Study offers promising therapy for insomnia

Author of the study, Charles M Morin, a clinical psychologist at Laval University in Quebec City, stated that medications worked well in short terms but their long term benefits are questionable.

"Cognitive Behavioral Therapy or CBT in short is a therapeutic approach aimed at changing poor sleep habits and irregular sleep schedules and also changing the way people think about their sleep and their insomnia," Dr. Morin said.

Charles and his colleagues evaluated the short- and long-term effects of CBT, both separately and combined with the medication zolpidem, for sleep disorders. They compared treatment strategies to find long-term advantages.

The study details
For the study, 160 adults were recruited. In the initial 6 week therapy, patients were randomly administered CBT, or CBT plus 10 mg/d (taken at bedtime) of zolpidem. This process was followed by an extended 6-month therapy.

Patients learned strategies such as going to bed only when sleepy, avoiding caffeine later in the day and rising at the same time every morning.

Observations made during study phases
After the six-week phase, more than half of the participants in both treatment groups were sleeping better. The best results were observed in patients treated with combined therapy. Nearly 44 percent of the combination group reported relief from their insomnia compared to 39 percent of the CBT-alone group.

But after the next six months of treatment, a marked improvement was seen in participants who stopped taking medication, and continued their behavioral therapy. Around 68 percent of the CBT group reported a reduction in sleeping disorders as opposed to 42 percent of the combination group.

Morin stated "After six weeks, what the results showed is that it's best to discontinue the medication and keep people in therapy with CBT alone. Probably what happens there is people start integrating their newly learned skills and it's best to do that without medication."

The researchers admit that "Although the present findings are promising, there is currently no treatment that works for every patient with insomnia and additional studies are needed to develop treatment algorithms to guide practitioners in the clinical management of insomnia."

The study is published in the Journal of the American Medical Association.

Insomnia is a major health problem affecting people worldwide. It can destroy the quality of life leading to depression and hypertension.

Most people suffering from sleep disorders avoid treatment, seeking solace in alcohol or over the counter pills to combat the problem. Researchers are optimistic that an awareness of treatment options would help the sufferers.