A recent study found that Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Insomnia (CBT-I) is more effective than hypnotic medications in controlling insomnia.
In Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, patients are taught improved sleep habits and relieved of counter-productive assumptions about sleep. Common misconceptions and expectations that can be modified include:
1. Unrealistic sleep expectations (e.g., I need to have 8 hours of sleep each night).
2. Misconceptions about insomnia causes (e.g., I have a chemical imbalance causing my insomnia).
3. Amplifying the consequences of insomnia (e.g., I cannot do anything after a bad night's sleep).
4. Performance anxiety after trying for so long to have a good night's sleep by controlling the sleep process.
Numerous studies have reported positive outcomes of combining cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia treatment with treatments such as stimulus control and the relaxation therapies. Hypnotic medications are equally effective in the short-term treatment of insomnia but their effects wear off over time due to tolerance. The effects of CBT-I have sustained and lasting effects on treating insomnia long after therapy has been discontinued. The addition of hypnotic medications with CBT-I adds no benefit in insomnia. The long lasting benefits of a course of CBT-I shows superiority over pharmacological hypnotic drugs. Even in the short term when compared to short-term hypnotic medication such as zolpidem (Ambien), CBT-I still shows significant superiority. Thus CBT-I is recommended as a first line treatment for insomnia.
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