To Örebro University

Background: Sleeping difficulties are an increasing problem for youths, but there is a lack of treatment research for this age group.

Aim: The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of Cognitive Therapy for Insomnia (CT-I) on youths with primary insomnia; this treatment has never been tested on youths before.

Method: The study was conducted according to an AB single-case experimental phase design, with pre-tests and post-tests. After 7–10 days of baseline assessment, three youths aged 16–18 (2 male) with primary insomnia participated in a 7-week long treatment. A sleep diary was used throughout the treatment. A followup assessment including one week with a sleep diary was conducted 3 months later. Visual inspection was used to analyze outcome.

Results: Insomnia severity was greatly reduced for all participants after treatment. Daily measures showed that sleep onset latency was reduced for two participants but no change in total sleep time was confirmed. Daytime symptoms fluctuated for the participants. The insomnia-specific psychological processes were reduced to varying extents. These results were maintained at the follow-up measure.

Conclusions: CT-I may be a promising treatment for youths with insomnia and the treatment should be tested further in randomized controlled studies.

Aim: Insomnia is a common health problem that affects about 10% of the population. The purpose of this investigation was to examine the association between cognitive processes and the persistence and remission from insomnia in the general population.

Methods: In a longitudinal design, 2333 participants completed a survey on night time and daytime symptoms, and cognitive processes. Follow-up surveys were sent out six months and 18 months after the first assessment. Participants were categorised as having persistent insomnia, being in remission from insomnia or being a normal sleeper.

Results: Cognitive processes distinguished between people with persistent insomnia and normal sleepers. Specifically, worry, dysfunctional beliefs, somatic arousal, selective attention and monitoring, and safety behaviours increased the likelihood of reporting persistent insomnia rather than normal sleep. For people with insomnia, more worry about sleep at baseline predicted persistent insomnia but not remission later on. Lower selective attention and monitoring, and use of safety behaviours over time increased the likelihood of remission from insomnia. In general, these results remained, when psychiatric symptoms and medical complaints were added to the models.

Conclusions: The findings support that certain cognitive processes may be associated with persistence and remission of insomnia. Clinical implications are discussed.

Aim: CBT for insomnia (CBT-I) seems to affect both insomnia and depression in comorbid samples but there is a gap in the knowledge about how the treatment works. The aim was to gain a greater understanding of the relationship between insomnia-specific cognitive processes, insomnia, depressive symptoms and CBT-I in sample with insomnia comorbid with depressive problems.

Methods: 64 participants were recruited through advertisements and randomised to receive either CBT-I or an active control (relaxation training: RT) in groups during four sessions over seven weeks. Insomnia, depressive severity, and cognitive processes were measured pre-, mid- and post-treatment.

Results: All cognitive processes: sleep-related worry, dysfunctional beliefs, somatic arousal, selective attention and monitoring, and safety behaviours, lowered over the course of treatment. CBT-I was associated with greater reductions of safety behaviours and dysfunctional beliefs about sleep compared to RT. Mid-treatment dysfunctional beliefs aboutsleep mediated between CBT-I and outcomes on insomnia and depression severity.

Conclusion: Dysfunctional beliefs may be a transdiagnostic process of both insomnia and depression. Clinical implications and further directions are discussed.