Behavioral Treatment of Sleep Disturbance in Elderly Dementia Caregivers

Disturbed sleep is a common complaint of family caregivers of dementia patients, and may impact their ability to care effectively for their patient at home. A behavioral treatment for caregiver insomnia (consisting of education about Alzheimer's disease and instruction in sleep hygiene, stimulus control, sleep compression, and relaxation techniques) is described. Four elderly caregivers who completed treatment showed improvements in sleep onset latency, wake time after sleep onset, hours of nightly sleep, and sleep efficiency that were generally maintained at 3-month followup. One caregiver also showed significant reductions in depression. The potential for this approach in improving caregiver functioning is discussed.