Cognitive Behavioral Sleep Training Can Prevent Depression in Adults With Insomnia, Study Reveals

A new clinical study revealed that cognitive-behavioral sleep training (CBT-1) teaches adults with insomnia to prepare their mind and body for a good night's sleep to prevent depression. This is the first study to demonstrate that it is possible to treat insomnia with behavioral therapy instead of pills.

Researchers sad that the study's findings are highly significant because adults tend to experience major depressive episodes associated with a higher risk of cognitive decline, disability, suicide, and mortality.

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Cognitive Behavioral Sleep Training Can Prevent Depression in Adults With Insomnia, Study Reveals

Insomnia: A Major Risk for Depression and Suicide

The study, titled "Prevention of Incident and Recurrent Major Depression in Older Adults With Insomnia: A Randomized Clinical Trial."

Published in the journal JAMA Psychiatry, it showed that adults who have insomnia could develop depression. The findings also showed that therapeutic sleep training and not medication prevented participants from developing symptoms of depressions.

USA Today reported that previous studies have shown that insomnia is another psychological condition rather than just a symptom of depression.

Dr. Michael Irwin, a professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences in the David Geffen School of Medicine at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), said that around 30% to 50% of adults experience insomnia, a risk factor for depression and suicide.

In the study, participants have shown positive feedback from the therapeutic cognitive-behavioral sleep training in which 83% of the participants are likely not to develop depression. This shows that insomnia can be treated with CBT and prevent depression as a result.

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How CBT-1 Helps Prevent Depression in Adults With Insomnia

The study participants were adults over the age of 60 who are all suffering from insomnia but have no symptoms of depression, CNN reported. They were randomly divided into two groups, wherein the control group would meet once a week for eight hours for a basic sleep education, comprised of sleep hygiene, characteristics of healthy sleep, and sleep biology. The control group will not have a one-on-one session with a therapist.

Meanwhile, the experimental group received the CBT-1 by group facilitated by trained therapists for eight weeks. CBT-1 is composed of five training components: stimulus control, sleep restriction, sleep hygiene, relaxation, and CBT.

According to Inside Edition, the study's key finding was the benefit of individual therapy and group therapy settings. Researchers said that these types of settings work against negative and distorted thought patterns.

The way cognitive behavioral therapy works is to target dysfunctional thoughts and beliefs about sleeping, Irwin said. He added that the group therapy setting played a significant role in sleep training because hearing other people's struggles in sleeping may also inform other people about something that might affect their sleeping patterns.

After the two-month treatment, researchers did not give further intervention but followed them for three years. Those who received CBT-1 kept the training going in on their lives with good results. While those who received sleep training had modest effects in improving their insomnia but it did not last.