An Introduction to Research on the Clinical Efficacy of Paradoxical Intention

The authors concluded that stimulus control appears to be effective in habit restructuring, although patients will not necessarily be more contented with their sleep, and relaxation may be used when qualitative improvements are more important than quantitative. Paradoxical intention seems to reduce internight variability prior to decreasing latency. Thus, paradoxical intention may produce improvements in both sleep-onset latency and quality of sleep, although the authors caution that some patients seem to show temporary exacerbation of sleep problems.