Women's Health: Insomnia

Course overview

This INR home-study course, Women's Health: Insomnia, provides detailed information on: (1) the physiology of sleep and healthy sleep patterns; (2) the different types of insomnia; and (3) causes of insomnia in women and effective treatments (3) various treatment approaches including sleep hygiene, behavioral methods, and pharmaceuticals. Causes and characteristics of transient, short-term, and chronic insomnia are addressed in detail. Causes include various medical conditions and medical treatments that interfere with sleep, emotional disorders, alcohol overuse, circadian rhythm problems, and stress. The course addresses treatment and prevention of sleeplessness in depth. Behavioral approaches are discussed in detail, including stimulus control therapy, biofeedback, relaxation, cognitive behavioral therapy, and light therapy. Also included are self-care recommendations for getting restful sleep, use of non-prescription drugs such as antihistamines, OTC pain relievers, and herbal or natural remedies. A major section on prescription hypnotics includes the most recent findings on the use and characteristics of several classes of sedatives, and provides information on several sleep medications recently approved by the FDA. The course provides information on the pros and cons of long-acting benzodiazepines, medium-acting benzodiazepines, a short-acting benzodiazepine, and short-acting non-benzodiazepine hypnotics. Side effects, dosing and interactions with alcohol and other drugs are discussed. The home study provides recommendations for decreasing the risk of dependence, tolerance, and rebound insomnia in patients who use sleep medications.