Research
Adherence
Cognitive-behavioral therapy for insomnia (CBT-I) is the first-line treatment for insomnia disorder, with hypnotics recommended only for short-term use when CBT-I is unavailable or ineffective.
If you have chronic insomnia, seek Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy for Insomnia (CBT-I) as your primary treatment. It is the gold standard recommended by all major medical guidelines. Use sleep medications only as a short-term bridge if CBT-I is not accessible, not as a long-term solution.
StrongSupportsVERY_HIGH confidence
All insomnia-related guidelines published in the last 5 years agree that CBT-I should be the first-line treatment for insomnia, based on the accumulated scientific evidence from the literature... hypnotics are recommended for short-term use and only if CBT-I is either not available or ineffective.
Why this rating
Based on 'accumulated scientific evidence' and consensus across multiple major guidelines (ACP, AASM, German/European Sleep Societies).
Source
Insomnia disorder: State of the science and challenges for the future
Dieter Riemann et al. · Journal of Sleep Research · 2022
DOI 10.1111/jsr.13604
narrative_reviewCited 312×
Read the paper DOI resolved against Crossref · corpus check 2026-06-10
More from this paper
- Insomnia disorder is an independent risk factor for the development of mental health disorders, including depression, anxiety, and suicide, suggesting that treating insomnia may have preventive value for these conditions.Good
- Digital Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy for Insomnia (dCBT-I) is a cost-effective and viable method for delivering CBT-I at scale, potentially reducing healthcare expenditures.Good
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