intensive sleep retraining (ISR)

Indications

• investigational therapy for chronic insomnia

Clinical significance

• counters the conditioned psychophysiological arousal implicated in insomnia
• allows practice in falling asleep rapidly
• provides feedback about objectively recorded sleep onset
• benefits are rapid & sustained

Procedure

• conducted in a sleep laboratory
• requires polysomnography
• procedure starts at 10:30 PM after a 5 hour restricted sleep the previous night
• if patient falls asleep with 20 minutes, they are awakened, asked whether they thought they had been asleep, & told that they had been asleep for at least 3 minutes as confirmed by polysomnography

More general terms

• behavioral therapy