Stimulus Control as a Treatment for Insomnia
Hira Hussain
Dr. Sara Elkins
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy
University of Houston Clear Lake
Stimulus Control as a Treatment for Insomnia
Insomnia is the difficulty to initiate and maintain sleep (Spiegler, 2016). Insomnia is a common condition that affects about 10 percent of the adult population. Insomnia is common amongst females and the elderly. Insomnia is typically associated with psychological and medical disorders. Despite the high prevalence of negative effects of insomnia (psychological distress, impaired daytime functioning, poorer quality of life, etc.) less than 15% of individuals with insomnia receive treatment for their problems (Mimeault & Morin, 1999).
While insomnia can be treated pharmacologically, treating it this way can lead to many long-term effects. Hence, cognitive behavior therapy (CBT) has been suggested to be an alternative treatment option for insomnia (Wang, Wang, & Tsai, …show more content…
Stimulus control can produce up to a 58% mean change in sleep-onset latency (Jacobs, Rosenberg, Friedman, Matheson, Peavy, Domar, & Benson, 1993). Puder, Lacks, Bertelson, and Storandt (1983) studied the effects of short-term stimulus control therapy on sleep-onset insomnia in older adults. They found that short-term stimulus control therapy was effective and decreased sleep-onset insomnia. They were able to find statistical as well as clinical significance. Sleep latency was reduced more than half of the participants by more than 50%. Results from post-treatment indicated that participants had a 30 minutes or longer sleep onset latency zero or once during the week. This indicates that short-term stimulus control therapy of about four weeks, is effective in young insomniac, as well as adults over the age of 60 (Puder, Lacks, Bertelson, & Storandt,
Hira Hussain
Dr. Sara Elkins
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy
University of Houston Clear Lake
Stimulus Control as a Treatment for Insomnia
Insomnia is the difficulty to initiate and maintain sleep (Spiegler, 2016). Insomnia is a common condition that affects about 10 percent of the adult population. Insomnia is common amongst females and the elderly. Insomnia is typically associated with psychological and medical disorders. Despite the high prevalence of negative effects of insomnia (psychological distress, impaired daytime functioning, poorer quality of life, etc.) less than 15% of individuals with insomnia receive treatment for their problems (Mimeault & Morin, 1999).
While insomnia can be treated pharmacologically, treating it this way can lead to many long-term effects. Hence, cognitive behavior therapy (CBT) has been suggested to be an alternative treatment option for insomnia (Wang, Wang, & Tsai, …show more content…
Stimulus control can produce up to a 58% mean change in sleep-onset latency (Jacobs, Rosenberg, Friedman, Matheson, Peavy, Domar, & Benson, 1993). Puder, Lacks, Bertelson, and Storandt (1983) studied the effects of short-term stimulus control therapy on sleep-onset insomnia in older adults. They found that short-term stimulus control therapy was effective and decreased sleep-onset insomnia. They were able to find statistical as well as clinical significance. Sleep latency was reduced more than half of the participants by more than 50%. Results from post-treatment indicated that participants had a 30 minutes or longer sleep onset latency zero or once during the week. This indicates that short-term stimulus control therapy of about four weeks, is effective in young insomniac, as well as adults over the age of 60 (Puder, Lacks, Bertelson, & Storandt,