Expert in Bone Health | Osteoporosis & Osteopenia Support London & Reading
Jill Wigmore-Welsh MSc HCPC FRSPH
How Sleep Better Clinic
218 Tilehurst Road, Reading RG30 2NE
(Opposite Prospect Park) Est. 1984
Call 07885467466
How to Sleep Better Clinic in Reading - CBT-I
Learning how to have a better nights sleep is a skill.
What is CBT-I ?
The root of CBT-I is a psychotherapeutic model, an extension of classic CBT which includes learning and practicing techniques to specifically help you manage your sleep anxiety.
Many people with acute and chronic insomnia also have mental health problems, anxiety, depression, recent stress caused by work or relationship problems, or a recent trauma.
CBT-I can benefit because the premise is that you can get better sleep with a calmer mind.
CBT-i for acute and chronic insomnia in available at the How to Sleep Better Clinic in person in Reading, across the UK via webcam or with appointments in a blended in person and webcam format.
NICE & NHS Guidelines
Cognitive Behavioural Therapy for Insomnia (CBT-I) is the NHS gold standard recommended treatment for insomnia and best suits those seeking a psychological approach and a planned structured format.
How is it delivered?
Depending upon the severity and duration of your insomnia, the CBT-I sleep course is delivered over a series of between 6 and 10 sessions spread over several weeks.
Each session duration may be between 60 and 90 minutes. After your assessment we will make a recommendation on the length and number of sessions we consider you will need.
What does a course of CBT-I entail?
All CBT interventions involve a course of one to one sessions and home practice in between sessions. The success of your CBT-I programme depends on you implementing the home practice between sessions.
What home practice is there?
Home practice could include keeping sleep records, journaling, making a change to the physical layout of your environment, changing what and when you eat and drink, bedtime and rising time.
Making changes will take up additional time on top of face to face meetings with your therapist.
So it’s important you choose to start a CBT-I programme when you are ready and have time to dedicate to making changes.
How much time is involved?
Getter better sleep is imperative for good short and longer term health.
Learning the art and skill of how to get good sleep can involve as little as two or three hours a week, same as reading a good book on gardening.
Whereas, learning and becoming proficient at getting good dependable sleep is a mind and practical skill, involving more time and effort. By comparison, it’s after the reading and design is done. It when the work starts, the actual physical groundwork, digging, planting the seeds, watering, nurturing and growing a healthy beautiful garden, and that takes time and ongoing attention.
Apart from time what else is involved?
Well, yes, there is change, in addition to the time you spend in person at the practice or on a web call you will need to dedicate several hours a week to skills practice and make permanent change to your lifestyle routines.
There is a structure to a CBT-I programme and a plan to follow so from day one. The aim with CBT-I is to help you become more and more aware of what you do, how your day is structured and the behaviours you can change to help you sleep better.
Do I need to change very much?
Through the course you are taught change processes, areas of change, how you can change, and what to do to create new habits.
The whole programme is geared up to help you function better, sleep deeply and easily through the night and wake feeling refreshed.
Does the face to face CBT-I programme work?
CBT-I sleep related anxiety therapy and sleep training can be effective for many many people. Many people find that one to one support is better than working alone with an App.
That’s mainly because you have accountability when you work with a therapist. You have to show up face to face and tell your therapist whether you did the work.
Here at Modern Pain Resolution you are working with a highly skilled and experience therapist and performance coach, so you will be kept acccountable.
Is there research to support CBT-I?
Yes, there is very good evidence that CBT-I can be an effective long term solution to insomnia otherwise the NHS and NIC would not recommend it.
Are there any negatives to CBT-I?
The main negative with CBT-I it that it can be quite formulaic. It has a focus on psychology (mind) and little attention to other factors, no somatic processes, no nervous system regulation work, no trauma informed practices, and no specialist processes specifically addressing neurodivergent problems, or menopause problems.
Is anything else besid CBT-I available?
Yes, at How to Sleep Better Clinic in addition to the CBT-I programme we also provide the Faster-Sleep Method. Faster Sleep is a broader holistic biopsychosocial approach.
Faster Sleep includes somatic processes, nervous system regulation work, trauma informed practices, and specialist processes specifically addressing neurodivergent problems and menopause problems.
Would you like to know how to manage your sleepless nights, how to sleep better?
Sleeping better can help you have more energy, less fatigue brain fog and improve your health. Would you like have more energy and a toolbox of techniques?
