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Having trouble getting catching those much needed Z's every night? You're not alone. More than 70-million Americans deal with some form of insomnia. Now there's a new website that may help you sleep more soundly.
Sallee Dancer, Northborough MA: "My problem's more I can fall asleep and then I wake up in the night and have trouble falling back to sleep."
So Sallee Dancer would lie in bed, tossing and turning .
Sallee Dancer: "It's like oh my gosh, I've been awake now for two hours and I'm going to feel terrible the next day. Then I would worry even more and be even less likely to fall back to sleep."
Finally Sallee found a way to conquer insomnia, an online program created by Doctor Gregg Jacobs of Harvard Medical School.
Dr. Gregg Jacobs, Harvard Medical School: "A patient uses the website in many ways similar to how a patient would interact with a therapist.
It's a six-week program. There's one treatment session per week.
Sallee Dancer: "It taught me that my negative thoughts about sleeping and getting to sleep were preventing me from sleeping,"
Here's how it works. The patient keeps a sleep diary and answers a series of questions such as how long it took you to fall asleep, and how many times you woke up during the night.
Dr. Jacobs: "The computer analyzes and provides individual feedback to the patient based on the diary, then the program assess how well they are implementing those techniques, recognizes when they're not, provides suggestions for improvement and also tracks their progress."
And after finishing the program, Sallee's getting a better night's sleep.
Sallee Dancer: "Now I can fall back to sleep within half an hour, and I'm not waking up as much."
Doctor Jacobs says if patients don't see significant improvement after trying the Conquer Insomnia program, they'll be directed to their primary doctor or a sleep specialist.
