Sleep Disorder Treatment

Quality sleep is fundamental to mental and physical health. Yet millions struggle with insomnia, circadian rhythm disorders, and other sleep problems that leave them exhausted, impaired, and desperate for relief. Poor sleep worsens virtually every other condition—depression, anxiety, pain, addiction—while good sleep supports recovery from all of them.

Many turn to sleeping pills for relief, but these medications often create more problems than they solve. They don't produce natural, restorative sleep, and they carry risks of dependence and cognitive impairment. There's a better way.

At Eden Vale, our sleep program offers evidence-based treatment that restores natural sleep. CBT-I (Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Insomnia) is more effective than sleeping pills long-term, without the side effects. Combined with our Algarve setting's natural light and peaceful environment, we create optimal conditions for sleep restoration.

Our program addresses various sleep problems: Insomnia: Difficulty falling asleep, staying asleep, or waking too early. May be short-term or chronic, primary or secondary to other conditions. This is our most common presentation. Circadian Rhythm Disorders: When your internal clock is misaligned with desired sleep times. Delayed sleep phase (night owl extreme), advanced sleep phase, irregular patterns, or jet lag/shift work disorders. Sleeping Pill Dependence: When you can't sleep without medication and want to break free. We safely taper medications while building natural sleep ability. Sleep problems secondary to other conditions: Depression, anxiety, PTSD, chronic pain, and substance use all affect sleep. We treat the underlying condition while also directly addressing sleep. Sleep Apnea: While we can't diagnose sleep apnea in our setting, we can identify suspected cases and coordinate evaluation. If you have untreated apnea, addressing it is essential. Hypersomnia: Excessive sleepiness despite adequate sleep time may indicate underlying issues we can help evaluate.

One of the cruelest aspects of insomnia is that trying harder to sleep makes it worse: The more you worry about sleep, the more aroused your brain becomes, the less likely you are to sleep. The bedroom becomes associated with frustration rather than rest. You lie awake calculating how many hours until you need to wake up, becoming increasingly distressed. Sleep is not something you do—it's something that happens when conditions are right. Like trying to force yourself to relax, forcing sleep backfires. CBT-I helps you stop trying so hard. Techniques include: • Sleep restriction: Limiting time in bed builds sleep pressure so you fall asleep quickly • Stimulus control: Rebuilding the bed-sleep association by only being in bed when sleepy • Cognitive restructuring: Challenging catastrophic beliefs about poor sleep • Paradoxical intention: Trying to stay awake instead of trying to sleep These counterintuitive approaches break the vicious cycle of insomnia and effort.