Health and movement · 1 min read
A digital therapy reduced insomnia more than a sleep-habits guide
The advantage over the guide lasted through 24 weeks in 336 U.S. adults with confirmed insomnia.
The study, in plain language
People seeking help for insomnia may find different formats. This trial tested an automated digital cognitive behavioral therapy program (SleepioRx) against educational material about sleep habits in U.S. adults with confirmed insomnia, randomly assigned to one or the other.
With the program, insomnia symptoms fell more, and more people met the study’s definitions for response or remission. The symptom advantage lasted through 24 weeks. Sleep diaries showed reduced wake time after falling asleep, but the difference in time to fall asleep was not firm after adjustment for multiple comparisons. Participants were recruited through social media, and follow-up ended at six months. Big Health, the maker of SleepioRx, funded the study, and several authors reported employment or financial ties to the company.
The key idea
A digital therapy program reduced insomnia symptoms more than sleep-habit information, and the advantage lasted six months.
Something to think about
If insomnia stays with you, what is hardest: falling asleep or staying asleep? Here, the program improved wake time during the night, but the time to fall asleep did not clearly change.
The original study
The Effectiveness of Digital Cognitive Behavioral Therapy to Treat Insomnia Disorder in US Adults: Nationwide Decentralized Randomized Controlled Trial
Source under CC BY 4.0. English adaptation and explanation by PaperFlow, with AI assistance. The text has been reorganized for a general audience; it is not the complete paper and does not imply endorsement by its authors.
One study alone does not represent a field's consensus. Educational content does not replace professional advice. Report a possible error.