Abstract
There is a need to develop effective interventions for insomnia that are readily accessible and not too expensive. For the reason that earlier studies have already shown that direct contact with a sleep therapist is not always needed, telephone service may be useful to give insomnia patients education and instructions about sleep and sleep hygiene. In April 1998, the 'Sleep Line' was introduced in The Netherlands. People with sleep problems could dial a telephone number for information and tips. Randomly structured interviews by telephone were held among 302 of the 10.000 people who called the line in the first nine months of its existence. The average caller of the Seep Line is a middle aged and highly educated person. Sleep onset is the main complaint. Almost all subjects have sleep complaints a few nights per week or more, with a mean duration of five years. Callers listened mostly to general information about sleep and to treatments not involving hypnotic drugs. About one quarter of the callers experienced subjective improvements in their sleep after calling the line once or twice. This means that from the 10.000 people who called the line, the subjectively experienced sleep quality of approximately more than 2500 people may be improved. It is suggested that these positive results could be explained by the information about sleep and sleep hygiene advises given to the callers. We therefore conclude that minimal intervention using the Sleep Line is a useful supplement to more time consuming and expensive forms of sleep therapy.
