Sleep Disorders
Over 70 million of Americans have reported to have sleep disorders (Aschenbrenner & Venable, 2008). Among different kinds of such disorders (sleep apnoea, narcolepsy, night terrors, sleepwalking, etc.), insomnia is the most frequently observed. There exist several techniques to treat insomnia but cognitive-behavioral treatment is the most effective.
Insomnia: The Nature of the Disorder
There exist several presentations and types of insomnia that are used in diagnosing and treating it.
Presentations of Insomnia
Firstly, insomnia may be presented through problems with waking up, returning to sleep, falling and staying asleep, etc. The second presentation is through the length of sleep, or “not sleeping long enough” (Aschenbrenner & Venable, 2008, p. 267). Finally, the quality of sleep itself may be disturbing.
Types of Insomnia
Acute insomnia. Acute insomnia is temporary and develops in result of a stressful situation. Transient insomnia may be regarded as a variety of acute insomnia since it is a short-term problem with falling or remaining asleep (Lee-Chiong, 2012).
Causes of acute insomnia. Stress, jet lag, drug therapy, environmental changes.
Chronic insomnia. Chronic insomnia is a “discrete sleep-wake disorder” (Lee-Chiong, 2012, p. 120); patients with chronic insomnia experience problems with sleep for more than a month.
Causes of chronic insomnia. Misuse of alcohol and substances, chronic stress, diet and habits, chronic diseases (asthma, heart failure, Parkinson disease, etc.) (Aschenbrenner & Venable, 2008).
Insomnia Treatment
Drug Therapy
Sedatives are used to treat different types of insomnia and have shown to be quite helpful (Butkov & Lee-Chiong, 2007). Sleeping pills modify sleep structure; benzodiazepines, for instance, are used to improve sleep continuity (Vasile, Balazci, & Lupu, 2009). However, medications have numerous side-effects and can be used during a limited period of time; their effectiveness is short-term. It is recommended to use drug therapy for definite groups of patients (those having physical or mental illnesses, low motivation, or those who lack resources to pay for cognitive-behavioral therapy) (Conroy, Arnedt, & Brower, 2008).
Cognitive-Behavioral Treatment
The effect of cognitive-behavioral treatment (CBT) on sleep improvement is long-term because such treatment deals with the roots of the problems that cause insomnia. CBT is effective for any kind of insomnia. This treatment involves sleep hygiene education, relaxation therapies, stimulus control therapy, and sleep restriction therapy (Butkov & Lee-Chiong, 2007). It takes from 4 to 10 sessions to deal with the problem and the response rate of such treatment is 70-80% (Schumpf & Rego, 2009).
Conclusion
CBT is more effective than drug treatment is treating insomnia because it is applicable to any type of this sleep disorder, does not have side-effects, and deals with the causes of insomnia rather than its symptoms.
Annotated Bibliography
Aschenbrenner, D.S., & Venable, S.J. (2008). Drug therapy in nursing. Philadelphia: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins.
This book is on nursing pharmacology and patients’ response to drug therapies. It presents valuable information on how insomnia can be treated with the help of medications, as well as on insomnia presentations, such as “not sleeping long enough, feeling that sleep was not restful, sleeping poorly” (Aschenbrenner & Venable, 2008, p. 267).
Butkov, N., & Lee-Chiong, T.L. (2007). Fundamentals of sleep technology: Endorsed …