Book a free 20 minute consultation to discuss options
Frequently asked questions
How do I know what is right for me?
Before you choose to go ahead with a session, I offer a no-obligation, free 20 minute conversation. This enables me to understand your issues and aims, as well as giving you a chance to ask any questions you may have. During the call, I will ask you several questions, posed in such a way that you’ll start to dig away at the problem, breaking it down, re-assessing what you want.
Who do I work with?
People who are ready to take their health seriously, requiring support from a more experienced professional,
Hypnotherapy can help you sleep better
People with sleep problems, wanting to know how to fall asleep and sleep through the night looking for CBTi.
People with chronic pain conditions who want to learn how to manage their pain and have a better quality of life
Most of my clients are deeply interested in self-learning and want to achieve enhanced performance in their professional and personal life and aspire to live a high quality life.
Payments
The practice provides services on a self-pay basis
Where can I get help
I provide confidential consultations to individuals one to one, via webcam and home visits. My rooms practice enables people local to Reading to attend for a private consultation.
The consultation rooms are part of the principle’s residence, the atmosphere is relaxed, calm, quiet, and informal, a very different environment from a traditional UK hospital clinic.
Ongoing insomnia and sleep problems
We have a specific program to help you learn how to improve your sleep.
The Faster-Sleep Insomnia Solution program teaches you how to change your habits for good.
The program includes all the elements of CBT-i plus hypnosis, somnimoves and journaling: it’s delivered in structured way including teaching and coaching.
The course includes sleep education, the 5 cbt-i processes, coaching support, regular reviews of your somnilog, personalised recordings, relaxation scripts, and a printed 9 week diary journal.
Contact us for more information
(100% of our sleep program can be provided exclusively in the comfort of your home via webcam)
CBT-I is a specific psychological intervention for insomnia and NICE recommended, because of it’s effectiveness.
Clinical hypnotherapy is a powerful tool to help with many problems.
Somnimoves are lessons specific to sleep.
Resources
How to Sleep Better Clinic : Specialist help for Insomnia and sleep problems related to: Menopause, Neurodiversity, Persistent Pain, Post Viral Fatigue, Stress and Burnout and Trauma. Reading, London. online across the UK
SPECIALIST SLEEP DISORDERS
Specialist help for sleep problems related to:
Insomnia
Menopause
Neurodiversity
Persistent Pain
Post Viral Fatigue
Stress and Burnout
Trauma
These are some of the complex sleep disorders I work with in my specialist clinical practice. As an experienced BBC Radio expert in sleep, individuals seek me out for my track record in creating bespoke programmes that deliver the better sleep results they want.
Specialist Help for Sleep Problems
When you’re having good sleep it’s so natural you don’t think about it. Individuals book with me because they have daily sleep problems that are interfering with their everyday lives. I always offer a free 20 minutes consultation so we can meet and check if my service will meet their needs.
Some people have a long history of poor sleep, insomnia for months or years, others are experiencing a life change. They are going through menopause, have persistent pain, post-viral fatigue, increased stress, pressure at work, a relationship or business concern. Often a life event can create a severe emotional, psychological or physical response, causing night time waking, and inability to get back to sleep, waking in the morning feeling exhausted.
Trauma from a deeply distressing event can overwhelm our ability to cope. The trauma has at root cause an experience threatening safety, an accident, emotional or physical abuse, a threat associated with employment or relationship. Trauma severely disrupts sleep through causing all nervous system activation, anxiety, and fear leading to insomnia, nightmares, and flashbacks.
Evidence shows that up to 80% of individuals with neurodivergent traits, autism and ADHD experience chronic sleep difficulties. There are a range of reasons, including difficulties with relaxing or winding down which can be driven by sensory sensitivities, high anxiety, executive functioning challenges, or atypical melatonin production.
When individuals have sleep problems it causes anxiety due to being unable to fall asleep. Quite quickly an exhausting cycle emerges lying awake for hours at night, woken most nights by a mind they can’t switch off — a mind racing with thoughts. The more they think, the more they can’t get back to sleep. They wake up too early to start the day and stay in bed, hoping to fall back to sleep, but can’t drop back off again.
Most report they are having less than 6 hours sleep a night, some hardly any sleep at all. Often they say their sleep feels light, unsatisfying, they never sleep deeply and dream, they spend the night drifting in and out of sleep, tossing and turning and waking up frequently.
