A research study has found that
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)
is helpful in treating chronic insomnia. CBT works best with medication but is also effective on it own in the long term. The study was conducted by Charles Morin, Ph.D., of the University of Laval in Quebec. It found that CBT, in combination with zolpidem, or on its own, improved sleep efficiency, sleep latency and “time awake after sleep onset.†The best long-term results were obtained in participants who were treated withe combined therapy to start with, which was then followed by CBT alone.
Online CBT
Another study conducted by psychologist Dr. Norah Vincent, at the University of Manitoba in Canada, found that online cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) was effective in improving insomnia severity, sleep quality and daytime fatigue. The study results also indicate that online treatment brings about a reduction in wrong beliefs about pre-sleep mental arousal.
After the research, 81% of the participants reported at least “mild improvement†in their sleep, while 35% said their condition had “much or very much improved.†It was also noted that those who had obtained treatment developed better attitudes about sleep, and were less likely to suffer from an overactive or troubled mind at bedtime.
The treatment program included cognitive therapy, sleep restriction, relaxation training, stimulus control instruction, and education about sleep hygiene and insomnia. The research was conducted on adult patients with chronic insomnia.
The online treatment included audiovisual clips for teaching, mp3 files for relaxation, and PDF files for cognitive therapy and psychoeducation. The program was effective in participants whose age ranged from 18 to 80 years. The journal Sleep has published the study.
