Altering misperception of sleep in insomnia: behavioral experiment versus verbal feedback.
Forty-eight individuals with insomnia were asked to wear an actigraph and keep a sleep diary for 2 nights. On the following day, half were shown the discrepancy between the data recorded on the actigraph and their sleep diary via a behavioral experiment, whereas the other half were told of the discrepancy verbally. Participants were then asked to monitor their sleep for 2 further nights to index the effect of these interventions. Although both reduced sleep misperception, the behavioral experiment (effect size: 0.79 to 1.25) led to greater reduction in self-reported sleep impairment, insomnia symptoms, and sleep-related anxiety and distress compared with verbal feedback (effect size: -0.06 to 0.31). Further, the patients regarded the behavioral experiment as a more beneficial and acceptable intervention strategy than verbal feedback.
Tang
Nicole K Y
NK
Department of Psychology, Institute of Psychiatry, King's College London, England. n.tang@iop.kcl.ac.uk
Harvey
Allison G
AG
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001007:Anxiety / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000523:psychology; D001290:Attitude; D005246:Feedback; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D017286:Polysomnography; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D012890:Sleep; D007319:Sleep Initiation and Maintenance Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000523:psychology* / Q000628:therapy*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014705:Verbal Behavior