An actigraphic comparison of sleep restriction and sleep hygiene treatments for insomnia in older adults

J Geriatr Psychiatry Neurol. 2000 Spring;13(1):17-27. doi: 10.1177/089198870001300103.

Abstract

We compared the efficacy of sleep restriction therapy combined with sleep hygiene, nap modification of sleep restriction therapy combined with sleep hygiene, and sleep hygiene alone as treatments for insomnia in 39 community-dwelling men and women 55 years and older. We used the wrist actigraph as an objective outcome measure for all subjects at baseline, end of treatment, and 3-month follow-up; polysomnography (PSG) was conducted in a subgroup of subjects. Although subjects appeared to follow restriction instructions through follow-up, we found few between-group differences in treatment efficacy. Lack of treatment effect might be explained by the efficacy of HYG as a treatment in itself and the relatively low symptom level in these healthy older poor sleepers. At baseline, actigraphic results were found to correlate more highly than sleep log data with PSG in our sample. Actigraphic total sleep time, in particular, was highly correlated with PSG.

Publication types

  • Clinical Trial
  • Randomized Controlled Trial
  • Research Support, U.S. Gov't, Non-P.H.S.
  • Research Support, U.S. Gov't, P.H.S.

MeSH terms

  • Adult
  • Aged
  • Behavior Therapy
  • Circadian Rhythm
  • Female
  • Follow-Up Studies
  • Humans
  • Male
  • Middle Aged
  • Monitoring, Ambulatory
  • Motor Activity*
  • Polysomnography*
  • Sleep Deprivation* / psychology
  • Sleep Initiation and Maintenance Disorders / psychology
  • Sleep Initiation and Maintenance Disorders / therapy*
  • Treatment Outcome