Sleep Therapy in Oregon
When Sleep Doesn’t Feel Like It Used To
Sleep can change for all kinds of reasons. Sometimes it starts with something fairly ordinary, such as a trip across time zones, bringing home a new puppy, a move, or a change in your work schedule. Maybe you’re waking more often, struggling to get back to sleep, sleeping at different times than you used to, or simply not feeling rested when you wake up.
Sleep Doesn’t Always Follow a Pattern
Sometimes a change in sleep has an obvious starting point. A new schedule, a stressful period, a life transition, or another change in your routine can affect how you sleep.
Other times, you may not be sure when your sleep changed or what caused it.
You may notice that you’re waking up more often, going to bed earlier or later than you used to, lying awake when you’d rather be sleeping, or simply not feeling rested in the morning.
And once sleep becomes difficult, it can be easy to start paying more attention to it. What started as a change in your sleep can begin affecting your thoughts throughout the day.
A Closer Look at Your Sleep
CBT-I looks at more than simply how many hours you sleep. It considers the patterns around your sleep and the thoughts, behaviors, routines, and expectations that may be influencing your nights.
That might mean exploring:
Your Sleep Patterns
Looking at when you sleep, when you're awake, and how those patterns have changed can provide useful information about what's happening.
What Happens When You're Awake
Waking during the night is normal. What happens after you wake up can have more of an impact. If you become frustrated, start watching the clock, or worry about how you'll feel tomorrow, those reactions can make it harder to return to sleep.
Your Sleep Routine
Changes in your schedule or evening routine can affect how easily you settle into sleep. Looking at what your days and nights actually look like can help identify where adjustments may be useful.
What You Think About Sleep
It can be easy to start paying more attention to sleep when something changes. You may wonder whether you're sleeping enough, worry about another difficult night, or feel like you need to get your sleep exactly right. CBT-I can help you look at those thoughts with a different perspective.
What Your Body Needs Now
Sleep needs and patterns can change over time. Rather than trying to follow a one-size-fits-all approach to sleep, CBT-I can help you understand your sleep patterns and use evidence-based strategies, including adjustments to your time in bed when appropriate, to support the sleep your body needs.
Your Sleep History
Understanding how your sleep has changed over time can provide useful context. Looking at when the changes started, what was happening around that time, and whether you've experienced similar periods before can help identify patterns.
Working Through Sleep Changes
Understanding what's happening with your sleep is the starting point. From there, the work becomes a process of noticing patterns, trying targeted strategies, and seeing how your sleep responds.
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Start With Your Sleep
Your first full session allows Carrie to learn more about your sleep, routines, experiences, and goals. You'll then begin tracking your sleep to create a clearer picture of what's happening from night to night.
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Make Focused Changes
Your sleep patterns help guide what comes next. You may work on your sleep schedule, what happens when you're awake at night, your thoughts and expectations around sleep, or other factors that may be getting in the way. The changes you make are grounded in the science of sleep and designed to support your body’s natural sleep system and help it get back on track.
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Review and Adjust
Follow-up sessions give you a chance to look at what's changing, talk through what's difficult, and adjust your approach. Most people work with Carrie for about 4–8 sessions following the initial intake.
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Build Confidence Around Sleep
As you learn more about your sleep and practice new strategies, the goal is to feel more confident handling difficult nights without letting them take over your thoughts or your day.
Sleep Can Take Up
Less Mental Space
Improving sleep isn’t only about what happens between bedtime and morning.
For many people, one of the most meaningful changes after improving sleep is that they simply think about sleep less. You may still have an occasional restless night, but instead of spending the next day worrying about it—or spending the evening worrying about whether it will happen again—you can feel more confident that you know what to do.
Sleep can become something your body does rather than something you have to constantly manage.
Focused Care for Sleep Changes
Carrie Bader is an occupational therapist with a Master’s in Occupational Therapy and a Master’s in Public Health. She completed specialized CBT-I training through Stanford’s Sleep Health & Insomnia Program and is a Certified Health Education Specialist.
Her work combines sleep training with a collaborative approach to care, helping you identify changes that fit your goals.
- Master’s in OT Occupational Therapy
- Master’s in Public Health Health Education
- Stanford CBT-I Training Sleep Health & Insomnia Program
- CHES Certified Health Education Specialist
Make Room for Better Nights
You don’t need to have a specific sleep diagnosis to start paying attention to what’s happening with your sleep. Carrie can help you understand your sleep patterns, work through what’s getting in the way, and spend less time thinking about whether you’ll sleep well.