The Effectiveness of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy on Insomnia Patients (A Single-arm Trial Plan)

Abstract

Objective: Studies focusing on the effects of acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) on insomnia and sleep components are limited in number. Therefore, it seems that the effects of this therapy method as a new psychological treatment need to be explored in a comprehensive fashion. Accordingly, the current study has been carried out in order to evaluate the effectiveness of ACT on insomnia patients. Materials and Methods: Current study uses a single-arm trial plan where four participants are chosen from among individuals who visited Kermanshah University Faculty of Medicine, Sleep Disorders Research Center, Kermanshah in 2018. Based on the results from polysomnography and psychological interviews, insomnia of the participants has been confirmed. Individual participants attended eight sessions of ACT. Results: The results show variance in the scores for variables of ``experiential avoidance{''}, ``dysfunctional beliefs and attitudes about sleep{''}, ``acceptance of sleep difficulties{''}, and ``sleep quality{''} for all four participants after the ACT sessions were completed. Moreover, the results of the study show that the level of total sleep for all four participants increased. This means that ACT had a significant impact on increasing the sleep duration. With regards to other sleep-related variables, the variance trend after the therapy was significant. Conclusion: Based on the results of the study, it can be said that ACT improves sleep quality of insomnia patients. Therefore, therapists are recommended to utilize this therapeutic method in order to mitigate the problems of insomnia patients.