More than 30% of all the cancer survivors suffer from chronic insomnia. And although most of them are given intensive cognitive-behavioral tips, it seems as if nothing seems to work. A newly published study in the journal Cancer, researchers from the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute revealed that a session in a sleep education for survivors will help them overcome their chronic insomnia and enjoy their lives.
They collected the data from a "trial stepped care" involving 51 patients suffering from insomnia. After submitting themselves to a one-time session for sleep education, 41% of the participants noticed a change in their sleeping patterns and felt that their insomnia had been successfully treated. There are 14 participants that took part in the second step of the program utilizing a cognitive-behavioral approach. From that group, 71% had resolved their insomnia even before they have completed the program.
"The results of the study demonstrate a kind of step-care model -- when the low intensity first treatment is made easily accessible to most patients -- can be a good tool for cancer survivors to improve their sleeping experience and get over their insomnia," Eric Zhou said. He is the first author of the study from the Dana-Farber Institute. "This presents a huge opportunity to treat a problem that can significantly improve the lives of these cancer survivors. When their lack of sleep is not addressed, they might diminish their opportunity to address the problem.
Their difficulty in sleeping started during their cancer treatment. A combination of factors has made it challenging for them to get good sleep through the night. It includes fatigue, pain, and anxiety. While these concerns may be gone once the treatment is done, insomnia stays. It often lingers for years unless the patient gets a separate treatment to address it.
The new treatment program introduced in the study includes a two-step model. While cognitive-behavior therapy (CBT) is recognized for the help it provides patients with chronic insomnia disease, it is one of those treatments that are just not accessible. Not only is it expensive, but there is a limit in the number of therapists that could provide it in a given area. A shortage of trained providers of the CBT makes it truly inaccessible to those who need it most.
The first step of the trial includes cancer survivors submitting themselves to a lecture on sleep education. It is particularly designed so that it can easily be implemented despite having limitations in staff and resources. "The contents are all straightforward, because they need to know the basics that will help put themselves to sleep at night. Within just a few hours of training, they could acquire the knowledge they need about sleep so that they can start their sleep habits on their own," Christopher Recklitis said, senior author of the study.