Health problems, illness, injury, chronic health conditions can interfere with comfort, causing discomfort all night and poor disrupted sleep. Sleep impaired by pain can cause the pain to persist/ Problems caused by hormone change in menopause can create wakefulness. Even after enough time in bed, with some sleep, a patterns develops of waking up feeling exhausted every day. Many individuals tell me they cant remember the last time they had “a really good nights sleep”.
They have constant fatigue despite knowing they had some sleep. They still feel tired when they wake up. They are tired and irritable during the day. They have no energy, brain fog from poor sleep, are unable to concentrate due to lack of sleep, have poor memory from bad sleep, feel irritable from lack of sleep, and notice a growing anxiety and frustration because they’re tired every day.
Longer stretches of bad sleep can have a negative impact on physical and emotional health and wellbeing. Evidence shows that chronic sleep problems are strongly linked to serious health issues, including heart disease, type 2 diabetes, obesity, depression, and weakened immune function, this impacts healthspan and longevity.
Effective treatments often include addressing the root cause, cognitive behavioural therapy (CBTi), lifestyle change, behaviour change, sleep hygiene, improved sleep habits. My toolbox is full of tools, methods and techniques we can use to help you improve your sleep holistically.
Details about some of the specialist sleep problems
Specialist help for Insomnia and sleep problems related to Menopause, Neurodiversity, Persistent Pain, Post Viral Fatigue, Stress and Trauma. BBC Radio sleep expert, highly experienced HCPC registered trauma informed professional qualified in many evidence supported holistic modalities including CBTi (full program), Hypnotherapy, Mind-Body trauma treatment and creator of the Faster – Sleep Method.
Insomnia
Chronic insomnia is defined as persistent difficulty falling asleep, staying asleep, or waking too early, occurring at least three nights per week for three months or more, and associated with daytime effects such as fatigue, reduced concentration, or low mood. (1)
Effect
Insomnia often becomes self-reinforcing. Ongoing poor sleep increases fatigue, cognitive impairment, and emotional reactivity, which heightens anxiety about sleep and reduces confidence in the ability to rest. This leads to conditioned arousal at bedtime, irregular sleep patterns, and behaviours that unintentionally maintain the problem, creating a persistent cycle of disrupted sleep and daytime impairment. (2)
Management
Effective management of insomnia focuses on restoring consistent, restorative sleep and improving daytime function. This includes stabilising sleep–wake patterns, reducing night-time arousal, and supporting the ability to settle and return to sleep. Improving sleep quality and continuity enhances cognitive function, emotional regulation, and resilience, enabling individuals to function more effectively during the day and maintain long-term sleep stability.(4,5,6.7)
Menopause
Menopause commonly disrupts sleep through hormonal changes, particularly declining oestrogen and progesterone, which affect thermoregulation and sleep stability. This can lead to night sweats, frequent waking, lighter sleep, and increased vulnerability to insomnia and fragmented sleep patterns. (8)
Effect
Menopause-related sleep disturbance can become self-reinforcing. Hormonal changes disrupt sleep stability and thermoregulation, leading to frequent waking and non-restorative sleep. Poor sleep then exacerbates cognitive, emotional, and physical symptoms, further impairing sleep quality. Emerging evidence also links menopause to changes in brain structure, including reduced grey matter, alongside increased anxiety, low mood, and sleep disturbance, reinforcing a cycle of disrupted sleep and daytime impact. (9,10,11)
Management
Management of menopause-related sleep disturbance focuses on restoring more stable, restorative sleep and improving day-to-day function. Hormonal changes can disrupt sleep continuity, temperature regulation, and overall sleep quality. Improving sleep supports mood, cognitive function, and emotional stability. The aim is to reduce night-time waking, improve sleep consistency, and support a more balanced, sustainable pattern of living, enabling greater independence and overall wellbeing.(12.13.14.15)
Neurodiversity
Neurodivergent traits in adults, particularly ADHD and autism, are associated with delayed sleep timing, heightened sensory sensitivity, and difficulty switching off at night. Many experience problems settling, frequent waking, and irregular sleep patterns, contributing to persistent sleep disruption, daytime fatigue, and reduced sleep quality.(16,17,18,19,20)
Effects
In neurodivergent adults, ongoing poor or irregular sleep can significantly impair regulation, cognitive function, and day-to-day stability. Sleep disruption amplifies attentional variability, emotional reactivity, and sensory sensitivity, increasing overwhelm and reducing resilience. Executive functioning becomes less reliable, affecting planning, memory, and consistency. Over time, these changes further destabilise routines and regulation, contributing to a reinforcing cycle in which reduced daytime capacity increases difficulty settling and maintaining sleep.(21,22,23)
