SUCCESSFUL BEHAVIORAL TREATMENT FOR REPORTED SLEEP PROBLEMS IN ELDERLY CAREGIVERS OF DEMENTIA PATIENTS - A CONTROLLED-STUDY

Although sleep problems are common among dementia caregivers, there ha s been no research thus far describing treatment of such problems usin g behavioral techniques. In this study, 36 elderly dementia caregivers with disturbed sleep were randomly assigned to either a brief behavio ral intervention or a wait list control. The active treatment consiste d of standard sleep hygiene, stimulus control, and sleep compression s trategies as well as education about community resources, stress manag ement, and techniques to reduce patient disruptive behaviors. Caregive rs in active treatment showed significant improvements in sleep at pos t-treatment and 3-month follow up. No significant differences between groups were observed for caregiver mood, burden, or patient behavior p roblems, suggesting that sleep improvements were not an artifact of de pression treatment. Treatment responders tended to be younger and more compliant with treatment recommendations than non-responders. Results suggest that behavioral techniques may well be a viable alternative t o medication for sleep problems in aging caregivers.