Study objectives: Insomnia in adolescence adversely affects young people's current and future functioning, as well as their mental and physical health. Thus, effective and economic treatment is invaluable. The present study evaluated a 6-session multimodal group therapy, JuSt, for adolescents suffering from insomnia including cognitive-behavioral elements and clinical hypnosis.
Methods: Participants (n = 19, 68.4% female) were aged 11-16 years and suffered from insomnia. Sleep onset latency (SOL), time spent awake time after sleep onset (WASO), and sleep efficiency (SE) were measured with sleep logs before and after treatment, and at 3-, 6-, and 12-month follow-up.
Results: Compared to baseline, SOL and WASO significantly decreased, while there was a significant increase in SE and the feeling of being rested after the JuSt treatment. At 12-month follow-up, all parameters were still significantly different from their baseline level. The long-term effect sizes were at least as large as the short-term effects, indicating a stable improvement.
Conclusions: These results suggest that the JuSt program represents a potent intervention to sustainably reduce insomniac complaints in adolescents. Given the unselected nature of our sample, a broad indication can be assumed. To further evaluate the program's efficacy, randomized controlled trials should be conducted.
Keywords: adolescence; cognitive behavioral therapy; insomnia; sleep disorder.
© 2015 American Academy of Sleep Medicine.