[Cognitive-behavioural therapy for primary insomnia: effectiveness in a clinical setting]

Area of Science:

• Sleep Medicine
• Psychiatry
• Clinical Psychology

Background:

• Cognitive behavioural therapy for insomnia (CBT-I) effectiveness is established in RCTs for primary and comorbid insomnia.
• Clinical impact primarily affects sleep quality and medication use, with lesser effects on daytime functioning.
• Limited studies have assessed CBT-I effectiveness in real-world clinical settings.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the effectiveness of CBT-I for primary insomnia.
• To conduct an uncontrolled prospective study in a clinical tertiary care setting.

Main Methods:

• Included 76 primary insomnia patients referred to a sleep center.
• Administered a 6-week group-based CBT-I course.
• Assessed primary and secondary outcome measures.

Main Results:

• Significant improvements observed in sleep onset, sleep efficiency, and sleep quality.
• Total sleep time increase was less substantial due to sleep restriction guidelines.
• Significant improvements noted in dysfunctional cognitions, affective state, general health, and medication use.

Conclusions:

• CBT-I demonstrates significant positive impact on sleep quality in primary insomniacs.
• CBT-I effectively reduces medication use among primary insomnia patients.
• Daytime functioning is also positively influenced by CBT-I in a clinical tertiary care setting.