Cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT-I), a non-pharmaceutical sleep-enhancing treatment through restoration of appropriate sleep habits, has shown efficacy, but is limited in availability due to a shortage of specialists.On the other hand, CBT-I programs via the Internet such as smartphone apps have been developed, and although they are as effective as face-to-face treatment by specialists, the dropout rate (the rate of people quitting midway) is high.Also, there is insufficient evidence to verify its effectiveness in cases of mild insomnia.

　The research group uses a "behavior modification technology" that induces desired behavior by sending short messages called "prompts" at times that are easy for users to accept. Application (SPA)” was developed.

　A 116-week clinical trial was conducted in 60 workers (56 intervention group and 4 control group) with perceived sleep problems.For the intervention group, we provided a sleep improvement program using recording of sleep diaries on the SPA and short messages.Content optimized for each subject's individual sleep data, life cycle, etc. was automatically sent to each subject's SPA.Assessments were made with a questionnaire of severity of insomnia and fatigue.

　As a result, the intervention group showed statistically significant improvement (dropout rate 3.2%).The efficacy of SPA has been demonstrated in clinical trials for workers who are aware of sleep problems, and it is expected that it will contribute to reducing the negative effects of sleep problems on workers.In the future, it is necessary to continue research on subjects with different age groups and cultural backgrounds.

Paper information:[Journal of Medical Internet Research] Providing Brief Personalized Therapies for Insomnia Among Workers Using a Sleep Prompt App: Randomized Controlled Trial