The scarcity of behavioral sleep specialists and the exponentially increasing demands for cognitive and behavioral therapy have led to a huge demand that cannot be met along with a surge in digital platforms offering such services DrLullaby provides an integrated set of digital and telehealth solutions for such sleep issues allowing physicians and healthcare practitioners to focus their efforts and time on all other aspects of sleep medicine. In my experience, the referral process is simple and seamless, and patient satisfaction has been the rule.

In our practice, I frequently see insomnia as a comorbid condition with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). With these patients, the successful treatment of their OSA and sleep issues cannot be achieved without the insomnia being addressed.

I have been in, exclusively sleep medicine, practice for over 20 years and have learned the immense value of cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia (CBT-I). Since April of 2020 and with increasing pandemic related stress the referrals for insomnia to my clinic have exponentially increased. My psychologist colleague has been booking several months out.

As an general internal medicine physician, I see many patients with insomnia. These patients range from healthy, young people whose sleep issues are their significant medical problem to older or chronically ill patients whose sleep disturbances worsen their underlying diseases, complicate disease management, and negatively affect their overall wellness.

Non-pharmacological management of chronic insomnia through cognitive behavioral therapy has empowered many of my patients to take better control of their sleep, without having to rely on hypnotic medications or unproven over- the- counter substances. Moreover, by managing chronic insomnia in patients with sleep apnea, CPAP usage improves.

As a dedicated sleep physician at the University of Chicago, I see a wide variety of sleep disorders from sleep apnea, narcolepsy as well as disrupted sleep and insomnia. Unfortunately, in these challenging times with the day-to-day stress of life, as well as living in times of a global pandemic, the number of people with insomnia has also been on the rise. In addition, there has been a sharp increase in the number of prescriptions for sleeping medications. However, sleeping pills can also cause issues with dependence, and eventual habituation – where the medication simply stops working as well as it had. Luckily, I have access to refer to one of the strongest treatments – cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia (CBT-I).

I have several patients who I have referred over the years that were able to discontinue sleep medications after completing CBT-I with Dr. Medalie. They all reflected that the program changed their life and allowed them to manage their anxiety and insomnia more effectively.