Management
Management of sleep difficulties in neurodivergent adults focuses on improving the ability to settle, sustain sleep, and function consistently during the day. Differences in sensory processing, arousal, and interoception can affect how sleep is experienced and regulated. Supporting recognition of internal states and the ability to shift into rest is central. Improving sleep quality and consistency enhances emotional regulation, cognitive function, and stability, enabling more predictable routines and greater independence in daily life. (24,25,26,27)
Persistent Pain
Persistent pain is strongly associated with disrupted sleep, as ongoing nociceptive input and heightened nervous system arousal interfere with the ability to fall asleep and maintain deep, restorative sleep. Individuals commonly experience frequent waking, lighter sleep, and reduced sleep quality. (28,29,20)
Effects
In persistent pain, disrupted sleep can significantly worsen pain experience and recovery. Poor sleep increases pain sensitivity and reduces pain thresholds, while also amplifying central sensitisation within the nervous system. From a pain neuroscience perspective, a system primed to detect threat remains in a state of heightened vigilance, making both rest and recovery more difficult. Fatigue, low mood, and reduced cognitive capacity further impair coping, reinforcing a cycle in which poor sleep intensifies pain and ongoing pain continues to disrupt sleep.(31, 32, 33)
Management
Management of the impact of poor sleep on persistent pain focuses on reducing night-time arousal, improving comfort, and restoring a sense of safety. Anticipation and fear can heighten sensitivity and make it harder to settle or return to sleep. Improving the ability to rest more easily at night supports better sleep continuity, reduces pain amplification, and enhances daytime function, helping to break the reinforcing cycle between disrupted sleep and ongoing pain.(34,35,36,37)
Post Viral Fatigue
Post-viral fatigue, including Long Covid and ME/CFS, is commonly associated with disrupted sleep. Individuals often experience unrefreshing sleep, altered sleep architecture, and difficulty maintaining restorative rest, alongside circadian disruption and heightened physiological stress responses that impair recovery. (38,39,40)
Effects
In post-viral fatigue, including Long Covid and ME/CFS, disrupted or non-restorative sleep can significantly impair recovery. Poor sleep affects immune regulation, energy production, and autonomic stability, prolonging fatigue and symptom fluctuation. Even extended sleep may not restore function. Reduced sleep quality is associated with slower recovery and reduced resilience, reinforcing a cycle in which impaired healing further disrupts sleep and overall health.(41,42,43)
Management
Management of sleep problems in post-viral fatigue, including Long Covid and ME/CFS, focuses on improving sleep quality, stabilising energy, and supporting more consistent day-to-day function. Disrupted or unrefreshing sleep can increase fatigue and delay recovery. Improving sleep continuity and overall regulation supports more stable energy, reduces symptom fluctuation, and enables greater engagement in daily life. This contributes to a more sustainable pattern of recovery and increased independence over time. (44,45,46)
Stress and Burnout
Stress and burnout significantly impact sleep by increasing physiological arousal and activating the body’s stress response, making it harder to fall asleep and stay asleep. Prolonged stress and burnout are associated with fragmented sleep, reduced sleep quality, and difficulty achieving restorative rest.(47,48,49,50)
Effects
In stress and burnout, sleep disruption significantly impairs the ability to cope with sustained high levels of pressure. Poor or fragmented sleep increases physiological arousal, reduces emotional regulation, and impairs cognitive performance. This lowers resilience, making work demands feel more overwhelming and harder to manage. Over time, this contributes to sustained stress activation and burnout, reinforcing a cycle in which reduced capacity during the day further disrupts sleep and prolongs recovery.(51,52,53)
Management
Management of sleep problems associated with stress and burnout focuses on restoring balance between the demands placed on the individual and their capacity to manage them. Poor sleep reduces resilience, impairs judgement, and increases emotional reactivity, making everyday pressures harder to manage. Improving sleep quality and recovery supports clearer thinking, greater stability, and increased capacity, enabling more consistent engagement in daily life and a more sustainable, independent way of living.(54,55,56)
Trauma
Physical and emotional trauma are rarely separate in their impact on sleep; they interact continuously. Physical injury — from fractures, burns, limb loss or brain injury to more subtle damage — brings pain, disruption, and often a profound loss of control. That experience can sensitise the nervous system and trigger earlier adverse experiences. Emotional trauma, including PTSD, sustains heightened arousal and threat responses. The impact of trauma on the brain, nervous system and wider physiological systems — including sleep — is often underestimated, with these overlapping processes preventing deep, restorative rest and impairing recovery.(57,58,59)
