Non-pharmacological Approaches for Management of Insomnia

Abstract

Insomnia is a prevalent sleep problem associated with a constellation of negative health-related outcomes and significant socioeconomic burden. It commonly co-occurs with psychiatric and medical conditions, which may further exacerbate these comorbid conditions and hinder treatment response. There is much empirical evidence to support the clinical efficacy of non-pharmacological treatment for insomnia, especially cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia (CBT-I), in managing insomnia in a wide range of populations. This article reviews the research on the efficacy of CBT-I for primary insomnia and insomnia comorbid with other psychiatric and medical conditions, the empirical evidence regarding different CBT-I treatment modalities, the implementation of CBT-I across different age groups, and some initial evidence on the sequential combination of insomnia treatments. A brief overview of other non-pharmacological treatment with regard to complementary alternative medicine is also provided.

Keywords: Cognitive behavioral therapy; Comorbidity; Insomnia; Non-pharmacological; Sleep; Treatment.