Sleep Therapy for PTSD: What Works and What to Try

When sleep therapy for PTSD, a targeted approach to fixing sleep problems caused by trauma. Also known as trauma-focused sleep intervention, it’s not just about falling asleep faster—it’s about rewiring how your brain responds to fear at night. People with PTSD often get stuck in a loop: nightmares wake them up, they dread bedtime, and their body stays on high alert. This isn’t laziness or stress—it’s your nervous system stuck in fight-or-flight mode, even when you’re safe.

That’s where CBT-I, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Insomnia. Also known as CBT for sleep, it’s the most proven method for breaking this cycle. Unlike sleeping pills that just mask the problem, CBT-I teaches you how to reset your sleep rhythm, quiet your mind, and stop associating your bed with fear. Studies show it works better than medication for PTSD-related insomnia, and the effects last long after treatment ends. Then there’s imagery rehearsal therapy, a technique where you rewrite traumatic dreams while awake to change their outcome. Also known as IRT, it’s been shown to cut nightmares in half for many veterans and trauma survivors. These aren’t fringe ideas—they’re used in VA clinics and trauma centers across the country.

What you won’t find in most guides is how these therapies connect to other parts of your health. Poor sleep makes anxiety worse. Anxiety makes sleep harder. It’s a loop. That’s why some people see results when they combine sleep therapy with managing their medication—like switching from an SSRI that causes restless nights, or adjusting timing to avoid drug interactions that disrupt REM sleep. Others find relief by tracking how food, caffeine, or even their evening routine affects their sleep quality. You don’t need to fix everything at once. Start with one small change: a consistent bedtime, a 10-minute wind-down ritual, or writing down your worries before sleep instead of letting them circle in your head.

The posts below give you real, no-fluff advice from people who’ve been there. You’ll find guides on how to safely adjust antidepressants that mess with your sleep, what to do when steroids make your nights worse, and how to spot when a new medication is stealing your rest. Some show you how to use simple tools like sleep diaries to track progress. Others break down what to ask your doctor when sleep therapy isn’t working. There’s no magic fix, but there are real steps—and they’re all here, written plainly, without jargon.