Today I want to talk about something that became very personal to me in the last year: insomnia — and what really works for its treatment.
For years as a primary care doctor, I heard patients say, “Doctor, I can’t sleep,” almost every single day.
In countless consultations, I prescribed sleep medications, discussed sleep hygiene, ordered sleep studies, and treated anxiety, depression, and pain — all the things that can disturb rest.
But last year, something changed.
I was the one who couldn’t sleep.
And I finally understood what so many of my patients had been trying to explain for years:
you can function a little bit without a perfect diet, you can skip the gym for a while…
but you cannot be happy, patient, productive, or kind when you don’t sleep.
When a doctor becomes the patient
During that period, I found myself hesitant to start medications that could cause dependence or tolerance.
As a physician, I knew they were effective — but I also knew how difficult it can be to stop them later.
So I decided to begin where I always advise my patients to start: with hygiene and lifestyle.
I cut back on caffeine, avoided screens before bed, kept a consistent bedtime, and practiced breathing and relaxation at night.
Those small changes made a difference, though not a complete one. There were still nights when my body felt tired but my mind refused to quiet down.
Starting with natural insomnia treatment
When I first began exploring insomnia treatment options, I wanted to start naturally. That’s when I began exploring gentle, natural supports — ways to help my body sleep without the risk of side effects or dependence.
It was with this combination of behavioral measures and a natural supplement called Yu Sleep that I finally started to notice steady improvement.
Night after night, my sleep became deeper and more restorative, without the need for prescription medications.
For many people, these changes are enough. For others, they aren’t — and that’s okay.
If you’ve tried everything natural and still can’t sleep, it doesn’t mean you failed.
It simply means your body needs another type of help right now, and that’s part of the process.
The sleep ladder: my clinical approach to insomnia treatment
In this article, I’ll walk you through the same step-by-step “sleep ladder” I now use in my clinical approach to insomnia treatment:
Long-term maintenance — how to keep your sleep healthy and sustainable.
Natural support — safe, non-habit-forming options that can be tried first (including Yu Sleep).
Behavioral therapy (CBT-I) — retraining your brain to sleep again through structured techniques.
Medical evaluation — identifying hidden causes like pain, apnea, or hormonal issues.
When medications are appropriate — how and when to use them responsibly.
Understanding insomnia and its treatment
Before we talk about treatments, it’s important to understand what insomnia actually is.
According to the American Academy of Sleep Medicine and UpToDate, insomnia can be:
- Acute (short-term): lasting less than three months, often triggered by stress, pain, travel, or emotional strain.
- Chronic: persisting at least three nights per week for over three months, often maintained by biological, psychological, and behavioral factors.
We also think in terms of predisposing, precipitating, and perpetuating causes:
- Predisposing: anxious personality, family history, genetics.
- Precipitating: stress, trauma, illness, loss.
- Perpetuating: poor sleep habits, excessive worry about sleep, caffeine, or late-night screens.
Understanding which factors apply to you is the foundation of treatment.
Step 1 – Start with what has no downside: natural insomnia treatment
When I went through insomnia myself, I wanted to start with something safe, non-habit-forming, and physiologically effective.
That’s when I found Yu Sleep — a natural formula designed to restore the body’s own sleep rhythm, not just induce sedation.
Unlike standard melatonin pills that simply signal “it’s bedtime,” Yu Sleep acts on multiple biological pathways:
| Yu Sleep | Regular melatonin |
|---|---|
| Combines Tart Cherry, L-Theanine, 5-HTP, Magnesium Glycinate, GABA, Apigenin, Lemon Balm, and a micro-dose of melatonin (0.9 mg) | Contains only melatonin (usually 3–5 mg) |
| Stimulates natural serotonin → melatonin conversion | Provides only external melatonin |
| Calms the nervous system, reduces cortisol and racing thoughts | May cause drowsiness without deep sleep |
| No morning grogginess | Can cause next-day fog or headaches |
| Rebuilds deep-sleep architecture | Doesn’t fix sleep structure |
Because it’s plant-based and non-hormonal, Yu Sleep has virtually no contraindications.
That’s why I now introduce it as the first step for almost every patient — a simple, risk-free start that often makes a huge difference.
👉 You can read more about Yu Sleep and see all the details directly on the
Step 2 – Identify and correct the causes
Even the best supplement won’t help if there’s something else disrupting sleep.
That’s why, in my clinic, the evaluation always includes:
- Medical issues: pain, reflux, urinary frequency, shortness of breath, thyroid imbalance.
- Medications: stimulants, antidepressants, corticosteroids, diuretics.
- Sleep disorders: sleep apnea, restless-legs syndrome, circadian rhythm problems.
- Mental health: anxiety and depression, which often perpetuate sleeplessness.
Sometimes, simply treating these factors already restores natural sleep.
Step 3 – Rebuild healthy habits (Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Insomnia)
Once major causes are addressed, the next step is to rebuild the behavioral side of sleep.
That’s where Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Insomnia (CBT-I) comes in — a structured program that retrains your brain to sleep again.
CBT-I includes:
- Stimulus control: use the bed only for sleep and intimacy; get up if you can’t sleep.
- Sleep restriction: limit time in bed to actual sleep time and increase gradually.
- Consistent schedule: fixed wake-up time every morning.
- Relaxation: breathing, mindfulness, or gentle stretching before bed.
- Sleep hygiene: avoid caffeine, alcohol, and screens close to bedtime.
When combined with Yu Sleep, the improvement tends to be faster — one calms the body, the other retrains the mind.
Step 4 – When medications are appropriate in insomnia treatment
Sometimes, even with perfect habits and natural support, insomnia becomes severe enough to impair life, work, or emotional health.
In these cases, medication is a valid and compassionate choice. The goal is never to “depend” on pills forever — but to use them responsibly while you restore balance through natural and behavioral methods.
Step 5 – Monitor, adapt, and be patient
Insomnia is not a quick fix — it’s a process.
I always remind my patients: sleep is a skill that can be retrained.
Keeping a sleep diary for two weeks, maintaining a consistent schedule, and following up regularly can make a huge difference.
For those who use medication, I review progress every few months and start tapering gradually once natural sleep returns.
And for everyone — adding movement, daylight exposure, and calming evening routines helps strengthen long-term results in any insomnia treatment plan.
Final thoughts
“Experiencing insomnia humbled me as a doctor.
I learned that treating sleep isn’t about forcing the body to rest — it’s about helping it remember how.”
If you’re reading this and struggling to sleep, know this: you’re not broken, and you haven’t failed.
There are many ways back to rest.
