Can You Treat Insomnia Through Internet?

Delivering Cognitive behavioral therapy over the internet may help ease insomnia per a study at the Boston University School of Medicine, published online in the journal JAMA Psychiatry. Cognitive-behavioral therapy for Insomnia (CBT-I) is considered the gold standard treatment for insomnia. CBT-I specifically targets the individual’s problematic sleep behaviors and beliefs.

Black women are known to be disproportionately affected by poor sleep. This is further associated with a heightened risk of other complications like cardiovascular disease, depression, and worse quality of life.

However, the minority groups are posed with several hurdles in the healthcare system. Interestingly, internet-delivered CBT-I programs for insomnia help increase patients’ treatment access.

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy via Internet

“While Internet-delivered interventions offer better access to evidence-based care, patient adherence with automated programs that are designed to change health behaviors can be an issue. The development of a culturally tailored intervention may be the key to better engaging minority patients with proven insomnia treatment,” says senior author Lynn Rosenberg, ScD, an epidemiologist at the SEC and a principal investigator of the BWHS.

The new study shows that internet-delivered CBT-I is highly effective in Black women, and that a version of the program tailored specifically for Black women improves their engagement with treatment.

“Profound health inequities affect the lives of so many racial/ethnic minority patients. We are proud to have conducted research designed specifically to address sleep health disparities in Black women, and are hopeful that this work spurs further interest and investment into research in this critical domain,” says corresponding author Eric Zhou, PhD, clinical psychologist, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute.

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Source-Medindia