Can TMS Therapy Help Me Sleep Better?

Tossing and turning at night feels stressful and means that you don’t reap the benefits of a full night’s sleep. Your mental health, immunity to illnesses, and even your ability to concentrate may suffer when your insomnia or sleeplessness lasts for too long. As the winter nights get longer, and seasonal pressures and illnesses ramp up, your insomnia can become a significant problem for you.

If you’re experiencing more than just a restless night here and there, it’s time to seek treatment and support. What you may not realize is that treatments that stimulate your brain, such as transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) therapy, often help with insomnia.

The team of mental health providers at Greater Lowell Psychiatric Associates, LLC, under the leadership of Dr. Ronald P. Winfield, often recommends TMS treatment for patients coping with insomnia. We provide TMS treatment from our location in North Chelmsford, Massachusetts. 

Non-invasive TMS also often improves symptoms of depression, as well as helping you sleep better at night. How does TMS work? Here’s what you need to know.

Sleep, insomnia, and your brain

Sleep is a complex function of your brain. In order to sleep, your brain has to switch from its waking state to resting conditions. In fact, during sleep, your brain continues to operate in nonconscious ways, including rapid eye movement (REM) sleep, when you may have dreams.

Instead of trying to improve your insomnia through behavioral strategies like sleep hygiene, meditation, or breathing exercises, or using pharmacological sleep aids that may have side effects or produce dependency, you can also address the problem directly at the level of your brain if you try TMS treatment. When you stimulate your brain with this type of therapy, you improve your ability to enter and remain in the condition of restful sleep.

TMS as an insomnia treatment

TMS uses magnetic energy to gently stimulate and gradually transform your brain. During your outpatient treatment session, you rest comfortably while this stimulation occurs. Your TMS provider positions a coil on your head, and activates it with the CloudTMS handheld treatment device. As pulses of magnetic energy pass through your brain, the areas of your brain responsible for mood regulation, sleep, stress management, and your neurological fight-or-flight response adjust. 

Each treatment session takes about an hour to complete. To finish your TMS therapy, you need a course of 36 sessions, delivered on a set schedule over the course of 12 weeks. Your TMS appointments come closer together at the beginning of your course of treatment than at the end.

Most patients tolerate TMS treatment well, and don’t need anesthesia. TMS energy pulses are gentle and noninvasive. If you notice any discomfort around the stimulating coil, let your provider know, and they can calibrate your treatment further to resolve the issue. One thing you should know is that the TMS machine is loud, so you may opt to use earplugs during treatment sessions.

Your results with TMS therapy for insomnia can be long-lasting. Are you ready to sleep well without trouble? Contact Dr. Winfield and the team at Greater Lowell Psychiatric Associates to see if you might be a good candidate for TMS.

Call now to schedule your appointment, or request an appointment online.