One fine night, in the Kingdom of Koo, the King couldn’t sleep.
Concerned, he summoned his advisors to his chambers and asked for their expert opinions.
Practishe, his wisest advisor, spoke first.
“Your Majesty,” he said, “you must go to sleep earlier tomorrow night to make up for the sleep you lost tonight. After that, all will be well.”
The next evening, the King dutifully retired to bed several hours earlier, hoping to make up for his lost sleep.
But there was a problem.
He couldn’t fall asleep.
Once again, the King summoned his advisors. This time, however, he left out Practishe. His practical advice had sounded reasonable—but it clearly hadn’t solved the problem.
Next in wisdom and importance was Mediche.
Mediche bowed ever so politely.
“Your Majesty, what you need is a potion that only I can prepare. It is made from special herbs found in the forests beyond the river.”
The King immediately ordered his officers to cross the river and procure the herbs.
The potion worked beautifully.
For a few nights.
But the following week, the King once again found himself lying awake in bed, unable to sleep.
By now, the King was frustrated. He summoned his remaining trusted advisors.
This time, an advisor named Akiv stepped forward.
“Your Majesty,” Akiv said, “perhaps the problem is not simply that you need more sleep. Your sleep cycle itself may have gotten off track. If Your Majesty would be so inclined, I can provide therapy designed to help restore a healthy sleep pattern.”
The King raised an eyebrow.
He had already been burned twice.
“How do I know this will work?” he asked. “My time is precious, and this kingdom needs a ruler who gets a full night’s sleep.”
Akiv nodded.
“Your Majesty has every reason to ask. That is why I use evidence-based treatments for insomnia, including Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Insomnia—CBT-I. Rather than simply trying harder to sleep, we work with the behaviors, thoughts, and sleep patterns that regulate sleep itself.
“We may also discover that some anxiety has crept into the royal bedroom and is making sleep even more difficult. After all, sleep is a funny thing. We can’t simply flip a switch and make ourselves fall asleep. Sometimes, the harder we try, the more elusive sleep becomes. Instead, we need to set the stage so that sleep can come naturally.”
And so the King began treatment.
Before long, the royal chambers were quiet at night, the King was awake and alert during the day, and order was restored throughout the Kingdom of Koo.
And the King—and his kingdom—slept happily ever after.
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