A feasibility study of a mobile app to treat insomnia

Melissa Aji; Nick Glozier; Delwyn Bartlett; Dorian Peters; Rafael A Calvo; Yizhong Zheng; Ronald Grunstein; Christopher Gordon

doi:10.1093/tbm/ibaa019

A feasibility study of a mobile app to treat insomnia

Transl Behav Med. 2021 Mar 16;11(2):604-612. doi: 10.1093/tbm/ibaa019.

Authors

Melissa Aji¹, Nick Glozier^{1

2}, Delwyn Bartlett^{2

3}, Dorian Peters⁴, Rafael A Calvo⁵, Yizhong Zheng³, Ronald Grunstein^{3

6}, Christopher Gordon^{3

7}

Affiliations

¹ Brain and Mind Centre, The University of Sydney, Camperdown, NSW, Australia.
² Faculty of Medicine and Health, Central Clinical School, The University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia.
³ CIRUS, Centre for Sleep and Chronobiology, Woolcock Institute of Medical Research, The University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia.
⁴ School of Electrical and Information Engineering, The University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia.
⁵ Dyson School of Design Engineering, Imperial College, London, UK.
⁶ Department of Respiratory and Sleep Medicine, Royal Prince Alfred Hospital, Sydney, Australia.
⁷ Susan Wakil School of Nursing, University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia.

PMID: 32227087
DOI: 10.1093/tbm/ibaa019

Abstract

Insomnia is a major public health concern. Sleep restriction therapy (SRT) is an effective behavioral treatment but its delivery is impeded by a shortage of trained clinicians. We developed a mobile app delivering SRT to individuals with insomnia. This feasibility study employed a mixed-methods design to examine the engagement, acceptability, and potential efficacy of the mobile app. Fifteen participants diagnosed with insomnia disorder used the mobile app synchronized with a wearable device for 3 weeks. Those who persisted with the study (n = 12) found the mobile app to be highly acceptable and engaging, logging on average 19 nightly sleep diary entries across the 21 day period. Significant improvements were observed for sleep measures (insomnia severity and sleep efficiency) and daytime symptoms (fatigue and sleepiness). The results suggest that a mobile app delivering SRT to individuals with insomnia is engaging, acceptable, and potentially efficacious. Further, a full-scale effectiveness study is warranted.

Keywords: Cognitive behavioral therapy; Insomnia; Mobile apps; Sleep; eHealth; mHealth.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy*
Feasibility Studies
Humans
Mobile Applications*
Sleep
Sleep Initiation and Maintenance Disorders* / therapy