Examining understandability, information quality, and presence of misinformation in popular YouTube videos on sleep compared to expert-led videos

Rebecca Robbins; Lawrence J Epstein; Jay M Iyer; Matthew D Weaver; Sogol Javaheri; Olabimpe Fashanu; Stacy Loeb; Kristen Monten; Colin Le; Suzanne M Bertisch; Jan Van Den Bulck; Stuart F Quan

doi:10.5664/jcsm.10520

Examining understandability, information quality, and presence of misinformation in popular YouTube videos on sleep compared to expert-led videos

J Clin Sleep Med. 2023 May 1;19(5):991-994. doi: 10.5664/jcsm.10520.

Authors

Rebecca Robbins^{1

2}, Lawrence J Epstein^{1

2}, Jay M Iyer³, Matthew D Weaver^{1

2}, Sogol Javaheri^{1

2}, Olabimpe Fashanu^{1

2}, Stacy Loeb⁴, Kristen Monten⁵, Colin Le³, Suzanne M Bertisch^{1

2}, Jan Van Den Bulck⁶, Stuart F Quan^{1

2}

Affiliations

¹ Division of Sleep and Circadian Disorders, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts.
² Division of Sleep Medicine, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts.
³ Departments of Molecular and Cellular Biology and Statistics, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts.
⁴ Department of Urology and Population Health, New York University School of Medicine and Manhattan Veterans Affairs, New York, New York.
⁵ Middlebury College, Middlebury, Vermont.
⁶ Department of Media and Communication, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan.

Abstract

The Internet is a common source of sleep information but may be subject to commercial bias and misinformation. We compared the understandability, information quality, and presence of misinformation of popular YouTube videos on sleep to videos with credible experts. We identified the most popular YouTube videos on sleep/insomnia and 5 videos from experts. Videos were assessed for understanding and clarity using validated instruments. Misinformation and commercial bias were identified by consensus of sleep medicine experts. The most popular videos received, on average, 8.2 (± 2.2) million views; the expert-led videos received, on average, 0.3 (± 0.2) million views. Commercial bias was identified in 66.7% of popular videos and 0% of expert videos (P < .012). The popular videos featured more misinformation than expert videos (P < .001). The popular videos about sleep/insomnia on YouTube featured misinformation and commercial bias. Future research may explore methods for disseminating evidence-based sleep information.

Citation: Robbins R, Epstein LJ, Iyer JM, et al. Examining understandability, information quality, and presence of misinformation in popular YouTube videos on sleep compared to expert-led videos. J Clin Sleep Med. 2023;19(5):991-994.

Keywords: YouTube; insomnia; misinformation; sleep.

Publication types

Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural
Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Communication
Humans
Sleep
Sleep Initiation and Maintenance Disorders*
Social Media*
Video Recording

Grants and funding

K01 HL150339/HL/NHLBI NIH HHS/United States