Cognitive behavioral therapy would reduce insomnia-related disorders, which sleeping pills do not, according to a Canadian study.
Psychotherapy rather than allopathy. A Canadian study looked at the benefits of behavioral therapies in the treatment of insomnia. She reveals that this type of care can do better than sleeping pills to regain sleep. The work has been published in the journal Behavior Research and Therapy.
For six weeks, 160 insomniac participants aged at least 30 received cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT). Half of them also took a drug treatment based on zolpidem, a sedative, associated with this treatment.
Daytime symptoms
CBT is an approach based on a scientific methodology, which consists of treating psychological suffering that generates “unsuitable” behaviors (phobias, addictions, insomnia, etc.). Therapy aims to replace this behavior with another – in this case, the ability to sleep.
At the end of the six weeks, the researchers observed a general improvement in sleep (time and quality) in participants in both groups. On the other hand, only the group that only took CBT, without sleeping pills, reported a reduction in daytime symptoms related to insomnia – mood disorders, difficulty concentrating…
This group thus showed less anxiety, depressive symptoms and fatigue than the group which followed CBT combined with drug treatment. This is an important step forward, according to the researchers.
“Most people with insomnia take medication, not necessarily to treat the nighttime symptoms of insomnia, but rather because they feel the negative impact of those nights on their energy, mood and mental faculties during the day” , explain the authors, quoted by Reuters.
One of the limitations of this study is that CBT was not compared to drug treatment alone, not accompanied by CBT. However, in the eyes of the researchers, “proving that CBT improves not only sleep but also daytime functions and quality of life is very important and can give hope to patients who suffer from chronic insomnia”.
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