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Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (Act) Improves Sleep Quality, Experiential Avoidance, and Emotion Regulation in Individuals With Insomnia—Results From a Randomized Interventional Study Publisher



Zakiei A1 ; Khazaie H1 ; Rostampour M1 ; Lemola S2 ; Esmaeili M3 ; Dursteler K4, 5 ; Bruhl AB6, 7 ; Sadeghibahmani D1, 6, 7, 8 ; Brand S1, 6, 7, 9, 10, 11
Authors
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Authors Affiliations
  1. 1. Sleep Disorders Research Center, Kermanshah University of Medical Sciences, Kermanshah, 6715847141, Iran
  2. 2. Department of Psychology, Bielefeld University, Bielefeld, 33602, Germany
  3. 3. Department of Psychology, Faculty of Education, University of Esfahan, Esfahan, 8415683111, Iran
  4. 4. Psychiatric Clinics, Division of Substance Use Disorders Basel, University of Basel, Basel, 4055, Switzerland
  5. 5. Center for Addictive Disorders, Department of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, Psychiatric Hospital, University of Zurich, Zurich, 8008, Switzerland
  6. 6. Center for Affective, Stress and Sleep Disorders (ZASS), Psychiatric University Hospital Basel, Basel, 4002, Switzerland
  7. 7. Department of Clinical Research, University of Basel, Basel, 4031, Switzerland
  8. 8. Departments of Physical Therapy, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, 35294, AL, United States
  9. 9. Substance Abuse Prevention Research Center, Kermanshah University of Medical Sciences, Kermanshah, 6715847141, Iran
  10. 10. Division of Sport Science and Psychosocial Health, Department of Sport, Exercise and Health, University of Basel, Basel, 4052, Switzerland
  11. 11. School of Medicine, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, 1417466191, Iran

Source: Life Published:2021


Abstract

Insomnia is a common problem in the general population. To treat insomnia, medication therapies and insomnia-related cognitive-behavioral interventions are often applied. The aim of the present study was to investigate the influence of acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) on sleep quality, dysfunctional sleep beliefs and attitudes, experiential avoidance, and acceptance of sleep problems in individuals with insomnia, compared to a control condition. A total of 35 participants with diagnosed insomnia (mean age: 41.46 years old; 62.9% females) were randomly assigned to the ACT intervention (weekly group therapy for 60–70 min) or to the active control condition (weekly group meetings for 60–70 min without interventional and psychotherapeutic character). At baseline and after eight weeks (end of the study), and again 12 weeks later at follow-up, participants completed self-rating questionnaires on sleep quality, dysfunctional beliefs and attitudes about sleep, emotion regulation, and experiential avoidance. Furthermore, participants in the intervention condition kept a weekly sleep log for eight consecutive weeks (micro-analysis). Every morning, participants completed the daily sleep log, which consisted of items regarding subjective sleep dura-tion, sleep quality, and the feeling of being restored. Sleep quality, dysfunctional beliefs and attitudes towards sleep, emotion regulation, and experiential avoidance improved over time, but only in the ACT condition compared to the control condition. Improvements remained stable until fol-low-up. Improvements in experiential avoidance were related to a favorable change in sleep and cognitive-emotional processing. Micro-analyses showed that improvements occurred within the first three weeks of treatment. The pattern of results suggests that ACT appeared to have improved experiential avoidance, which in turn improved both sleep quality and sleep-related cognitive-emo-tional processes at longer-term in adults with insomnia. © 2021 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.
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