Insomnia and Obstructive Sleep Apnoea (OSA) are common sleep disorders which can happen together in the same person, but a new study suggests Cognitive Behavioural Therapy for Insomnia can improve symptoms of both disorders.
South Australian sleep experts advise people living with both conditions to consider Cognitive Behavioural Therapy for insomnia (CBTi) to treat underlying insomnia symptoms before starting continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) mask therapy.
According to a new Flinders University study in European Respiratory Journal Open Research. CBT for insomnia not only improves insomnia symptoms in these patients, but also leads to a small reduction in the severity of their sleep apnoea.
These findings are important for the 30-50% of OSA patients who also experience insomnia symptoms.
Cognitive Behavioural Therapy targets maladaptive behavioural patterns and dysfunctional beliefs about sleep with a structured program that helps identify and replace thoughts and behaviors that cause or worsen sleep problems with good habits, effectively targeting underlying issues.
