Paul B. Glovinsky

Sleep Restriction Therapy

Drawing on clinical experience in sleep disorder centers and laboratory-based investigations, we are continuing to develop conceptual models as well as behavioral treatment strategies for insomnia. The technique reported on here, sleep restriction therapy, has had its effectiveness confirmed in laboratory and clinical studies and is now widely used in sleep disorders centers (Spielman, Saskin, & Thorpy, 1987; Friedman, Bliwise, Yesavage, & Salom, 1991; Morin, Kowatch, & Wade, 1989; Morin, Kowatch, & O’Shanick, 1990; Rubinstein, Rothenberg, Maheswaran, Tsai, Zozula, & Spielman, 1990).

A History of Nonpharmacological Treatments for Insomnia

The theoretical and clinical foundations of the nonpharmacological treatment of insomnia were for the most part laid down a generation ago, making this an opportune moment to recap the history of the field while still benefitting from the personal recollections of early participants in its growth. The treatment of insomnia is rendered problematic not only by the subjective nature of the disorder but also by the complex interactions between diverse factors that produce chronic sleeplessness. In the eight decades since progressive muscle relaxation first targeted insomnia’s somatic inputs, cadres of researchers and clinicians have approached the task of treating it a bit like the blind men treat their elephant, each finding a distinctive feature on which to obtain a grasp.