CBTi and Beyond: The Sleepyhead Clinic Approach to Sleep Retraining
If you’ve struggled with insomnia, you’ve probably been told to dim the lights, avoid screens, or take a warm bath. Maybe you’ve tried relaxation techniques, meditation apps, or even sleep supplements—only to feel more frustrated when they didn’t work. That’s because insomnia isn’t just one thing. It’s not a bad habit, and it’s certainly not something you can fix with a checklist or ‘sleep hygiene’.
Insomnia is a mix of sleep hypersensitivity, low sleep drive, sleep anxiety, chronic health triggers, ingrained behaviours – and more! It’s why focusing on just one thing—like relaxation—never works. Sleep is controlled by biological systems, not by willpower. And if your systems aren’t working properly, no amount of deep breathing is going to change that.
At Sleepyhead Clinic, we don’t just do CBT-I (cognitive behavioural therapy for insomnia – the evidence based way!). We retrain sleep patterns using a combination of CBTI with neuroscience, Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), motivational interviewing, and behavioural sleep medicine to create lasting change.
How Does CBT-I with our system Work?
Understanding Your Sleep Patterns (And Why They’re Stuck)
The first step isn’t to follow a strict set of rules—it’s to understand what’s keeping your insomnia going.
- What do your sleep drive and body clock actually need?
- What behaviours or thoughts are reinforcing sleeplessness?
- How can we create a sleep plan that works for you, rather than something you’ll abandon under pressure?
This isn’t about correcting all your beliefs about sleep—just the ones that are actually affecting your sleep.

What About Sleep Anxiety?
Sleep anxiety isn’t just stress about sleep. It’s a learned pattern, and like insomnia itself, it can be retrained. Sleep anxiety operates like a gremlin in your brain with two dangerous weapons:
- It triggers an instant chemical response, making you feel wide awake the moment you start worrying about sleep.
- It pushes you into unhelpful behaviours, like over-researching, avoiding bed, or trying new fixes every night—trapping you in a cycle.
We don’t force you to stop worrying about sleep. That’s impossible. Instead, we teach you how to respond differently, so the gremlin loses its power.
Start your journey to fixing insomnia today.
How Do We Retrain Sleep?
Stimulus Control
Your brain needs to relearn that bed = sleep. We help you break unhelpful associations and rebuild a natural connection between sleep and your environment.
Sleep Restriction (Without the Fear Factor)
Sleep restriction sounds scary. You’re already not sleeping—why would cutting down on time in bed help? The key is that we don’t apply this as a rigid rule. Instead, we adjust it to fit your life, helping you find a sustainable sleep schedule that strengthens your sleep drive over time. It’s one of the most effective techniques available, and we make it work for you, not against you.
ACT (Acceptance and Commitment Therapy)
ACT isn’t about stopping negative thoughts. It’s about changing your response to them. If you’re lying in bed thinking, “I can’t sleep,” instead of fighting that thought, we teach you how to let it sit without it taking over. Instead of chasing sleep, you learn how to create the right conditions for it to return on its own. Putting pressure on yourself is not one of them!

What Makes Sleepyhead Clinic Different?
Most CBT-I programs follow a rigid, one-size-fits-all structure. Ours doesn’t. We integrate neuroscience, behaviour change techniques, and ACT to create a flexible, personalised program that actually works in real life that is adapted to you personally, the entire way through.
We don’t rely on outdated sleep hygiene advice, and we don’t expect you to overhaul your entire lifestyle overnight. Our approach works because it’s adapted to you, is sustainable and not the other way around. Life is tough enough, and we aren’t robots. Also, some of us have other conditions on top of our insomnia which must be taken into consideration for personalisation, such as menopause or chronic health conditions. Progress lines aren’t linear and sometimes we need a few pivots along the way to make sure we are on the right track. We understand this.

Steph is incredibly warm, approachable, knowledgeable, and passionate about her subject.
If you have trouble sleeping it will be the best money you will ever spend. – Sarah Hobson
I cannot recommend the sleep course enough if you struggle with insomnia. It turns out it can be fixed and you can learn how to sleep properly. – Eli Dickinson
You can view all of our reviews here.
Interested in finding out more?
Frequently Asked Questions
If you’re considering Cognitive Behavioural Therapy for Insomnia (CBTI) as a solution for your sleep troubles, you likely have questions. We’ve compiled some common inquiries to provide you with detailed answers and help you make an informed decision about CBTI therapy.
No. Whether you struggle occasionally or have battled sleeplessness for years, sleep retraining can help. We will tailor how many sessions and what type of program you need based on the severity of your condition, which we assess before you start any treatment with us. If we feel we are not the most appropriate specialists to help you, we will always help you understand the pathway that might be better for you with recommendations.
No, not if you don’t want to. Unlike sleep hygiene, we don’t focus on blanket rules which don’t actually fix chronic sleep problems (after all, you have likely already tried these things!) —we focus on what actually impacts your sleep systems.
CBT-I is designed for sleep, but our approach goes further by integrating ACT, neuroscience, and motivational techniques for deeper, lasting change, all adapted to you.
Yes. Many clients use our program while on sleep medication, and over time, many find they no longer need it.
If nothing has worked, it’s probably because you’ve been focusing on only one part of the problem. Insomnia is complex. We address all the key factors—sleep drive, sleep anxiety, ingrained habits, and more. Sometimes, we have clients who have done another version of CBTI to fix their insomnia and sleep problems, and find that it hasn’t worked. In our experience this comes down to a lack of personalisation and sustainability – these things are key.
No. We offer online sessions for clients worldwide, making it easy to fit into your life.

Start Your Sleep Retraining Today
Book a session, explore our programs, and take back control of your sleep. This isn’t just about getting better sleep—it’s about rebuilding a sleep system that works for you, for life.