Insomnia clinical trials at UCSD

Insomnia is a common condition in Veterans, with prevalence rates as high as 53% among treatment-seeking Veterans. Chronic untreated insomnia is associated with increased risk for functional impairment, psychiatric illness, suicidal ideation, unhealthy lifestyles, and decreased quality of life. Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy for Insomnia (CBT-I) is recognized as the first-line treatment for insomnia. Despite its proven efficacy, CBT-I is not always readily provided and/or accessible to Veterans. To address these limitations, behavioral sleep medicine specialists have endeavored to streamline CBT-I through development of time-shortened variations of CBT-I. Although these modifications show promise for advancing care and access, studies comparing brief treatments to standard CBT-I have yet to be performed. This investigation will therefore compare a 4-session brief CBT-I to VA standard 6-session CBT-I to evaluate whether a brief intervention can provide comparable benefits to sleep, functional, and psychiatric outcomes in Veterans with insomnia.

Many Veterans with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) have trouble sleeping or have frequent nightmares. So far, no medication has been approved for treatment of insomnia in PTSD. The purpose of this research study is to find out if taking medications called trazodone or eszopiclone can help decrease symptoms of insomnia in patients with PTSD. PTSD is a form of intense anxiety which sometimes results from severe trauma. Symptoms may include nightmares, flashbacks, troublesome memories, difficulty sleeping, poor concentration, irritability, anger, and emotional withdrawal. Insomnia is a disorder that can make it hard to fall sleep, stay asleep or cause a person to wake up too early and not be able to fall back to sleep.