Insomnia Essay

1710 Words4 Pages

Insomnia is a sleeping disorder characterised by difficulty in falling and maintaining sleep; even when sufficient time for sleep is made available, it affects roughly 10% of adults (Roth, 2007). Insomnia symptoms have correlated with presence anxiety and depression (Jansson-Fröjmark & Lindblom, 2008; Roth et al.2006), and in cases insomnia has predated the onset of mood disorders (Johnson, Roth & Breslau, 2006). Insomnia can also be caused by: pain from injury, poor sleep hygiene, medications, medical conditions, mental disorders and stimulants; like nicotine, caffeine and other pharmaceuticals. Sleep deprivation can result in: muscle aches, cognitive impairment, memory impairment and irritability, furthermore sleep deprivation has; in cases, shown to be a contributing risk factor in more severe medial conditions; such as increased heart rate and blood pressure, increased risk of diabetes and obesity (McNeil, Doucet & Chaput, 2013; Beihl, Liese & Haffner, 2009). Increases in impaired judgement and risk taking behaviour correlate with sleep loss (Meldrum & Restivo 2014), symptoms can occur for up to 3 weeks in short term cases; or for more than 3 weeks in chronic cases. Given the importance of sleep in maintaining good health and its necessity in aiding development; as well as restoration of the body and memory processing, loss of sleep is not something that should be taken lightly. This essay aims to critically evaluate the treatment effectiveness of Cognitive Behavioural Therapy for Insomnia (CBT-I) by analysing individual components of the therapy, and their influence on the treatment as a whole. A non-pharmacological treatment, CBT-I attempts to treat Insomnia by first attempting to understand the root cause of symptoms, as w...

... middle of paper ...

...vation; and in some cases headaches and migraines (Kyle et al. 2011). While this is a means to an end, sleep deprivation has multiple negative physical and mental effects on patients and may damage adherence to Sleep Restriction treatment (Vincent, Lewycky & Finnegan, 2008).
Cognitive Behavioural Therapy for Insomnia attempts to improve symptoms through therapies that change the perceptions associated with sleep, as and improving behaviours and habits affiliated with onset of sleep. While each element of CBT-I has its own strengths and weaknesses, combined they form a treatment model that effectively reduces insomnia symptoms and prevents relapse. While CBT-I treatment is complicated, time consuming and not easily available, its effectiveness at treating the varying root causes of insomnia makes it an effective and reliable treatment in comparison to medication.

More about Insomnia Essay

Open Document