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Is there an alternative to sleeping pills to help you get back to sleep? Yes, according to Dr. Alexander Sweetman, who advocates the use of self-guided digital behavioral therapy. Here’s what it consists of.
Sleep disorders ruin the lives of thousands of people in France. To combat this sleep disturbance, some people end up taking sleeping pills every night to sleep. Is there an alternative to this medication to get a peaceful night’s sleep? We should focus on cognitive behavioral therapy, says Dr Alexander Sweetman, researcher at the Adelaide Institute for Sleep Health at Flinders University, Australia.
Cognitive-behavioral therapy, an alternative to sleeping pills
He led a study to highlight self-guided digital behavioral therapy as an alternative to traditional cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) for insomnia. Indeed, according to him, access to this type of first-line CBT is severely limited, due to a lack of trained specialists. Thus, in Australia, where he resides, 90% of insomnia patients are treated with sleeping pills, only 1% benefit from treatment by CBT.
In this work, he and his team are testing the effectiveness of a self-guided digital program, called “Bedtime Window”, to help patients treat their insomnia.
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A program designed to treat insomnia
“The program is designed for people suffering from insomnia alone and sleep apnea. Each weekly session lasts approximately 20-30 minutes and includes short videos, images and text information. explains Dr. Alexander Sweetman. The program includes algorithms that continuously assess symptoms of sleepiness and alertness. It also provides personalized and interactive recommendations to treat insomnia.
A total of 62 adults with symptoms of insomnia used “Bedroom Window” over a period of 18 months. They report significant and lasting improvements in their insomnia and other associated disorders.”We know this program improves insomnia, mental health and quality of life.” estimates the specialist. From now on, he would like with his team “see more people access this treatment as it may reduce the need for sleeping pills or other interventions that do not resolve sleep problems in the long term“.