Blog posts with the tag "Insomnia"

Recently a case was shared with me in consultation that perked my ears up. He had a number of disruptions related to his sleep, including difficulty staying asleep, nightmares, a diagnosis of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), and a history of two traumatic incidents. Worse, he had started grinding his teeth to the point of wearing through over the counter mouthguards. He was described as an “extreme case” that had failed prior evidence-based treatment and would not likely benefit from say Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Insomnia (CBT-I).

“Why do I need to fill out a sleep log? My FitBit/Apple Watch/Oura Ring already tells me everything about my sleep.”
Even if you are new to assessing and treating insomnia, you have probably already encountered a patient asking similar questions. A key component – possibly the most important component – of effective treatment is the subjective tracking of sleep using a sleep log or sleep diary. But it seems perfectly reasonable that a patient would prefer to give you the data that is already being collected by their favorite wearable technology. Do we really need the sleep log to provide good treatment?