Sleep and psychiatry
Insomnia and sleep problems
Sleep is treated as core psychiatric care here, not a side note — evaluation and treatment by telehealth across Illinois.
Very little in psychiatry improves while sleep stays broken. Mood, anxiety, attention, appetite, and medication response all move with it, which is why sleep gets real time at every visit.
Find the cause before reaching for a sedative
Insomnia is a symptom with many possible drivers: anxiety, depression, sleep apnea, restless legs, chronic pain, thyroid problems, perimenopause, alcohol, caffeine timing, shift work, and the stimulant or antidepressant you already take. Each of those points to a different treatment.
The evaluation covers your actual sleep pattern — bedtime, wake time, time to fall asleep, night awakenings, naps, screens, substances, and what a bad night looks like versus a good one. Relevant labs and a screen for sleep apnea are part of the picture where the history suggests it.
From there the plan may include cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia, adjusting the timing or dose of medications you already take, treating the underlying anxiety or depression, referral for a sleep study, and — where appropriate — a carefully chosen and regularly reviewed sleep medication.
What people describe
Reasons people book
- Lying awake for an hour or more most nights
- Waking at 3 a.m. and not getting back to sleep
- Sleeping through the night and still waking exhausted
- Relying on alcohol, cannabis, or over-the-counter sleep aids to fall asleep
- Sleep that fell apart after starting a new medication
- Shift work that has scrambled your schedule
How care works here
What treatment includes
- A detailed sleep history and pattern review
- Screening for sleep apnea, restless legs, thyroid, and other medical causes
- Review and retiming of current medications
- Cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia as first-line treatment
- Careful, reviewed use of sleep medication when it is warranted
- Treatment of the anxiety or depression underneath
Common questions
Questions people ask first
Do you prescribe sleeping pills?
Sometimes, and carefully. Sedative-hypnotics have real risks with long-term use, so the first step is finding and treating the cause. When a medication is appropriate, the safest effective option is chosen and reviewed regularly rather than refilled indefinitely.
What if I might have sleep apnea?
Untreated sleep apnea is a common and frequently missed driver of depression, anxiety, and attention problems. If your history suggests it, referral for a sleep study is part of the plan.
Is CBT-I better than medication?
For chronic insomnia, cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia has the strongest long-term evidence and is recommended as first-line treatment. It is discussed at the visit and coordinated with a therapist where appropriate.
Keep reading
Related pages
Ready to get started?
Self-schedule online through Headway — insurance and self-pay options, most patients seen within days.