A More Creative Version of Counting Sheep to Get to Sleep

For insomniacs, focusing on personally engaging but nonarousing thoughts instead of ruminations seems to be more effective than standardized sleep hygiene.

Sleep-onset insomnia continues to be a widespread problem. Cognitive-behavioral approaches such as stimulus control therapy and more recently developed treatments (JW Psychiatry Feb 6 2012) are quite effective, although used less often than medications. This small study introduces a very practical one-session intervention, cognitive refocusing therapy (CRT), to eliminate bedtime ruminations that many poor sleepers identify as the major stumbling block to getting to sleep.

Sixty-two college students were randomized to CRT plus standard sleep hygiene (SH; similar to stimulus control therapy) or SH alone. CRT participants were taught to identify personally engaging but nonarousing thoughts (e.g., song lyrics, TV program plots, recipes) that the…

Reviewing Author

Peter Roy-Byrne, MD

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Peter Roy-Byrne, MD

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Editorial BoardsUpToDate