chronic insomnia recommended by sleep medicine bodies worldwide. Medication can help short-term, but long-term improvement usually depends on changing the maintaining pattern. CBT-I addresses the cause; medication manages the symptom.

Will you make me do strict sleep restriction?

We use sleep consolidation thoughtfully and adjust it to your context. The goal is to stabilise sleep, not to punish you or create more anxiety. Some people need a firmer approach; others need gentler calibration. We figure out what fits.

I've had insomnia for years. Can it still improve?

Yes. Longstanding insomnia often persists because the pattern is entrenched, not because it's untreatable. We're targeting the maintaining system—the habits, beliefs, and arousal that keep it going—not the original cause.

What if anxiety is driving my insomnia?

That's common. We treat the arousal system directly and address the worry and rumination that spike at night. Often the two are intertwined—anxiety fuels insomnia, and poor sleep worsens anxiety. We work on both.

How many sessions does it take?

Most people notice meaningful change within 4-8 sessions when implementing the strategies consistently. Chronic insomnia may take longer, but the change is often progressive—you don't wait until the end to see improvement.

Ready to Sleep Again?

If you're ready to work on sleep in a structured, evidence-based way—without adding more pressure to an already overloaded system.

Book an Appointment

In-person appointments in Cammeray, Sydney.
2 Warwick Avenue, Cammeray NSW 2062

Crisis support: If you're in immediate danger or at risk of harm, call 000. For urgent mental health support, contact Lifeline on 13 11 14.