Treatment of insomnia in cancer patients using muscle relaxation training

Mean sleep onset latency was reduced from 124 to 29 min in 15 patients suffering from insomnia secondary to cancer; 15 subjects receiving routine care had means of 116 and 104 min in comparison. Muscle relaxation training was administered in individual sessions on three consecutive days. With 26 subjects available for follow-up 3 months later, the mean differences in sleep latency continued. The relatively greater success in this study than previously reported for a behavioral treatment of insomnia is discussed in light of possible differences between primary insomniacs and those subjects with insomnia secondary to a medical disease.