Which statement about insomnia management is true?

• A. Alcohol at bedtime is recommended.
• B. Caffeine before bed improves sleep.
• C. Napping during the day is essential.
• D. Phototherapy and chronotherapy are nonpharmacologic options for insomnia.

Answer: (D)

Managing insomnia often involves strategies that reset or align the body’s internal clock without using medications. Phototherapy, or bright-light therapy, uses timed exposure to bright light to shift the circadian rhythm forward or backward, helping people adjust when they sleep. Chronotherapy takes a gradual, planned change in sleep times to realign the sleep-wake schedule. Together, these nonpharmacologic approaches address the underlying circadian factors contributing to insomnia and can improve sleep quality and daytime functioning without drugs.

Alcohol at bedtime may help with sleep onset briefly but disrupts sleep later, fragmenting sleep. Caffeine before bed stimulates the nervous system and delays sleep onset, lowering sleep quality. Daytime napping isn’t essential and can perpetuate insomnia by reducing sleep pressure, though very short, early naps might help some people if used judiciously.