Non-pharmacological treatment of insomnia

Abstract

Chronic insomnia, i. e. complaints about prolonged sleep onset, difficulties in maintaining sleep, early morning awakening and associated impairments of daytime functioning afflicts approximately 10 % of the population in most Western industrialized countries. Chronic insomnia can be due to somatic disorders, mental disorders, intake of medications, legal or illicit drugs. One third of all patients with chronic insomnias suffers from primary insomnia, a diagnosis which is given when none of the above mentioned factors can be identified as a causal factor. In medical practice, insomnia usually is treated with hypnotic drugs or other sedative drugs such as antidepressants. In the last 20 years it was shown that cognitive-behavioral therapy for insomnia can be applied successfully independent of causal factors. Cognitive-behavioral treatment for insomnia (CBT-I) encompasses psychoeducation about sleep and sleep hygiene, relaxation techniques, i. e. progressive muscle relaxation, specific behavioral techniques like stimulus control or sleep restriction and cognitive techniques to reduce nocturnal ruminations. Several published meta-analyses from the last two decades showed that these techniques, especially in their combined form, can be considered as evidence-based. It was shown that they are as effective as pharmacological therapy in the short-term and in the long-run even superior to pharmacotherapy. Cognitive-behavioral techniques for the therapy of insomnia can be used very successfully by trained physicians and psychotherapists.