Researchers from the University of Wisconsin School of Nursing in Madison evaluated the feasibility and potential efficacy of a patient-controlled cognitive-behavioral intervention for pain, fatigue, and sleep disturbance, during treatment for advanced cancer.  

This one group pre- and post-test design consisted of 30 adults with advanced (recurrent or metastatic) colorectal, lung, prostate, or gynecologic cancer receiving chemotherapy or radiotherapy.

Participants completed baseline measures (demographics and symptom inventory) and received education and training to use an MP3 player loaded with 12 cognitive-behavioral strategies (e.g., relaxation exercises, guided imagery, nature sound recordings, etc).

Researchers from the Departments of Sociology and Criminal Justice at Old Dominion University at Norfolk, Virginia, examined the impact of a structured meditation program intervention on female detainees, comparing an experimental group and a control group for medical symptoms, emotions, and behaviors before and after the intervention.

A 2 1/2-hour meditation session was held once a week for 7 weeks. Study participants completed a medical symptoms checklist before the program began and after it ended.

Researchers from Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam in The Netherlands explored whether self-help could offer an inexpensive and more accessible alternative to face-to-face treatment, comparing non-pharmacological therapies only.

Ten studies with a total of 1000 subjects were included. The self-help style of intervention was found to improve sleep efficiency (d=0.42; p<0.05), sleep onset latency (d=0.29; p<0.05), waking after sleep onset (d=0.44; p<0.05) and sleep quality (d=0.33; p<0.05) but not total sleep time (d=0.02; p>0.05).

Researchers R. Bruce Lydiard, Ph.D., M.D., and Mark Hammer MD from the Ralph H. Johnson VA Medical Center in Charleston SC , are embarking on some important research that targets sleep disturbance in posttraumatic stress.  Their premise is that the first-line treatments for posttraumatic stress disorder - medication (selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors) and cognitive behavior therapy – do not adequately treat nightmares and insomnia. Nor do they feel that there is sufficient awareness in the mental health community of the critical role sleep disturbance plays in PTSD.

Researchers from Vrije Universiteit in Amsterdam, The Netherlands, examined whether a self-help intervention might offer an inexpensive and more accessible alternative to face-to-face therapy for the non-pharmacologic treatment of insomnia. 

They conducted a meta-analysis of randomized controlled studies examining the effects of self-help interventions for insomnia, identified through extensive searches of bibliographical databases.  They examined the effects of self-help on different sleep outcomes, in comparison with both wait list controls and face-to-face treatments.

Researchers from Cardiff and Vale NHS Trust in Wales, UK, explored the impact of various interventions when they are delivered within 3 months of the traumatic event.

The study identified 25 randomized, controlled trials of multiple-session psychological treatments aimed at preventing or reducing traumatic stress symptoms in individuals within 3 months of exposure to a traumatic event.  The studies examined a range of interventions. 

What Helps Older Adults Sleep Better? Melatonin, Valerian, Tai Chi, Acupressure, Yoga ...

A review from the University of Pennsylvania finds several promising holistic therapies improve sleep disorders in older adults .

Research from the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine’s Center for Sleep and Respiratory Neurobiology reviewed the growing body of well-designed clinical trials testing efficacy of complementary and alternative medicines (CAM) for sleep disorders in older adults. They point to three promising areas:

1. Melatonin is an effective agent for circadian phase sleep disorders; less clearly so for primary or secondary insomnia;
2. Valerian shows benefit in some but not all clinical trials;
3. Chi, acupuncture, acupressure, yoga, and meditation improve sleep parameters in a limited number of early trials

The author recommends that more research be done in all these areas.

Citation: Gooneratne NS. Complementary and alternative medicine for sleep disturbances in older adults. Clinics in Geriatric Medicine. 2008 Feb;24 (1): pages 121-38, viii. This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it .

Hypnosis is found to be an effective form of therapy for insomnia in school age children, according to a retrospective record review at the State University of New York (S.U.N.Y.) at Syracuse..

Researchers from the State University of New York at Syracuse explored the efficacy of hypnosis for insomnia in school age children. A retrospective chart review was performed for 84 children and adolescents with insomnia, excluding those with central or obstructive sleep apnea.

All patients were offered and accepted instruction in self-hypnosis for treatment of insomnia, and for other symptoms if it was felt that these were amenable to therapy through hypnosis. Seventy-five patients returned for follow-up after the first hypnosis session. Their mean age was 12 years (range, 7-17). When insomnia did not resolve after the first instruction session, patients were offered the opportunity to use hypnosis to gain insight into the cause.