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Getting the latest healthcare news for you
Getting the latest healthcare news for you
Insomnia is becoming a bigger problem in primary care — and so is the reliance on medication to treat it. A study from Central Catalonia found insomnia prevalence jumped from 7.79% to 11.17% between 2018 and 2024, with over half of patients receiving pharmacologic treatment by 2024. Researchers say it's time to scale up non-drug approaches like digital cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia (CBT-I).
Insomnia is on the rise — and so is the prescription pad. A large retrospective study out of Central Catalonia, Spain, tracked insomnia trends in primary care from 2018 to 2024, finding a significant jump in both diagnoses and medication use. The study covered over 31,000 adults with insomnia by 2024, painting a clear picture of a condition that's becoming harder to ignore.
The data shows insomnia prevalence climbed from 7.79% to 11.17% over the six-year period, while new diagnosis rates nearly doubled. More than half of patients with insomnia were receiving pharmacologic treatment by 2024 — with anxiolytics leading the pack. Patients juggling multiple medications (polypharmacy) were 77% more likely to also receive drug treatment for insomnia, raising concerns about compounding medication burdens.
By the Numbers:
Why it matters: With insomnia increasingly intertwined with mental health conditions and polypharmacy, the growing reliance on medications is a real concern. Researchers are calling for scalable, accessible non-pharmacological solutions — like digital CBT-I programs — to become the first-line standard in primary care.
