About CBT-I

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Insomnia (CBT-I) is a pretty remarkable thing. With regard to treatment, it has been shown that pharmacotherapy and cognitive behavioral treatment of insomnia have comparable efficacy in the short term and that only CBT-I has durable effects upon treatment discontinuation. CBT-I is a short term intervention where up to 70% of subjects exhibit a treatment response and nearly 40% recover good sleep. In addition, there is emerging evidence that CBT-I also produces significant clinical gains with respect to comorbid conditions. For example, CBT-I in combination with escitalopram (vs. escitalopram alone) doubles response and remission rates in depression and produces substantial reductions in suicidal ideation. There is also emerging evidence that CBT-I affects pain tolerance and quality of life indicators in patients with chronic pain. With respect to medical disorders, treatment for insomnia holds the promise of having positive effects on hypertension, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and dementia. Given the exceptional attributes of CBT-I, it is not surprising (though still pretty remarkable) that the American College of Physicians recently recommend that CBT-I be the first line treatment for Chronic Insomnia.