Each consultation is a private, confidential 45-minute video appointment with Dr Guy Meadows.

Rather than following a fixed programme, every session is tailored to your unique situation. Together we'll explore what is keeping your insomnia going, identify the patterns that may be maintaining it and discuss practical ways of responding differently.

After your appointment you'll receive a detailed written summary, personalised recommendations and practical exercises to begin using straight away.

There is no fixed number.

Some people gain the clarity and confidence they need from a single consultation, while others prefer ongoing support as they put the approach into practice.

During your first session we'll discuss what feels most appropriate for your circumstances, goals and previous experiences.

Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) is a modern psychological approach that helps people develop greater psychological flexibility—the ability to respond more helpfully to difficult thoughts, emotions and physical sensations.Rather than trying to eliminate uncomfortable experiences, ACT teaches you how to make space for them while continuing to move towards the life you want to live.

Applied to insomnia, ACT helps you change your relationship with sleeplessness, reducing the struggle that often keeps the brain alert and making it easier for natural sleep to return.

Yes.

Over the past two decades, a growing body of research has shown that ACT can significantly improve insomnia and reduce sleep-related anxiety. Studies have found that ACT can improve sleep quality, reduce the distress associated with sleeplessness and increase overall wellbeing.

ACT is now recognised internationally as an evidence-based treatment for chronic insomnia and is supported by an expanding body of clinical research.

Both approaches aim to help people recover from chronic insomnia, but they differ in emphasis.

Traditional CBT-I often focuses on changing sleep behaviours and reducing insomnia symptoms through techniques such as sleep restriction, stimulus control and sleep scheduling.

ACT takes a different perspective.

Rather than trying to control sleep directly, it focuses on changing your relationship with wakefulness, anxious thoughts and the fear of not sleeping. The emphasis is on reducing struggle, increasing flexibility and rebuilding trust in your body's natural ability to sleep.

Many people who come to my clinic have already tried CBT-I. While it has helped many people, others find parts of it difficult to sustain or feel that it increases their anxiety. ACT offers an alternative approach that many people find gentler, more compassionate and easier to integrate into everyday life.

Not routinely.

Unlike many traditional insomnia programmes, I do not routinely ask people to restrict their sleep, get out of bed every time they wake during the night or follow rigid sleep rules.

Instead, we focus on understanding what is maintaining the struggle and developing a more flexible, compassionate response to difficult nights.

Usually not.

Sleep diaries can sometimes be useful for understanding sleep patterns, but they can also encourage people to monitor, analyse and become preoccupied with their sleep.

For many people with chronic insomnia, reducing that hyper-focus is actually part of recovery.

Absolutely.

Many people who come to the clinic are taking sleeping medication or have relied on it for many years.

You do not need to stop your medication before beginning treatment.

If, over time, you decide that you would like to reduce or stop medication, we can discuss how to build confidence gradually alongside your GP or prescribing clinician.

Medication changes should always be supervised by the healthcare professional who prescribed them.

Yes.

Many people seek support because they would like to reduce or stop sleeping medication but feel frightened about what will happen if they do.

ACT helps by reducing the fear surrounding sleeplessness and rebuilding confidence in your ability to cope with difficult nights.

This often creates a stronger foundation for reducing medication safely, at the right pace and under medical supervision.

Yes.

Anxiety is one of the most common factors associated with chronic insomnia.

Rather than trying to eliminate anxiety, we'll explore how your mind and body respond to it and develop practical skills for responding more flexibly.

As your relationship with anxiety changes, sleep often becomes less pressured too.

Many people with insomnia also experience depression, low mood or periods of emotional exhaustion.

Sleep and mood influence one another in complex ways, so our work takes both into account.

If appropriate, I may also recommend that you seek additional support from your GP or mental health professional.

Insomnia frequently occurs alongside chronic pain, long-term health conditions, hormonal changes and other medical difficulties.

Although we may not be able to remove the physical symptoms themselves, we can often reduce the additional struggle, fear and frustration that develops around sleeplessness.

Many people find this leads to meaningful improvements in both sleep and quality of life.

Yes.

Many people describe their insomnia as feeling traumatic in itself, while others notice that their sleep difficulties began following a significant life event, illness, bereavement or other traumatic experience.

Part of our work is helping your brain gradually relearn that bedtime and wakefulness are no longer situations that require protection or high alert.

No.

Many of the people I work with have experienced insomnia for ten, twenty or even thirty years.

The length of time you've struggled does not determine whether recovery is possible.

What matters more is learning a different way of responding to sleep.

Yes.

Appointments take place online, allowing me to work with people throughout the UK and internationally.

Yes.

Whether your insomnia is recent or long-standing, learning how to respond helpfully to difficult nights can reduce the likelihood of short-term sleep problems developing into something more persistent.

The podcast is an extension of the work I do in the clinic.

It's designed to provide ongoing support, education and encouragement between sessions—or for anyone wanting to learn more about insomnia and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy.

The podcast is suitable whether you're currently receiving one-to-one support or simply looking for a compassionate, evidence-based approach to overcoming insomnia.

Core Members receive access to a growing library of resources, including:

• In-depth podcast episodes exploring insomnia and recovery.

• Notes on Sleep — short reflections on sleep, anxiety and recovery.

• Nighttime Meditations designed for difficult nights.

• Monthly Ask Dr Guy questions and answers.

• Practical ACT exercises and guided practices.

• Stories and reflections from clinical practice.

• Access to a private members' community.

New content is added regularly.

The podcast is not intended to replace individual treatment.

Instead, it provides education, guidance and practical skills that many people find extremely helpful alongside their own recovery.

For some people it provides everything they need; for others it works best as a companion to one-to-one support.

Recovery is different for everyone.

Some people notice important changes within days, while for others the process unfolds more gradually over weeks or months.

Rather than chasing a quick fix, our aim is to build lasting confidence in your ability to respond differently to difficult nights.

Ironically, when we stop treating every night as a test to pass or fail, sleep often becomes freer to return naturally.

Yes.

I've spent more than 25 years helping people who believed they had tried everything and that they were beyond help.

Again and again, I've seen people rebuild trust in their body's natural ability to sleep.

Recovery doesn't begin by trying harder to sleep.

It begins by changing your relationship with sleep.