Every CBT-I app says it is clinically proven, so that phrase tells you nothing. What separates a real program from a sleep tracker with good marketing comes down to five questions, and you can answer all of them from a company's own website in about ten minutes.
1. Does it actually deliver the components of CBT-I?
CBT-I is not one technique. It is a package, and the research is on the package:
- Sleep restriction — narrowing time in bed to match actual sleep, then widening it. In the research this is the piece doing most of the work. How it works, and why the first two weeks is hard.
- Stimulus control — leaving the bed when you have been awake a while, keeping the bed for sleep.
- Cognitive work — on the thinking that produces arousal at 3am.
- A daily sleep diary — because none of the above can be prescribed without knowing what your sleep is actually doing.
The fastest filter: search the product's site for "sleep restriction." If it is not there, or it is mentioned once in passing, you are looking at sleep hygiene advice wearing CBT-I's name. That distinction matters more than any feature list — the guidelines recommend against sleep hygiene as a standalone therapy, and it is the most common thing sold in its place.
2. Who built it, and are they named?
Insomnia advice is what Google calls a "Your Money or Your Life" topic — the strictest quality tier — and the same logic should apply to your own judgement. Look for a named clinician with verifiable credentials, not "our expert panel" or "our editorial team."
Check whether the person named actually built the program or was brought in to review it afterwards. Both are legitimate; they are not the same thing, and companies are often vague about which one applies.
For what it is worth on this site: Somnera was founded and written by Dr. Camilo Ruiz, DO, FACOI, FAASM, a board-certified sleep physician who practices at Sleep and Internal Medicine Specialists in Fort Lauderdale. He built it so the approach he uses with patients could reach people who cannot get to his office.
3. What are you actually buying?
The pricing page is where the real differences show up, and where the unpleasant surprises live.
| Model | What to check |
|---|---|
| Subscription | What happens when the program ends. Does the charge stop, or continue? |
| One-time | Whether access expires, and whether there is a charge afterwards for anything you would still want. |
| Prescription | Whether you need an appointment first, and whether insurance covers it. |
| Employer or insurer | Whether you can get it free through work. Several programs are only distributed this way. |
The loudest complaint in this category, across app store reviews, is not that programs do not work. It is surprise renewal. Read the sentence about what happens after the program finishes before you read anything else. A fuller breakdown of what CBT-I costs.
4. Can you see what you are buying before you buy it?
A program confident in its content publishes the curriculum. Week one covers this, week two covers that. If a company will not tell you what is in it until after payment, ask yourself why.