Dr. Freeman's Blog Posts

Peaceful bedroom with warm morning light and mountain views, representing natural sleep improvement through CBT-I without medication

Can CBT-I Help You Sleep Without Medication?

Can CBT-I Help You Sleep Without Medication? By Dr. Charles R. Freeman, Ph.D. Yes, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Insomnia, or CBT-I, can help many people sleep with less reliance on medication. CBT-I teaches the brain and body how to return to natural sleep by changing the thoughts, behaviors, habits, and

October 2, 2025

Middle-aged woman sleeping peacefully as a result of therapy for sleep without medication

Can Therapy Help You Sleep Without Medication?

Can Therapy Help You Sleep Without Medication? By Dr. Charles R. Freeman, Ph.D. Yes, therapy can help many people sleep without relying solely on medication, especially when insomnia is being driven by anxiety, trauma, stress, pain, rumination, sleep fear, or learned patterns of nighttime alertness. Medication may provide short-term relief,

August 22, 2025

Dr. Freeman's Articles on Sleep, Trauma, and Behavioral Medicine

Why Do I Miss My Sleepy Window and Then Feel Wide Awake?

Sleeping Pills Stop Working: Why It Happens

Can Health Anxiety Cause Insomnia?

Why Insomnia Patients Become Obsessed With Fixing Sleep

Why Childhood Criticism Can Affect Adult Sleep

Why Successful Professionals Develop Severe Insomnia

How Cognitive Distortions Can Keep You Awake at Night

Can Perfectionism Cause Insomnia?

When Insomnia Is Not Really About Sleep

Can Anxiety Cause Chronic Insomnia?

Sleep Hypnosis vs CBT-I: What’s the Difference?

Cognitive Distortions: How Unhelpful Thinking Affects Sleep, Anxiety, PTSD, and Recovery

Can Sleep Hypnosis Help Insomnia?

Why Trauma Affects Sleep for Years

What Is Sleep Hypnosis?

EMDR for Trauma-Related Problems

EMDR and PTSD Recovery

Why Does My Mind Race at Night?

What to Expect During EMDR Therapy: Before, During, and After a Session

How EMDR Works

Sleep Anxiety and Insomnia: Why Fear of Not Sleeping Keeps You Awake

Why You Can’t Sleep Even When You’re Exhausted

Can Gut Health Affect Anxiety, Inflammation, and Sleep?

ADHD and Sleep: Why Children Have Sleep Problems and Bedtime Battles

Eleven Best Foods That Help You Sleep

What Is EMDR Therapy?

Can EMDR Help Reduce Nightmares?

Foods That Help You Sleep: What to Eat Before Bed

What Is Sleep Coaching and Can It Help You Sleep Better?

Why Can’t I Sleep When It’s Hot?

When Should You Seek Help for Insomnia?

Why Can’t I Put My Phone Down at Night?

Why Insomnia Often Becomes a Habit

Paradoxical Insomnia (Sleep State Misperception): Symptoms, Causes, and Treatment

How CBT-I Treats Chronic Insomnia

Why Sleeping Pills Sometimes Stop Working

Finding a Sleep Therapist in San Diego

What Is CBT-I? A Complete Guide to Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Insomnia

Why Do I Wake Up at 3 A.M. Every Night?

Why Can’t I Fall Asleep at Night? Causes and Remedies That Work