Day-by-day changes in subjective and heart-rate-based sleep parameters over the course of a 6-week digital CBT-I program

Pavlos Topalidis*, Alexandra Hinterberger, Esther-Sevil Eigl, Manuel Schabus

*Korrespondierende/r Autor/-in für diese Arbeit

Publikation: KonferenzbeitragPosterPeer-reviewed

Abstract

Introduction:
Insomnia affects a significant portion of the population, leading to notable declines in health, workplace safety, and overall well-being. The emergence of digital treatment programs offers effective and convenient solutions. In our study, we assess the effects of a 6-week single-blind digital CBT-I program by daily monitoring subjective and objective measures of sleep quality, duration, and fragmentation. Daily objective sleep tracking enabled by an innovative method based on heartbeat variability and machine learning, providing access to daily sleep macrostructure.
Method:
Participants (N=56) suffering from sleep difficulties were randomly assigned to either an experimental group, which underwent a sleep training program (e.g., educational videos, relaxation exercises, and cognitive training), or a waiting control group which only measured sleep. For a continuous duration of 6 weeks sleep was monitored using a mobile smartphone application (Sleep2® App) that enabled monitoring sleep subjectively, through sleep diaries, as well as objectively, using a heart-rate wearable device (H10, POLAR®). As we are interested on the effects that the intervention program had on the sleep parameters, we focus explicitly on the significant Group (Control, Experimental) X Time (Beginning, End) interactions, resulted from a mixed Analysis of Variance. Spearman correlations were also employed to explore changes in daily sleep parameters across the study period.
Results:
A significant Group X Time interaction (F(1, 52)=5.2 p=.02 ) points towards an significant increase in subjective sleep quality at the end of the program only in the experimental group, while selfreported sleep interruption minutes decreased over time (r=-.14, p<.001). Among the objective sleep parameters, we found, in the experimental group displayed higher deep sleep at the end of the program (F(1, 52)=8.6, p=.005), while the number of awakenings (r=-.12, p<.001) and the number of sleep stages (r=-.11, p<.001) showed a significant decrease over time.
Conclusion:
These preliminary results suggest significant improvements in subjective sleep parameters and modest improvements in objective sleep parameters over the course of the digital CBT-I program. When assessing the effects of digital interventions, it is important to consider daily subjective and objective sleep-related parameters.
Conflict of Interest: Yes- M.S. is the co-founder of and CSO at the Sleep2 GmbH
OriginalspracheEnglisch
PublikationsstatusVeröffentlicht - 27 Sept. 2024
VeranstaltungThe 27th Conference of the European Sleep Research Society (ESRS) 2024 - Fibes – Conference and Exhibition, Seville, Spanien
Dauer: 24 Sept. 202427 Sept. 2024

Konferenz

KonferenzThe 27th Conference of the European Sleep Research Society (ESRS) 2024
KurztitelSleep Europe 2024
Land/GebietSpanien
OrtSeville
Zeitraum24/09/2427/09/24

Systematik der Wissenschaftszweige 2012

  • 501 Psychologie

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