Behavioral management of sleep disturbances secondary to chronic pain

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Abstract

The clinical efficacy of a behavioral management program for treating insomia secondary to chronic pain was evaluated within a multiple-baseline design a across subjects. Treatment consisted of a combination of stimulus control and sleep restriction procedures. Daily sleep diaries and all-night polysomnographic (PSG) measures were used to document changes in sleep/wake patterns. The results showed that treatment was effective in improving sleep patterns in all three patients. A substantial decrease of time awake at night was obtained and this was reflected by reductions of sleep onset latency, wake time after sleep onset, and early morning awakenings. Sleep improvements were well maintained at follow-ups and were also paralleled by improved mood states. The findings indicate that behavioral procedures are effective for treating sleep disturbances associated with chronic pain conditions.

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    This research was supported in part by the Grants-In-Aid Program for faculty of Virginia Commonwealth University. An earlier version of this article was presented at the World Congress of Behaviour Therapy, Edinburgh, Scotland, September 1988.

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