Effects
In physical and emotional trauma, poor or disrupted sleep can significantly impair recovery. Sleep is critical for tissue repair, bone healing, and neurological recovery following injury. Inadequate or fragmented sleep can slow healing, increase pain sensitivity, and impair cognitive function. At the same time, the psychological impact of trauma — including shock, distress, and loss of control — can reduce the ability to engage with rehabilitation and recovery processes. Together, these effects reinforce a cycle in which poor sleep delays healing and recovery, while ongoing symptoms continue to disrupt sleep.(61, 62, 63)
Management
Management of sleep problems associated with trauma focuses on restoring a sense of safety, predictability, and control. Disrupted sleep is often linked to ongoing arousal and difficulty settling at night. Improving sleep quality supports emotional stability, clearer thinking, and reduced reactivity. As stability increases, individuals are better able to engage with daily life, rebuild confidence, and regain independence, supporting a more sustainable and manageable pattern of recovery.(64,65,66)
⚠ Any exercise or physical activity undertaken without prior consultation with a qualified healthcare professional is done at your own risk. The information provided is for general guidance only and does not constitute medical advice. We recommend that you consult a physiotherapist before starting any new exercise or activity and book a consultation to arrange an individualised programme tailored to you.
Sleep Health and Recovery Plans
Sleep should sit at the foundation of your recovery and longevity plan because it is not passive downtime. Sleep is an active, biologically driven process that restores structure, function, and resilience across the whole system.
Whether you’re recovering after physical injury, emotional trauma, managing long-term conditions, or aiming to age well, consistent, high-quality sleep provides the conditions in which the body can repair, regulate, and adapt.
Here is why sleep is imperative for health, performance, and longevity:
1. Physical Repair and System Regulation
Tissue Repair & Regeneration: Deep sleep (non-REM), supports the release of growth hormone, driving cellular repair, muscle recovery, and tissue renewal.
Immune Function: Sleep strengthens immune defence by supporting cytokine activity, helping the body respond to infection, inflammation, and stress.
Metabolic Balance: Poor sleep disrupts glucose control, appetite hormones, and energy regulation, increasing long-term disease risk.
Cardiovascular Health: Adequate sleep supports blood pressure regulation and reduces strain on your heart and vascular system.
2. Cognitive and Neurological Restoration
Memory & Learning: Sleep consolidates learning, embedding new information and refining neural pathways.
Brain Clearance: The brain’s glymphatic system removes metabolic waste during sleep, supporting long-term neurological health.
Cognitive Performance: Attention, problem-solving, and decision-making all depend on sufficient restorative sleep.
3. Emotional Stability and Longevity
Emotional Regulation: Sleep stabilises mood by regulating stress hormones, reducing anxiety and reactivity.
Resilience & Adaptation: Well-rested individuals cope better with physical and psychological stressors.
Longevity: Consistently good sleep is linked to reduced chronic disease risk and improved healthspan—the ability to live well, with function and independence, for longer.
RETURN TO NORMAL LIFE
If you’re having problems with your sleep at the How to Sleep Better Clinic we provide specialist help for insomnia and sleep problems related to: Menopause, Neurodiversity, Persistent Pain, Post Viral Fatigue, Stress and Burnout and Trauma.
Reading, London. online across the UK
Send A Message
Contact me to discuss your needs.
I offer a free twenty minute pre-booked conversation, a straightforward, unhurried conversation about where you are, what you have already tried, and what a personalised programme could realistically offer you. You will leave knowing the option I recommend, what is possible, costs and a clear sense of whether this feels like the right fit.
Complex, longstanding and second opinion cases are always particularly welcome.
Over four decades of clinical practice, some of the most significant recoveries have come from people who had almost given up, were not sure a meaningful path forward existed — including cases where the complexity was such that limb loss had been a genuine consideration. Many made a full recovery back to the goals they set.
The clinical experience to hold that level of complexity, and the way to find a pathway through it, is very much part of what is available here. Clinics in London and Reading, online and house calls across the UK.
If you are ready — or simply want to understand what might be possible for you — please do get in touch.