What did the research discover?
Researchers tested if a voice-activated therapy using cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia (CBT-I) could help breast cancer survivors who have trouble sleeping.
CBT-I is a type of talk therapy that teaches ways to improve sleep by changing habits and thoughts that make it hard to rest. This therapy was delivered through a smart speaker at home, making it easy to use daily.
The study included 76 women, half of whom used the smart speaker for six weeks. The other half received general sleep and cancer recovery information.
The researchers used something called the Insomnia Severity Index (ISI), which is a questionnaire that measures how serious someone’s insomnia is.
On this scale, the women using the smart speaker saw their ISI score drop by an average of 8.4 points, meaning their insomnia got much better.
In comparison, the control group only improved by 2.6 points. The smart speaker group also had better sleep quality, spent less time awake after falling asleep, and fell asleep faster.
This study shows that a voice-interactive CBT-I program could be a helpful and easy-to-use tool for breast cancer survivors to improve their sleep.
How can I apply this research?
The study found that using a smart speaker, such as an Amazon Echo, to follow a CBT-I program helped many women sleep better. The smart speaker guides you through sleep improvement steps based on your habits and daily feedback, all from a person’s home.
Speak to your healthcare provider to learn if this kind of home therapy could be a good fit for improving your sleep and overall health. Future studies are needed to explore how this program can be implemented into practice.
Source
Starling CM, Greenberg D, Lewin D, Shaw C, Zhou ES, Lieberman D, Chou J, Arem H. Voice-Activated Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Insomnia: A Randomized Clinical Trial. JAMA network open. 2024 Sep 3;7(9):e2435011-. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/39316400/
