Cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia
The first step in treating insomnia with CBT-I is to identify the underlying causes of the insomnia. People with insomnia should evaluate or have their sleep patterns evaluated and take into account all possible factors that may be affecting the person's ability to sleep. This would involve keeping a sleep diary or journal for a couple weeks. The journal will help to identify patterns of thoughts or behaviors, stressors, etc. that could be contributing to the person's insomnia.
Effects of sleep deprivation on college students
In one study, a revised type of cognitive behavioral for treating insomnia was sent to participating students by email. The email contained an attachment addressing several aspects of sleep, such as techniques for relaxation and methods to stabilize the circadian rhythm. This method was compared to another program called Breathe which was created in order to reduce symptoms of depression and to cope with high stress. Participants in the Breathe program showed improvements in sleep quality and a decrease in depressive symptoms.While this study only had a small number of participants, the final results showed hope as an effective method that can help with sleep deprivation for college students.