The Talking Therapy That Treats Insomnia at Its Source

This analysis pooled 20 randomised trials of cognitive behavioural therapy for insomnia, known as CBT-I, a structured short course that reshapes the thoughts and habits keeping people awake, including the hours spent lying awake in bed. Across the trials, CBT-I meaningfully improved sleep, helping people fall asleep faster, spend less time awake in the night and use their time in bed more efficiently, with gains that tended to last. Because the improvements hold over time and carry none of the tolerance or side effects of sleeping tablets, guidelines now recommend it as the first treatment to try for chronic insomnia. The effects were clearest for how quickly people fell asleep and how solidly they stayed asleep, and more modest for the total hours gained. For a woman lying awake at three in the morning, it points to a proven, drug-free route worth asking a doctor about.