Smartphone app effective in reducing worry before sleep

An app that uses Serial Diverse Imagining, which diverts "attention away from sleep interfering thoughts," was found to be effective, according to findings presented at the SLEEP 2016 annual meeting.

"A racing mind, worries and uncontrollable thoughts are common bedtime complaints among poor sleepers," Luc Beaudoin, PhD, an adjunct professor in cognitive science and education at Simon Fraser University and lead author of the study, said in a press release.

The technology, also known as a "cognitive shuffle," is used at bedtime and presents words to patients, who create a mental image. Beaudoin and colleagues compared the app, named mySleepButton, with the standard treatment Structured Problem-Solving, and a combination of both treatments.

They assigned 154 university student participants with excessive cognitive pre-sleep arousal to one of the three treatment groups. All participants completed the Sleep Hygiene Index, Glasgow Sleep Effort Scale, Sleep Quality Scale and the Pre-Sleep Arousal Scale (Somatic and Cognitive) at baseline.

Results showed that sleep hygiene worsened (P < .001; Partial 2 = .23) and sleep quality, sleep effort and cognitive and somatic pre-sleep arousal (P < .001; Partial 2 = .43 to .71).

"Beaudoin's Serial Diverse Imagining Task (SDIT) was as effective as Structured Problem-Solving (SP) in reducing pre-sleep arousal, sleep effort and poor sleep quality," the researchers concluded. "One advantage of SDIT is that it can be done at bedtime, unlike SP."

"The human brain is a 'meaning maker' or a sense-making machine," Beaudoin said in the release. "It is actually very difficult for people to conjure up random images unaided. However according to my theory, while it may be difficult to engage in SDI, it is not only a consequence of sleep onset; SDI facilitates it. My hope is that popular culture will absorb the notion that counting sheep is not effective, whereas SDI is." – by Chelsea Frajerman Pardes

Reference:

Beaudoin LP, et al. Serial diverse imagining task: A new remedy for bedtime complaints of worrying and other sleep-disruptive mental activity. Presented at: SLEEP Annual Meeting 2016; June 11-15; Denver.

Disclosures: Healio Internal Medicine was unable to confirm relevant financial disclosures before publication.