Sleep better with cognitive behavioral therapy

Reported by Susan Aldridge, PhD, medical journalist

A comparions of cognitive behavioral therapy with sleeping tablets shows the former to be more effective.
Insomnia is common among people older than 55, affecting between nine and 25 per cent of this age group. Sleep medications are not always effective, but researchers at the University of Bergen, Norway, now reveal another approach to solving sleep problems.

They looked at 46 adults who had chronic sleep problems to compared cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) with the sleep drug zopiclone and placebo. Sleep lab studies were used to determine the actual time spent asleep each night. Those on CBT spent less time awake in the night than those in the medication group at both six weeks and six months. Total wake time was reduced by 52 per cent in the CBT group compared with four per cent and 16 per cent in the zopiclone and placebo groups. CBT is a form of therapy that involves changing thought patterns and may lead to a better attitude towards 'sleep hygiene'. The study suggests that CBT ought to be used more widely. It need not be delivered by one-to-one sessions - it's possible to do it by self-help on the Internet, or even on the telephone.

Source
Journal of the American Medical Association 28th June 2006 Volume 295 pages 2851-2858

Please take a moment to give us your comments. For questions about Health matters you may check our "Questions & Answers" Portal and Service.