Web-based therapy for insomnia is an effective option that could reach “previously unimaginable numbers of people,” researchers suggest.
Although cognitive behavior therapy for insomnia (CBT-I) is the first-line treatment for adults with chronic insomnia, there aren’t enough trained clinicians to deliver the treatment, according to Dr. Lee Ritterband of the University of Virginia School of Medicine in Charlottesville and colleagues.
To investigate whether web-based CBT-I is effective over the long term and might enable more people to benefit, the team randomly assigned 303 adults with chronic insomnia to a six-week automated, interactive and tailored web-based program (Sleep Healthy Using the Internet, or SHUTi, at www.myshuti.com) or an online, nontailored patient education program about insomnia.