Integrated insomnia therapy improved sleep more in veterans with PTSD
Veterans with insomnia and PTSD improved more on sleep outcomes with integrated insomnia therapy than sleep hygiene, alongside the same PTSD therapy. PTSD symptom changes did not differ significantly between groups.
Based on the published abstract. The full paper may contain additional methods, results and limitations.
The 30-second takeaway
For veterans with both insomnia and PTSD, adding cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia to prolonged exposure produced greater sleep and perceived quality-of-life improvements than pairing prolonged exposure with sleep hygiene. PTSD symptoms decreased in both groups, with no statistically significant difference between them. The abstract reports the direction of differences without numerical changes that show their size.
This abstract-based brief cannot quantify the sleep improvements or isolate their size at each assessment. Participants were veterans with both diagnoses, limiting direct application to people with insomnia alone or different clinical populations.
What researchers found
Insomnia severity and reported sleep
Compared with sleep hygiene, both alongside prolonged exposure, insomnia severity, sleep efficiency and total sleep time improved more. Assessments covered treatment and follow-up; time-specific changes were not provided.
The shared treatment matters
Both groups received prolonged exposure, a PTSD therapy. The trial therefore compared the insomnia-focused component within that shared treatment, rather than comparing combined therapy with no treatment or testing either component on its own.
Sleep and PTSD results differed
Sleep efficiency—the share of time in bed spent asleep—and total sleep time increased more with integrated insomnia therapy. PTSD symptoms decreased similarly in the statistical comparison, which does not prove that the treatments were equivalent for PTSD.
The original publication
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Insomnia With Prolonged Exposure Compared to Sleep Hygiene and Prolonged Exposure: A Randomized Controlled Trial.
Colvonen PJ, Hunt C, Park J et al.
J Clin Psychiatry · 2025
- PubMed ID
- 40488726
- Record checked
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