New research study presents ‘Bedtime Window’, a digital CBTi program, as a reliable option to sleeping tablets for dealing with sleeping disorders and co-morbid conditions, providing substantial, long-lasting enhancements in sleep quality and psychological health without the requirement for medication.
Are sleeping tablets the only service for sleeping disorders? Not according to Flinders University’s Dr Alexander Sweetman, who states that utilizing self-guided digital behavior modification is an alternative option that ought to be thought about.
In spite of a wealth of proof supporting the efficiency of cognitive behavior modification for sleeping disorders (CBTi), access to this ‘very first line’ treatment is very restricted due to a scarcity of CBTi-trained psychologists.
In Australia, roughly 90 percent of medical care clients with sleeping disorders are handled with sleeping tablets while just 1 percent are described psychologists for CBTi.
To increase ease of access to CBTi and minimize the dependence on sleeping tablets, sleep specialists at
Bedtime Window Program Schematic. Credit: Flinders University
“Given the high frequency and unfavorable health dangers of COMISA, it is important that we establish and execute a reliable evidence-based management method for this condition,” he states.
“To increase CBTi gain access to for individuals with COMISA, we established the self-guided interactive digital CBTi program that is proper for individuals with insomnia-alone and COMISA and compared its efficiency in between individuals with insomnia-alone, versus comorbid sleeping disorders and high-risk sleep apnoea.”
62 grownups with sleeping disorders signs utilized ‘Bedroom Window’ over an 18-month duration and reported considerable and continual enhancements in signs of sleeping disorders and associated psychological health signs.
“The program is created for individuals with insomnia-alone and COMISA. Each weekly session lasts for around 20-30 minutes and consists of brief videos, images, and text-based details,” he states.
“Treatment parts consist of psychoeducation, stimulus control treatment, sleep constraint treatment, relaxation treatment, cognitive treatment, and sleep health info.
“The program consists of algorithms that continually examine for signs of drowsiness and awareness and offers customized and interactive suggestions to deal with sleeping disorders without getting worse levels of daytime drowsiness.
“The favorable outcomes of our research study highlight the prospective to examine the efficiency, security, and reputation of this digital CBTi program in individuals with a verified medical diagnosis of OSA, before increasing access to individuals with COMISA throughout the health system,” includes Dr Sweetman.
Recommendation: “Effect of high-risk sleep apnea on treatment-response to a customized digital cognitive behavior modification for sleeping disorders program: a quasi-experimental trial” by Alexander Sweetman, Chelsea Reynolds, Leon Lack, Andrew Vakulin, Ching Li Chai-Coetzer, Douglas M. Wallace, Megan Crawford and Cele Richardson, 14 February 2024, Frontiers in Sleep
DOI: 10.3389/ frsle.2024.1355468