Dr. Irshaad Ebrahim discusses the use of cognitive behavioral therapy and the SleepCogni to treat insomnia with News Medical.

Please can you give a brief introduction to SleepCogni – what exactly is it and how does the device work?

The SleepCogni is a device that measures physiology and provides a feedback loop to assist people who have Sleep Initiating Difficulties (Insomnia).

It utilizes two essential elements of CBT – Stimulus Control and Relaxation Training by using a feedback loop using audio, visual and tactile stimuli in reaction to physiological responses – in other words it helps you to gradually relax and induce sleep by providing you the feedback-stimulus loop that assists with sleep onset.

Can you explain how SleepCogni integrates CBT with physiological measures?

Hyperarousal (or increased activation of the Sympathetic (Adrenalin) Nervous System is one element involved in preventing sleep onset – the SleepCogni provides audio, visual and tactile cues that is dependent on heart rate (a direct indicator of Sympathetic stimulation) and then adjusts the rate and tone of the non-stimulating/non-melatonin suppressing light flashing to help you to relax (i.e. reduce sympathetic stimulation) – so it is a mix of stimulus control, relaxation and in a way self-hypnosis

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