https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4686-1397
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Irina Mindlis, Brett M Millar, Ana Chkhaidze, Brandon Fernández Sedano, Jovanka Noel, Tracey A Revenson, Adaptation of a sleep hygiene intervention for individuals with poor sleep and their companions: Results of a randomized controlled pilot trial, Translational Behavioral Medicine, Volume 15, Issue 1, 2025, ibae055, https://doi.org/10.1093/tbm/ibae055
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Abstract
Sleep is a major health issue for young adults. While sleep hygiene interventions have small-to-moderate effects, better outcomes might be achieved by delivering interventions individually to those reporting sleep difficulties, or in the presence of a supportive other or companion. To examine the feasibility, acceptability, and initial effects of an adapted sleep hygiene intervention for young adults with poor sleep, we conducted an ORBIT Phase IIb pilot randomized controlled trial (n = 51). Young adults with poor sleep were randomized to receive a sleep hygiene intervention individually or with a companion. Sleep patterns were measured at baseline and 4 weeks. Participants completed daily dairies and wore wearable devices for the month following the intervention. Attrition at follow-up was minimal (3.9%), and missing rates were low for diary data (8%), and in line with prior studies for wearable devices (14%). Participants expressed high levels of satisfaction with the study, with no differences between study arms. Significant effects were found postintervention for all participants, indicating improved sleep quality (t = 6.14, P < .001), greater sleep duration (t = 3.8, P < .001), and reduced daytime sleepiness (t = 2.13, P = .039). There were no significant differences in sleep efficiency pre and postintervention, or between study arms for any sleep outcome based on self-reported and objective data. Results from this pilot provide evidence for the feasibility and acceptability of a sleep hygiene intervention for young adults and lay the groundwork for a larger, fully powered study.
Lay Summary
Sleep is a major health issue for young adults, and for college students in particular. Given young adulthood is a critical time when health behaviors are established, it is important to develop interventions to improve sleep in this population. We adapted an existing preventative intervention to improve sleep behaviors originally developed for a group format, to be delivered to students with poor sleep. Half of the participants received the intervention in a 1:1 setting with a research assistant, and the other half were asked to bring a companion, such as a friend or family member, to the intervention. Participants reported high levels of satisfaction with the intervention, and we had minimal dropouts and missing data rates. The adapted intervention led to improvements in sleep quality, sleep duration, and lower rates of feeling “sleepy” during the day for all participants. We did not find any differences between participants with and without companions. These results show that the methods used in this study were acceptable to young adults with poor sleep, and are feasible to translate into a larger study to fully evaluate the effects of this adapted intervention.
