An interview with Julie Kolzet, PhD Psychologist with Anne Akers

It was my good fortune to be seated next to Dr. Kolzet at a recent event celebrating health and wellness, prompting a heartfelt discussion around deep sleep as the next frontier of wellness.

Indeed, sleep shouldn’t be a nightly struggle…although for many women, especially those in midlife, restful nights become more elusive.  Between shifting hormones, stress, and the modern-day pressures to “do it all”, our sleep cycles often pay the price.

In this two-part interview, Dr. Julie Kolzet, a leading expert in insomnia and behavioral sleep disorders, will be sharing practical, science-based methods to reset your body rhythms and finally wake up feeling refreshed and relaxed!

Q: What first drew you to specialize in insomnia and behavioral sleep medicine?

I’m a licensed psychologist who works with adults in a general practice, with a focus on insomnia and behavioral sleep medicine. Sleep is often but not always one of the first areas to shift when something in a person’s life is under strain, whether that’s stress, health changes, or life transitions.

What drew me to this area is how quickly sleep can shift from something automatic to something people start managing, monitoring, and even worrying about. Over time, that effort can make sleep feel less natural and more like something to solve.

What I find most compelling about insomnia is that it’s not just about sleep loss—it’s about the experience of sleep becoming something people strive for or even fear. Patients often begin to organize their lives around sleep in ways that unintentionally make it harder.

Cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia (CBT-I) offers a clear,

evidence-based way to address this. It’s a structured, time-limited treatment that helps people recalibrate both their sleep patterns and their relationship with sleep, often with lasting results.

Q: How do you explain insomnia to patients in simple, non-medical language?

I often describe insomnia as a condition where the body has become “too alert” for sleep. Even when someone is tired, their system is on high alert, mentally or physically, which makes it harder to fall or stay asleep. Over time, people understandably start trying harder to sleep, but that effort can unintentionally make sleep feel more pressured and less natural.

Q: What are the most common myths people have around sleep problems?

One common myth is that poor sleep is always caused by something medical or hormonal. While those factors can play a role, insomnia is often maintained by learned patterns. Another myth is that people need to try harder to sleep, when in reality, sleep tends to improve when we reduce effort and allow it to unfold more naturally.

Q: When does poor sleep become a true clinical concern rather than an occasional restless night?

Everyone has occasional poor nights of sleep. It becomes a clinical concern when sleep difficulties occur regularly, typically at least three nights per week, and persist for several months, especially when they begin to impact daytime functioning, mood, or concentration.

INSOMNIA BASICS

Q: What are the signs that someone may have chronic insomnia?

Common signs include difficulty falling asleep, frequent awakenings during the night, waking earlier than intended, and feeling unrefreshed despite having the opportunity to sleep. Often, there is also growing concern or frustration about sleep itself—people may start rearranging their lives around it or dreading bedtime.

Importantly, insomnia is defined in part by this subjective distress. Some people may sleep poorly by objective measures but aren’t particularly bothered by it. In treatment, we often help patients shift toward a less pressured relationship with sleep—paradoxically, that’s when sleep tends to improve.

Q: How do you distinguish between trouble falling asleep, staying asleep, and waking too early?

These are different patterns of insomnia. Some people lie awake at the beginning of the night (sleep onset insomnia), others fall asleep but wake frequently (sleep maintenance insomnia), and others wake earlier than they’d like and can’t return to sleep (early morning awakening). Identifying patterns like these help guide treatment.

Q: What role does stress and nighttime rumination play in keeping insomnia going?

Stress and rumination can make the mind more active at night, which interferes with the ability to settle into sleep. Over time, the bed can become associated with thinking, problem-solving, or worry instead of rest, which reinforces the cycle.

BEHAVIOR AND ROUTINE

Q: What bedtime behaviors most often worsen insomnia?

Spending excessive time in bed trying to sleep, going to bed much earlier to “catch up,” and engaging in stimulating activities, such as work or screen use that is particularly stimulating can all interfere with sleep. These behaviors are often well-intentioned but can make sleep more inconsistent.

Q: How do naps, irregular schedules, and clock-watching affect sleep?

Naps can reduce sleep drive, making it harder to fall asleep at night. Not all naps are bad, however! We want to use naps strategically. And, yes, falling asleep right before bed counts as napping! The take away? Irregular schedules can disrupt the body’s internal rhythm.

Clock-watching tends to increase pressure and awareness of time passing, which can heighten anxiety around sleep.

Q: What should someone do if they wake up in the middle of the night and cannot fall back asleep?

Generally speaking, if someone is awake for an extended period, it can be helpful to get out of bed and do something quiet and low-stimulation until they feel sleepy again. This helps maintain a strong association between the bed and sleep rather than wakefulness. It’s also important to recognize that while some cases are relatively straightforward, others involve additional factors, so a careful evaluation helps guide treatment.

Q: How can people rebuild a healthier relationship with their bed and bedroom?

The goal is to re-establish the bed as a place for sleep rather than wakefulness. This often involves going to bed when sleepy, getting out of bed when unable to sleep, and keeping consistent wake times. Over time, this helps retrain the body to associate the bed with rest.

Q: How do sleep diaries help guide treatment?

Sleep diaries provide a practical, low-pressure way to observe patterns over time, such as sleep timing, variability, and habits. They help guide treatment decisions while keeping the focus on patterns rather than perfection.

Stay tuned for Part 2.

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Dr. Julie Kolzet is a licensed health psychologist who works with adults across the lifespan in a general practice, focusing on how behavior and stress impact physical health, with a specialization in cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia (CBT-I) and behavioral sleep medicine. She treats concerns including anxiety, stress, and life transitions, with an approach grounded in evidence-based care and an understanding of how patterns of thinking and behavior develop and change over time. Learn more at her website.