Cognitive-behavioral treatment of insomnia secondary to chronic pain

Sixty participants with insomnia secondary to chronic pain were assigned ra ndomly to either a cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) or a self-monitoring/ waiting-list control condition. The therapy consisted of a multicomponent 7 -week group intervention aimed at promoting good sleep habits, teaching rel axation skills, and changing negative thoughts about sleep. Treated partici pants were significantly more improved than control participants on self-re port measures of sleep onset latency, wake time after sleep onset, sleep ef ficiency, and sleep quality, and they showed less motor activity in ambulat ory recordings of nocturnal movement. At a 3-month follow-up assessment, tr eated participants showed good maintenance of most therapeutic gains. These results provide the ist evidence from a randomized controlled trial that C BT is an effective treatment for insomnia that is secondary to chronically painful medical conditions.