title: Insomnia (primary) in older people: non-drug treatments.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Up to 40% of older adults have insomnia, with difficulty getting to sleep, early waking, or feeling unrefreshed on waking. The prevalence of insomnia increases with age. Other risk factors include psychological factors, stress, daytime napping, and hyperarousal.
  
  
  METHODS
  We conducted a systematic review and aimed to answer the following clinical question: What are the effects of non-drug treatments for primary insomnia in older people (aged 60 years and older)? We searched: Medline, Embase, The Cochrane Library, and other important databases up to May 2014 (Clinical Evidence reviews are updated periodically; please check our website for the most up-to-date version of this review). We included harms alerts from relevant organisations such as the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the UK Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA).
  
  
  RESULTS
  We found 14 studies that met our inclusion criteria. We performed a GRADE evaluation of the quality of evidence for interventions.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  In this systematic review, we present information relating to the effectiveness and safety of the following interventions: cognitive behavioural therapy for insomnia (CBT-I), exercise programmes, and timed exposure to bright light.
authors.affiliation: Veterans Administration Greater Los Angeles Healthcare System, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, Los Angeles, US.
authors.forename: Cathy
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Alessi
authors.forename: Michael V
authors.initials: MV
authors.lastname: Vitiello
mesh_terms: D015928:Cognitive Behavioral Therapy; D005081:Exercise Therapy; D006801:Humans; D010789:Phototherapy; D007319:Sleep Initiation and Maintenance Disorders / Q000628:therapy*; D016896:Treatment Outcome