DEVELOPMENT OF A SLEEP MANAGEMENT PROGRAM FOR PEOPLE WITH SEVERE MENTAL-ILLNESS

Studies indicate that many people with severe mental ill ness experience some form of sleep disturbance both during the acute phase of their illness as well as during periods of remission. Although many sleep disturbances have a biological or acute stress-related etiology, deficient sleep behaviors and other environmental factors perpetuate then. In this study the investigators attempted to develop a sleep training module, using subject surveys, and to evaluate the efficacy of behavioral training of sleep problems for people with severe mental illness. Using a behavior-analytic survey, the investigators elicited information from participants for a sleep management training module. A second cohort participated in the sleep management skills training module and completed sleep logs for 3 months to determine if, on therapeutic doses of psychotropic medication, they would show general improvement on 3 sleep factors and increase their knowledge of sleep management skills. Results indicated that participants learned information about managing sleep after taking part in sleep management training. In addition, results of a repeated measures ANOVA found that participants' subjective rating of sleep improved.