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

Page: https://stenobird.com/podcast/general-practice-clinical-sessions-podcast-7705659/insomnia-management-in-australian-general-practice-prof-nick-zwar-dr-alexander-sweetman
Text version: https://stenobird.com/podcast/general-practice-clinical-sessions-podcast-7705659/insomnia-management-in-australian-general-practice-prof-nick-zwar-dr-alexander-sweetman.md
Podcast: [General Practice Clinical Sessions Podcast](https://stenobird.com/podcast/general-practice-clinical-sessions-podcast-7705659)
Published: 2026-09-02T19:30:00+00:00
Episode link: https://general-practice.captivate.fm/episode/insomnia-management-in-australian-general-practice-prof-nick-zwar-dr-alexander-sweetman
Audio file: https://episodes.captivate.fm/episode/6abc5b0e-288f-4079-8d53-11ccefacb1a4.mp3
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JSON: https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/general-practice-clinical-sessions-podcast-7705659/episodes/insomnia-management-in-australian-general-practice-prof-nick-zwar-dr-alexander-sweetman
Duration seconds: 4660

## Resource

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 episodes. CBT-I is the First-Line Cure, Not Sleep Hygiene: Standard sleep hygiene advice (e.g., avoiding caffeine, regular wake times) rarely resolves chronic insomnia. CBT-I is a multicomponent therapy heavily focused on behavioral techniques like stimulus control and bedtime restriction therapy. The Power of Digital CBT-I: To bypass the severe shortage and cost of trained sleep psychologists, GPs can utilize Bedtime Window , a free, 5-session digital CBT-I program that uses personalized algorithms and clinician-led videos to achieve a 90% mild-to-normal sleep remission rate for complet…

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