This screen time might actually help you sleep

Cognitive Therapy ‏@CognitiveTherapy 





Tuesday Posted Dec 27, 2016

By Benedict Carey The New York Times


The same digital screens that have helped nurture a generation of insomniacs can also help restore regular sleep, researchers report. In a study, more than half of chronic insomniacs who used an automated online therapy program reported improvement within weeks and were sleeping normally a year later.

The new report, in JAMA Psychiatry, is the most comprehensive to date suggesting that many garden-variety insomniacs could benefit from the gold standard treatment - cognitive behavior therapy - without ever having to talk to a therapist.


At least one in 10 adults has diagnosable insomnia, defined as broken, inadequate slumber at least three nights a week for three months running or longer.

"I've been an insomniac all my life, I've tried about everything," said Dale Love-Callon, 70, a math tutor in Rancho Palos Verdes, California, who recently used the software. "I don't have it 100 percent conquered, but I'm sleeping much better now."

The new trial tested the digital therapy in a broad, diverse group of longtime insomniacs. Most had used medication or supplements, and some still did.

"These results suggest that there are a group of patients who can benefit without the need of a high-intensity intervention," like face-to-face therapy, said Jack Edinger, a professor at National Jewish Health in Denver. "We don't know yet exactly who they are - the people who volunteer for a study like this in first place are self-motivated - but they're out there."

Researchers at the University of Virginia recruited 303 people ages 21 to 65 over the internet. Half were randomly assigned to receive education and advice on insomnia. The other half got a six-week focused online therapy product, called SHUTi.


Some of the researchers, as well as the university, have a stake in this product, which costs $135 for 16 weeks of access. None of those connected to the company analyzed the data or had access to it, said Lee Ritterband, the lead author and a developer of the online therapy.

SHUTi is not the only product on the market. Sleepio, which costs $300 for a year's access, also incorporates cognitive therapy. Both incorporate the techniques of cognitive behavior therapy for insomnia. Some of those techniques date back decades. One is called sleep restriction, in which people set a regular "sleep window" and work to stick to it. Another is called stimulus control, an attempt to break the association between lying in bed and activities like streaming video and eating.


Finally, the therapy prompts people to log in daily and record each night's sleep in some detail; it then tailors weekly sessions based on those entries.

Love-Callon's problem, for example, was waking up too early, at 4 a.m. or thereabouts. The online program, she said, instructed her to get out of bed when that happened, and sit and read for 40 minutes - which is more likely to induce sleepiness than, say, shopping online.

"And it has worked," she said. "I get drowsy while reading and have been able to go back to bed and fall asleep."



This screen time might actually help you sleep - Ocala

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 Source: http://www.ocala.com/news/20161227/this-screen-time-might-actually-help-you-sleep?start=4