Behavior Therapy and Light Therapy of Insomnia

Seo, W S

Abstract

Many people suffer from chronic insomnia. Inappropriate sleep causes attention?difficulties, decreased work efficiency, and increased traffic accidents and disasters. Evaluating the precise causes of insomnia prior to treatment is very important, because chronic insomnia can be a secondary symptom of other medical, psychiatric, and sleep disorders. Medication and behavior therapy are not exclusive of each other, and both treatments are beneficial to some patients, but currently many physicians and patients tend to be dependent only on medication. While long-term medication causes various degrees of dependency, tolerance, and withdrawal symptoms, behavior therapy has a stable effect over a long period. Behavior therapy is one of the most important treatment modalities for chronic insomnia. It shortens sleep latency, and decreases frequency of awakening during sleep. The rationale and practice of currently used behavior therapy and light therapy will be reviewed in this study.