Insomnia management in Australian General Practice Prof Nick Zwar & Dr Alexander Sweetman

About this episode

Co-Hosts: Professor Nicholas Zwar (Executive Dean & GP) & Dr. Alexander Sweetman (Senior Research Fellow & Sleep Psychologist) and Michelle Odayan (MyHealth Academy) Episode Overview While up to 10–15% of Australian adults suffer from chronic insomnia, primary care has historically relied on sedative-hypnotics, writing prescriptions in up to 90% of insomnia presentations. In this episode, Prof. Nicholas Zwar and Dr. Alexander Sweetman unpack the critical clinical shift toward Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Insomnia (CBT-I), the global gold-standard first-line treatment. They discuss the massive barrier to accessing CBT-I (only 1% of chronic sufferers currently receive it) and reveal how a free, Australian-developed digital program called Bedtime Window is giving GPs an effective, evidence-based pathway to cure insomnia and support elegant de-prescribing. Key Clinical Takeaways for GPs Insomnia is a Chronic Disorder, Not Just a Symptom: Chronic insomnia is defined as sleep dissatisfaction occurring 3+ nights a week for 3+ months. It is highly comorbid with depression, anxiety, chronic pain, and cardiovascular diseases, and is a significant predictor of future depressive episo