Insomnia Symptoms and Sleep Anxiety

What insomnia looks like at night, how it affects your days, and when therapy can help.

When Trouble Sleeping Stops Feeling “Normal”

Difficulty sleeping once in a while is common. But when you’re struggling most nights, dreading bedtime, or waking up exhausted day after day, it starts to impact everything — your mood, your focus, and your confidence in your own body.

This page is here to help you understand what insomnia and sleep anxiety can look like, how they show up during the night and the day, and when specialized insomnia therapy (CBT-I) may be a good next step.

Common Nighttime Symptoms of Insomnia

Many people with insomnia notice one or more of these patterns:

Trouble falling asleep, even when you feel tired
Lying awake for long stretches in the middle of the night
Waking up multiple times and feeling “on” instead of drowsy
Waking up too early and not being able to fall back asleep
Sleep that feels light, restless, or never deep enough
Ongoing worry and frustration about sleep as bedtime gets closer
Watching the clock and doing “sleep math” in your head

You don’t need to have all of these to be struggling. Even one or two — happening often — can start to wear you down.

How Insomnia Shows Up During the Day

Insomnia is not just a nighttime problem. It also affects how you think, feel, and function during the day:

Feeling tired, drained, or wired and exhausted at the same time
More irritability, anxiety, or low mood
Difficulty focusing, concentrating, or remembering things
Feeling less patient with people you care about
Increased mistakes or feeling less sharp at work
Turning down plans or activities because you are too tired
Worrying all day about how you will sleep tonight

Over time, this cycle can start to change how you see yourself — as someone who “can’t sleep” or “can’t handle” regular life demands.

Insomnia and Sleep Anxiety Often Go Together

For many clients, insomnia is not just “trouble sleeping.” It’s also the anxiety that builds around sleep:

Dreading bedtime because you expect it to go badly
Checking your body for signs of exhaustion or “damage” from poor sleep
Googling sleep symptoms and feeling more anxious afterward
Relying on sleep rituals, apps, or supplements and panicking when they don’t work

Insomnia is the clinical term for ongoing difficulty falling asleep, staying asleep, or waking too early despite giving yourself a chance to sleep. Sleep anxiety is the worry, fear, and pressure that grows around your sleep.

Therapy focuses on both: the sleep patterns themselves and the anxious thoughts and habits that keep the cycle going.

Signs It May Be Time to Get Help for Insomnia

You do not need to wait until you “hit a wall” to reach out. Insomnia therapy may be helpful if:

You struggle with sleep at least a few nights each week
Sleep problems have lasted three months or longer
You feel anxious or tense as bedtime approaches
Sleep issues are affecting your work, mood, health, or relationships
You feel stuck cycling through tips, hacks, and quick fixes
You want to reduce sleep medication or avoid starting it if possible

If you recognize yourself in several of these, CBT-I and sleep-focused therapy can give you a structured way forward.

How CBT-I and Sleep Therapy Can Help

I use Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Insomnia (CBT-I), a structured, evidence-based treatment for chronic insomnia. It focuses on:

Resetting your sleep schedule and sleep–wake rhythms
Changing patterns that unintentionally keep insomnia going
Reducing nighttime anxiety and pressure around sleep
Helping your body relearn how to feel sleepy and safe in bed

Alongside CBT-I, we also work on the anxiety, stress, perfectionism, or high-achiever patterns that often fuel insomnia in the first place.

This is psychotherapy, not medical treatment. My focus is on behavioral and emotional patterns related to sleep rather than medical sleep disorders.

Learn About Sleep & Insomnia Therapy

When a Medical Evaluation Could Be Useful

Some sleep difficulties can be related to physical or medical conditions that outside the scope of psychotherapy. Therapists like me do not diagnose medical sleep disorders. If your sleep problems come with symptoms that might suggest a medical issue, it can be helpful to consult a physician or qualified sleep specialist.

You might consider seeking a medical evaluation if you notice things such as:

Loud, disruptive snoring or pauses in breathing during sleep
Strong or uncomfortable urge to move your legs that interferes with rest
Unusual movements or sensations at night that consistently disrupt sleep
Sudden changes in sleep or daytime functioning that don’t seem related to stress or anxiety

These kinds of patterns could be associated with conditions that a physician or sleep specialist is trained to assess. A medical provider can evaluate those possibilities and make referrals or treatment recommendations beyond the psychotherapy scope. If a medical condition is identified, you can still work with me on the emotional, behavioral, and psychological patterns that may be impacting your sleep and wellbeing.

You Don’t Have to Figure This Out Alone

Insomnia and sleep anxiety can make you feel like you have tried everything and nothing works. That does not mean you are “broken” or that your sleep can never improve. It usually means your brain is stuck in a pattern it learned very well — and needs a different kind of support to unlearn.

If you live anywhere in California and want help changing both your nights and your days, we can work on this together.

Book a Free 15-Minute Consultation