A COMPARISON OF THE EFFICACY OF STIMULUS-CONTROL FOR MEDIATED AND NONMEDICATED INSOMNIACS

A sample of 21 medicated and 20 nonmedicated insomniacs participated i n a sleep medication withdrawal program that provided education about sleep medication and a gradual medication withdrawal schedule. Ten med icated participants received stimulus control treatment and the withdr awal program, and II medicated participants served as a control group that received only the withdrawal program. Half of the nonmedicated pa rticipants received stimulus control, and the remaining nommedicated p articipants served as a wait-list control condition. Medicated partici pants significantly reduced sleep medication use without significant d eterioration on sleep, anxiety, or depression measures from baseline t o I-week follow-up. Stimulus control participants, unlike control grou p participants, showed significant improvement at follow-up for total sleep time, sleep efficiency, and sleep quality. Stimulus control part icipants also reported less daytime sleepiness than control participan ts after treatment. Nonmedicated participants exhibited a more positiv e response to stimulus control than medicated participants.