Insomnia Symptoms, Cures & Causes: Drug-Free Behavioral Therapy May Help, Says Researchers

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Cognitive behavioral therapy may be more effective than sleeping pills, a new study shows.

The study published in the Annals of Internal Medicine shows that there is evidence suggesting that Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) is a suitable alternative for treating chronic insomnia compared to a prescription of sleeping pills that come with side effects.

For the study, the researchers analyzed 20 previous studies that used drug-free approach to help improve sleep. The researchers found that CBT patients fell asleep 20 minutes faster, had less instances of waking up and had improved sleep by nearly 10 percent.

According to the researchers, these findings are safer, more effective and cheaper than taking medication to induce sleep.

They also noted that taking hypnotics may be effective for some, but others cannot tolerate them because of underlying medical conditions or because of their adverse effects.

According to WebMD, side effects may include constipation, diarrhea, headache, heartburn, stomach pain, shaking and mental problems with attention or memory just to name a few.

"Medications are associated with side effects and also the risk of tolerance," lead researcher James M. Trauer, from Australia's Melbourne Sleep Disorder, told Reuters. He added that "medications don't get to the core of the problem."

"Psychological treatments aim to understand what is driving the insomnia and reverse these processes, while medications just mask the symptoms," Trauer explained.

Dr. Charles M. Morin, of Université Laval in Québec, who wrote an editorial about the research, noted that "CBT can improve sleep without drugs and without adverse outcomes" because it "addresses the process that drives insomnia - anxiety about time spent awake in bed."

Morin also added that CBT is not often used by medical practitioners because they instead favor prescribing over-the-counter sleeping tablets when it comes to treating insomnia.

CBT is an umbrella term for an array of psychotherapy techniques that combine behavioral therapy with cognitive therapy. CBT directly addresses the specific problem; hence, it can be used to effectively treat insomnia, Medical Daily has learned.

CBT-i is made up of five specific components that are grouped together with the aim to target the patient's sleep approach. It includes cognitive therapy, stimulus control, sleep restrictions, sleep hygiene and relaxation techniques.

The CBT approach can work for most types of people, given that it requires their participation by learning skills that help them take part in their own care.

According to the US National Sleep Foundation, 48 percent of American citizens experience insomnia occasionally, while 22 percent have it almost every night. Women are more prone to sleeplessness than men.