Insomnia that may be open to that approach is the type in which victims wake after going to sleep and remain awake for at least an hour - a condition believed to afflict five out of every 100 adults.

"These people can have a lot of sleep-disruptive habits that they think are compensating for the insomnia, but actually perpetuate it," said Jack Edinger, lead author of the study published in this week's Journal of the American Medical Association.

He cited daytime napping as a prime example of a habit that contributes to disrupted sleep at night.

Researchers at Duke University Medical Center and the Veterans Affairs Medical Center, both in Durham, North Carolina, said tests on 75 men and women produced significant sleep improvement within six weeks that lasted through six months of follow-up observations.

The program researchers used tried to correct misconceptions people have about their own sleep needs and habits. Most of those were dealt with through an information packet provided to the patients, and any unique problems were then addressed individually.

The program also dealt with behavior, addressing disruptive habits that can aggravate or perpetuate the insomnia, such as failing to relax mentally at bedtime, being distracted by reading or television or even spending too much time in bed, the report said.

The study reported that the average participant in the project wound up with less than 30 minutes of sleeplessness at night after treatment. At present the most common way to treat the problem is with drugs, the study added.

(Xinhua 04/17/2001)