A review of patients at HealthPartners Sleep Health Center adds to research that cognitive behavior therapy for insomnia (CBT-I) can be effective at increasing the quantity and quality of sleep for patients with chronic insomnia.

HealthPartners Sleep Health Center, a department of Regions Hospital, began providing CBT-I in 2011. Treatment involves a personalized program of eight sessions occurring over two to three months.

HealthPartners found the following results among adult patients with chronic insomnia who completed the program:

  • The average time awake fell about 67%; from more than two hours per night to about 40 minutes.
  • The average time asleep increased 6% from about 6.5 hours to nearly 7 hours.
  • Sleep efficiency increased. Patients were able to increase sleep time while decreasing the length of time in bed by an average of one hour per night.

“Our results add to the data-base that CBT-I can provide long-term relief without the use of medication for patients with chronic insomnia,” says James Davig, PhD, Sleep Behavioral Psychologist at HealthPartners Sleep Health Center, in a release.