Interventions to increase sleep duration in young people: A systematic review

Abstract

This systematic review explored the outcomes of current interventions to increase sleep duration in healthy young people (14-25 years). Nine databases were systematically searched, and 26 studies were included in this review. Quality assessment of the included studies was evaluated using two tools: the Newcastle-Ottawa scale, and Cochrane Risk of Bias. The interventions incorporated a range of strategies including behavioral (46.2%), educational (26.9%), a combination of behavioral and educational (15.4%), and other strategies such as physical therapy (11.5%). The findings indicate that behavioral and combination interventions were consistently effective in increasing sleep duration in healthy young people. Educational interventions alone were less effective at increasing young people's sleep duration. Of all the included studies, only one randomized control trial but none of the non-randomized trials were rated as good quality. Our findings suggest a combination of strategies with an emphasis on personalization of intervention could possibly maximize the chances of success at improving sleep duration in healthy young people. More high-quality studies with long-term assessments (≥ 6 months) should be conducted to test the efficacy and durability of interventions to increase sleep duration in young people, as well as the clinical implications to mental and physical health.

Keywords: Intervention; Sleep; Sleep banking; Sleep duration; Sleep extension; Young people.