The original edition of Overcoming Insomnia in 2006 was one of the first self-help books to draw exclusively on evidence-based techniques from cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) and to use research evidence from the sleep lab, ensuring that the advice given met the highest standards of scientific and clinical scrutiny. It forms part of the bestselling Overcoming series from Robinson (part of Little, Brown Book Group) and has helped tens of thousands of readers with their sleep difficulties and has been popular with therapists and primary care givers. It was included on the first recommended reading list for Reading Well, a scheme organised by the Reading Agency that provides a carefully curated list of therapeutic books in every library across England and Wales for a variety of mental health and physical problems.
The long-awaited and thoroughly revised and updated second edition forms a complete CBT treatment guide, using strategies that will help the reader to overcome common sleep problems, including persistent insomnia, and to enjoy their life again. While prescribed medications and over-the-counter remedies rarely offer lasting benefits, the CBT-based tools in the book help the reader to develop good bedtime regimes, sleeping and waking patterns, and deal with common problems like a racing mind, or an inability to relax.
Colin Espie is Professor of Sleep Medicine in the Nuffield Department of Clinical Neuroscience and a Fellow of Somerville College. He is Research Director of the Experimental and Clinical Sleep Medicine program within the Sleep & Circadian Neuroscience Institute, and Clinical Director of the Oxford Online Program in Sleep Medicine. Dr Espie has authored/co-authored over 200 publications and books, particularly on CBT, and is co-founder of Big Health (Sleepio) which develops digital interventions for insomnia.