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CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 · Sleep Sci 2022; 15(S 02): 355-360
DOI: 10.5935/1984-0063.20210026
ORIGINAL ARTICLE

Cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia helps to reverse cognitive impairment in insomnia patients

Daniela Deyanira Guarneros Roniger
1   Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Programa de Maestría y Doctorado en Psicología - Coyoacan - Mexico.
2   Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana, Sleep Disorders Clinic - Iztapalapa - Mexico.
,
Yoaly Arana Lechuga
2   Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana, Sleep Disorders Clinic - Iztapalapa - Mexico.
,
Enrique Esqueda León
2   Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana, Sleep Disorders Clinic - Iztapalapa - Mexico.
,
Rosa Obdulia González Robles
3   Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana, Mathematics Department - Iztapalapa - Mexico.
,
Óscar Sánchez Escandón
2   Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana, Sleep Disorders Clinic - Iztapalapa - Mexico.
4   American British Cowdray Medical Center, Neurological Center - Santa Fé Campus - Mexico.
,
Guadalupe Jovanna Terán Pérez
2   Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana, Sleep Disorders Clinic - Iztapalapa - Mexico.
,
Javier Velázquez Moctezuma
2   Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana, Sleep Disorders Clinic - Iztapalapa - Mexico.
5   Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana, Area of Neurosciences, Department of Biology of Reproduction, CBS - Iztapalapa - Mexico.
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ABSTRACT

Introduction: Insomnia is the most common of sleep disorders, it induces a wide variety of organic symptoms, including somatic and cognitive impairments. There are pharmacological drugs nowadays that help diminish sleep impairments due to insomnia. However, most of them seem to be worsening cognitive impairments, benzodiazepine receptor agonists, in particular, seem to induce an even worst deterioration of cognitive function. On the other hand, cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia (CBT-I) has shown to be a reliable tool to improve the whole picture of insomnia. Objectives: To analyze the effect of CBT-I on insomnia symptoms and cognitive performance in patients suffering from chronic insomnia.

Material and Methods: Ten subjects with a diagnosis of insomnia and no pharmacological treatment were evaluated pre- and post-six biweekly sessions of CBT-I with two neuropsychological batteries, BANFE and NEUROPSI attention and memory.

Results: CBT-I significantly improves both the symptoms of insomnia, measured subjectively with a sleep diary and the Athens insomnia scale, and the cognitive performance measured with the neuropsychological batteries.

Discussion: CBT-I is not only an effective tool for the treatment of insomnia but also helps to ameliorate cognitive performance.

Keywords:

Sleep Initiation and Maintenance Disorders - Cognitive Therapy - Cognition - Memory - Attention - Executive Function


Publication History

Received: 04 May 2020

Accepted: 16 April 2021

Article published online:
01 December 2023

© 2023. Brazilian Sleep Association. This is an open access article published by Thieme under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonDerivative-NonCommercial License, permitting copying and reproduction so long as the original work is given appropriate credit. Contents may not be used for commercial purposes, or adapted, remixed, transformed or built upon. (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/)

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