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