This author interview is by Alyssa Brooks, of the National Institutes of Health. Mrs Brooks' full paper, Sleep Disturbances in Individuals with Alcohol-Related Disorders: A Review of Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy for Insomnia (CBT-I) and Associated Non-Pharmacological Therapies, is available for download in Substance Abuse: Research and Treatment.

First please summarise for readers the content of your article.
Our recently-published literature review examines the effectiveness of cognitive behavioural therapy for insomnia (CBT-I) and other behavioural interventions for those with alcohol-related disorders. Six articles were systematically reviewed and we discovered that the majority of studies demonstrated significant improvements in sleep efficiency among the treatment groups. A secondary goal of this review was to summarize various methods of behavioural / non-pharmacologic sleep intervention delivery, including therapy delivered by landline/smartphone or computer.

How did you come to be involved in your area of study?
I have been involved in alcohol research since I was an undergraduate at the Penn State Prevention Research Center. When I started graduate school at the University of Maryland, I simultaneously started working at the National Institutes of Health Clinical Center (NIH CC) as a pre-doctoral intramural research fellow. Through working on multiple projects examining health behaviour and chronic care management in diverse and vulnerable populations, I was constantly reminded of the concept of holistic and patient-centred care. Like other individuals with chronic and progressive diseases, alcoholics often struggle with a range of co-morbid conditions. At the NIH, I worked on a project examining the prevalence of sleep disturbances among alcoholics undergoing inpatient rehabilitation. Although sleep was not originally one of my research interests, I am learning the importance of quality sleep for relapse prevention and overall quality of life among alcoholics. This realization inspired my dissertation study, which utilizes mixed-methods to examine sleep disturbances and their role in relapse among recovering alcoholics during both the inpatient and outpatient phases of treatment.

What was previously known about the topic of your article?
Alcohol consumption and sleep disturbances frequently co-occur, and sleep disturbances are often associated with relapse. The evidence for CBT-I as an effective means for improving sleep duration and quality is building, but little research has been done specifically among alcoholics.

How has your work in this area advanced understanding of the topic?
This paper was meant to start the conversation on tailoring evidence-based sleep interventions to alcohol-dependent individuals. The unique needs of recovering are immensely important to identify, understand, and work with when designing interventions that are not only evidence-based but feasible and acceptable to the target population.

What do you regard as being the most important aspect of the results reported in the article?
Non-pharmacological sleep interventions may be effective, but should be tailored to recovering alcoholics. Thorough mixed-methods research is needed to inform these future interventions.

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