Sleep Well Despite Persistent Pain Symptoms

The Sleep-Well program covers four overarching topics stretched over 7 group sessions (each lasting \~1.5 hours): 1) providing information about sleep physiology, causes of sleep problems, sleep habits and hygiene and use of sleep assessment methods (i.e., sleep diaries) for deciding sleep restriction schedules; 2) behavioural strategies through the application of stimulus control and sleep restriction; , 3) mental strategies by addressing and changing unhelpful (meta)cognitions that commonly occur in sleep and persistent pain conditions; and 4) strategies related to maintenance of good sleep and prevention of relapse. The program has been developed by Diakonhjemmet hospital in Oslo and includes a guideline for therapist and a workbook for patients (that includes home tasks for the participant).

The treatment-as-usual arm represents an active waiting-list arm as subjects receive standard care, which may involve some sleep assessment, rudimentary advice/education about sleep, and possibly also sleep medication. The type of sleep treatment this group receives during the waiting-list period will be recorded from the patients' journal.