Insomnia · Los Angeles
Asleep at 11. Awake at 3. Watching the clock.
Insomnia therapy for older adults across Los Angeles — CBT-I (the gold-standard, non-medication treatment for chronic insomnia). Short course, evidence-based, Medicare accepted. Telehealth statewide, Pasadena office.
What this can feel like
Most people don't say "I have insomnia." They say something like this.
"I fall asleep fine — and then I'm up."
Out at 11. Awake at 3. The room dark. The mind already cleaning the kitchen. Three more hours until anyone is awake to talk to.
"I check the clock every twenty minutes."
You know you shouldn't. You do anyway. Each number colder than the one before. The math of how little sleep you'll get.
"I dread bedtime."
The bed used to be a soft place. Now it's a place where the night doesn't go right. You stay up later than you should to delay the moment.
"I take something to sleep."
The pill works less than it used to. The dose creeps up. You worry about taking it. You worry about not taking it.
"I'm useless until 11am."
The day starts late, then collapses early. The afternoon nap that helps with today is the same one that wrecks tomorrow.
"Everyone says it's just aging."
It isn't. Sleep changes with age. Insomnia is something else. There's a difference, and there's a treatment for one of them.
How therapy can help
CBT-I is the first-line treatment for chronic insomnia — usually a short course.
Cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia (CBT-I) is the most-studied non-medication treatment for chronic insomnia, and it has stronger long-term evidence than sleeping pills. Major medical organizations recommend it as the first-line approach. Most people see meaningful change in 4–8 sessions.
The work is practical. We use a sleep diary for a few weeks to see what's actually happening. We re-anchor your sleep window so the bed becomes a reliable place again. We work with the 3am mind so the loop has somewhere quieter to go. We don't ask you to stop your medication — that's between you and your prescriber. We help you build the skills underneath.
Telehealth works very well for CBT-I; you don't need to come in. If you'd like to be seen in person, we have a Pasadena office.
Read more about CBT for older adults, or about behavioral activation when fatigue and low mood are tangled with sleep.
"I'd been awake at 3am for fourteen years. Six sessions in, I had four nights in a row I slept through. I cried in the kitchen the next morning."
A specific moment
It's the clock at 3:14.
Insomnia in older adulthood often shows up at one specific number on the clock. Sometimes it's 2:47. Sometimes it's 3:14. You go to bed at a normal time, you fall asleep without much trouble, and then you wake up at the wrong hour and stay up. The mind starts. The math starts: "If I fall asleep right now, I can still get four hours." The clock keeps going. The math gets worse.
If that's been your hour for months or years, it isn't aging. It's chronic insomnia, and it has a specific treatment that works in a few weeks.
Common questions
Quick answers about insomnia therapy.
What is CBT-I and does it work?
CBT-I is cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia. It is the first-line treatment recommended by major medical organizations, with stronger long-term evidence than sleeping medications. Most people see meaningful improvement in 4–8 sessions.
Will I have to give up my sleeping pills?
Not on day one. We don't make medication changes — that's between you and your prescriber. What we do is help you build the underlying skills, and many clients work with their doctor to taper down later, on their own timeline.
Why do I wake up at 3 and stay up?
Middle-of-the-night wakings are extremely common in older adulthood. The fix usually isn't more time in bed — it's a tighter, more reliable sleep window, plus what to do with your mind once it starts running. CBT-I targets exactly this.
Do I have to track my sleep?
For about 4 weeks, yes — a simple sleep diary, paper or app, your choice. It's how we see the actual pattern instead of guessing. Most people find it less annoying than they feared.
Does Medicare cover CBT-I?
Yes. Medicare Part B covers outpatient psychotherapy with licensed clinicians, including CBT for insomnia. Medicare Advantage plans typically cover it as well. Call (626) 354-6440 and we'll verify your benefits.
Related
Things that often travel alongside.
Anxiety in older adults
Anxiety and sleep are tangled. Treating one usually loosens the other.
Late-life depression
Sleep changes are often the first sign — and treating insomnia often lifts mood considerably.
Chronic illness adjustment
Pain and medical worry often live in the night. We can work with that, too.
You don't have to keep watching the clock.
Most people who come in for insomnia start to see real change in the first month — and most of them are surprised by how short the course is.