Brief consultation and stress management treatments for drug-dependent insomnia: effects on sleep quality, self-efficacy, and daytime stress

Abstract

Brief consultation and stress management treatments to help insomniacs withdraw from sleep medication were evaluated with 12 drug-dependent women. The effects of treatment were assessed by all-night home polysomnographic recordings and questionnaires. All 12 subjects succeeded in withdrawing from sleep medication and showed a number of improvements independent of the treatment received: (a) decreased latency to sleep onset, (b) increased minutes of Stage 3 sleep and total slow-wave sleep, (c) increased self-efficacy, and (d) reductions in some types of daytime stress. Subjects in the stress management treatment compared to those in the brief consultation program showed (a) significantly greater improvement on latency to sleep onset, total wake time, total dark time, and sleep efficiency, (b) less of an increase in minutes awake after sleep onset, and (c) greater reductions in anger and depression. Results of 6- and 12-month follow-up and partial replication of the brief consultation program are reported.