Efficacy of an insomnia intervention on fatigue, mood and quality of life in breast cancer survivors

Abstract

Title. Efficacy of an insomnia intervention on fatigue, mood and quality of life in breast cancer survivors Aim. This paper is a report of a study to describe the efficacy of cognitive behavioural therapy for insomnia on fatigue, mood and quality of life in breast cancer survivors. Background. Women who receive primary treatment for breast cancer often complain of insomnia. Rarely evaluated in insomnia intervention studies is the effect of cognitive behavioural treatment on the psychosocial outcomes of fatigue, mood and quality of life. Method. Data were collected between December 2002 and March 2004 with 72 women who were at least 3 months post-completion of primary treatment without current evidence of disease. Women were randomly assigned to either the cognitive behavioural therapy for insomnia group, which received stimulus control instructions, sleep restriction therapy and sleep education and hygiene, or the component control group which received sleep education and hygiene only. The 10-week study consisted of 2 weeks of pre-treatment, 6 weeks of treatment and 2 weeks of post-treatment. Fatigue, mood and quality of life were measured at preand post-treatment. Findings. Women receiving cognitive behavioural therapy for insomnia had significant improvements in fatigue, trait anxiety, depression and quality of life. The component control group also had statistically significant increases in quality of life, with a trend suggestive of lower depression at post-treatment. Conclusion. Globally, as the number of survivors in this population continues to grow, it is imperative that nurses continue testing interventions that may positively affect quality of life and the commonly experienced symptoms of fatigue, anxiety and depression.

Health-related quality of life using EQ-5D among breast cancer survivors in comparison with age-matched peers from the general population in the state of Penang, Malaysia

“…On the other hand, problems in performing usual activities were only significantly reported among the younger women. Previous studies on the rehabilitation of breast cancer patients reported significant improvements in overall QoL after cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) intervention against anxiety and depression (Dirksen and Epstein 2008;Savard et al 2005) as well as by pain management.…”

Cancer-Related Fatigue: The Approach and Treatment

“…Sleep hygiene recommendations include caffeine and exercise avoidance near bedtime, comfortable sleep surroundings (dark, cool, peaceful, and relaxing), and soothing activities at bedtime (reading, tranquil music). Several studies have demonstrated the benefit of behavioral therapies for sleep improvement and fatigue in long-term cancer survivors [31][32][33] . In addition, behavioral therapies may often be combined with complimentary therapies to address sleep issues.…”

Assessment of Wakefulness and Brain Arousal Regulation in Psychiatric Research

“…Often, depressed patients subjectively interpret their symptoms as a sign of tiredness and try to ameliorate them by seeking additional rest and sleep. However, inactivity in most cases negatively impacts mood, and some evidence exists suggesting that on the contrary behavioural activation and chronically restricting bed times might improve mood and depressive symptoms [6,7] .…”