Condition · Texas
Insomnia Treatment in Texas
Chronic insomnia is difficulty falling asleep, staying asleep, or waking too early at least three nights a week for three months or more, with daytime consequences. The first-line treatment is CBT for insomnia, not medication.
Clinically reviewed by Dr. Akinwande Akintola, MD · Last reviewed July 2026 · Next review January 2027
Understanding insomnia
Chronic insomnia is maintained by what we do about it. Extra time in bed, daytime napping, clock watching, and trying harder to sleep all weaken the association between bed and sleep, which is why the problem outlasts whatever started it.
CBT for insomnia targets those maintaining factors directly through sleep restriction, stimulus control, and cognitive work. It outperforms medication over the long term and its gains persist after treatment ends.
Sleep medication has a defined and limited role. Tolerance, next-day impairment, and rebound insomnia on withdrawal are real, so long-term sedative use is reviewed rather than renewed automatically.
Symptoms and when to seek an evaluation
- Taking a long time to fall asleep despite feeling tired
- Waking repeatedly during the night
- Waking far too early and being unable to return to sleep
- Daytime fatigue, poor concentration, and irritability
- Anxiety about sleep that begins hours before bed
- Sleep that has been disturbed for three months or more
Seek an evaluation when these symptoms have lasted for weeks, are getting worse, or are affecting your work, sleep, or relationships. If you are thinking about harming yourself, call or text 988 now.
What your first visit involves
- Sleep diary data on timing, latency, awakenings, and total sleep
- Screening for apnoea, restless legs, and circadian disorders needing different care
- Mental health screening for depression, anxiety, and PTSD
- Review of caffeine, alcohol, screens, shift work, and current sleep medication
First appointments run longer than follow-ups so there is time to take a full history. You leave with a working diagnosis, a plan, and a follow-up date rather than a prescription and no explanation.
Therapy, psychiatry, and combined care
- CBT for insomnia: sleep restriction, stimulus control, and cognitive work
- Consistent wake time as the anchor of the schedule
- Treatment of co-occurring depression, anxiety, or PTSD
- Structured, gradual reduction of long-term sedative medication where appropriate
- Short-term medication only in specific, time-limited circumstances
Therapy and psychiatry are delivered in-house by clinicians licensed in Texas and share one chart, so a prescriber and a therapist working with you are looking at the same notes. Many people do best with both.
What we do not treat here
- Lyte does not perform sleep studies or diagnose sleep apnoea
- We do not provide indefinite prescriptions for hypnotics
- Restless legs syndrome and narcolepsy are managed by sleep medicine or neurology
Care options at Lyte
Clinicians who provide this care
Insurance and cost
Lyte is in network with several Texas plans, and coverage depends on your specific plan and benefits. We verify your benefits before the first visit so you know your expected cost in advance. See which plans we accept.
Frequently asked questions
Why not just prescribe sleeping tablets?
Because CBT for insomnia works better over the long term and its benefits persist after treatment ends, while hypnotics carry tolerance, next-day impairment, and rebound insomnia. Medication has a limited, time-limited role.
What does CBT-I involve?
Usually four to eight sessions covering sleep restriction to rebuild sleep pressure, stimulus control to re-associate bed with sleep, and work on the thoughts that keep you awake. Sleep often gets briefly worse before it improves.
I have been on a sleep medication for years. Can I stop?
Often yes, with a planned, gradual reduction alongside CBT-I. Stopping abruptly usually causes rebound insomnia and is not recommended.
How long before it improves?
Most people see meaningful change within two to four weeks of consistent CBT-I practice, with continued gains afterwards.
Sources
Related conditions
- Sleep Disorders: other sleep problemsApnoea, circadian, and movement disorders need different treatment and different specialists.
- Anxiety: anxiety keeping you awakePre-sleep worry is one of the most common maintaining factors in insomnia.
- Depression: sleep changes in depressionInsomnia both predicts and results from depression, and treating it improves outcomes.
- PTSD: nightmares disrupting sleepTrauma-related nightmares require trauma-specific rather than general insomnia treatment.
- Chronic Pain & Mental Health: sleep broken by painPain and insomnia amplify each other, and sleep is often the more modifiable target.
This page is for general education and is not medical advice or a substitute for care from your own clinician. If you are in crisis, call or text 988 (the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline), and for a medical emergency call 911.
Book an insomnia assessment and start CBT-I
Lyte Psychiatry sees patients by secure telehealth across Texas and in person at our Pantego clinic in the Dallas–Fort Worth area.
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