As many of us know, the Internet can often contribute towards our lack of sleep—but thanks to some innovative and cheap new courses, it can also provide a cure.
We’ve all had those nights: lying in bed as the digital clock glows in the dark, flashing 3:59, then the dreaded 4 AM. Perhaps you have a partner dozing blissfully beside you, or a dog curled up cozily at the foot of your bed. While you’d love nothing more than to join them in Dreamland, you’ve been counting sheep for hours, and even they’ve decided to slip off to sleep without you.
Insomnia is an all-too-common problem, and for some people, it can take a heavy toll on quality of life. For people who experience insomnia frequently, it’s tough to find a cure that works. A hot bath, a warm glass of milk—all the usual tips turn out to be failures. In many cases, a consultation with a sleep doctor can provide much-needed advice, but these appointments can be expensive and hard to come by. So instead, several sleep researchers have worked to create anti-insomnia computer courses, which can provide relief for sleepless nights for as little as $25 a course.
“We’re trying to provide the service to as many people as we can,” Dr. Richard Bedrosian told BBC News. “You can offer these things to millions of people almost as easily as you can offer them to dozens of people.”
Insomnia specialist Gregg Jacobs of the University of Massachusetts Medical School, who has also designed an online course, says that the digital experience has much in common with a live consultation. “I basically took the treatment programme that we delivered in a face-to-face format and turned it into an online format,” he said. Some of the insomnia-treating tips in the programs include setting a pre-bed routine, not focusing on sleep, and getting up again if you’re unable to fall asleep after 20 minutes. These and other tips have been proven to work with real-life patients, and should prove just as effective with the virtual variety.
As many of us know, the Internet can often contribute towards our lack of sleep—so isn’t it nice to know that it could provide a cure, too?