Researchers have found that online therapy for insomniacs was more effective than the traditional face-to-face intervention to treat the sleeping disorder.

The researchers from the University of Virginia Health System, Charlottesville tested an online version of cognitive behavioral therapy, a psychological treatment focusing on the behaviors and dysfunctional thoughts that contribute to sleep problems, on 44 adults who have an average 10 years of sleep difficulties. The therapy called SHUTi was developed as an alternative to the traditional therapy, which is limited in availability due to its high cost, lack of trained therapists and their inaccessibility.

During nine weeks of SHUTi tests, half of the 44 adults were subjected to interactive educational and cognitive activities, including quizzes and games. SHUTi also advised subjects to not read or watch television in the bedroom and stop napping at daytime.

Participants were told to note daily improvements in their sleep and rate their insomniac symptoms through diaries before and after undergoing the SHUTi program. The result was a marked improvement in the sleeping habits of 22 participants compared to the other 22 participants who did not undergo the program.

"An Internet intervention has the potential of meeting the large unmet treatment need of the population with insomnia by providing effective treatment through the Web," the researchers said in their SHUTi report published in the July issue of Archives of General Psychiatry, according to the Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine Web site.

"An effective and inexpensive Internet intervention would expand treatment options for large numbers of adults with insomnia, especially those whose geographical location prohibits access to relevant care, and could be a substantive first-line treatment choice," the researchers added.