Treating Sleep Disorders with an ACT-Based Behavior Change Support System

Abstract

Suitable duration and appropriate quality of sleep are essential for mental and cognitive wellbeing. Sleep disorders, whether mild or severe, have proven to have adverse effects on general wellbeing. One's quality of life could be disturbed as a consequence of various mental conditions, sleep disorders being one of them. Researchers have started paying attention to designing, implementing and evaluating eHealth interventions to address sleep disorders. In this chapter, we highlight findings from a field study that was conducted to evaluate effect of software features on a Web-based intervention for sleep disorders. Tyyne is a Web-based eHealth intervention that will be repeatedly mentioned as Behavior Change Support Systsm (BCSS). Tynne offered weekly modules that were drawn from Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT). From an Information system's perspective, the modules were identified and applied as a persuasive software feature that is promoted by the Persuasive Systems Design Model (PSD Model). The duration of the Web-based intervention was 6 weeks. Upon completion of the intervention, about one third (37.2%) of the participants reported that they could better manage their sleep problems. We argue that a relatively low percentage is still highly encouraging, as treatment of sleep-related disorders is a complicated and understudied area. Manifestly, longitudinal studies would help determine the effect of ACT-incorporated Web-based interventions. However, the chapter underscores the effect of persuasive software features incorporated with ACT-based components as a step towards managing sleep disorders.

The effect of anticipatory stress and openness and engagement on subsequently perceived sleep quality–An Experience Sampling Method study

“…The association between skills of openness and engagement and sleep quality has been investigated only three times to our knowledge within the broader concept of psychological flexibility (Daly-Eichenhardt, Scott, Howard-Jones, Nicolaou, & McCracken, 2016;Langrial, Oinas-Kukkonen, Lappalainen, & Lappalainen, 2018;McCracken, Williams, & Tang, 2011). The first study, using a cross-sectional cohort design, found a significant association of sleep parameters and psychological flexibility for patients with chronic pain, such that sleep disturbances were more severe in those with lower psychological flexibility (McCracken et al, 2011).…”

“…The second study indirectly measured the effect of training psychological flexibility for pain management on sleep disturbances, reporting remission from clinical insomnia for 15% of the sample after a 4-week intervention (Daly-Eichenhardt et al, 2016). Finally, a recently published study reported on a web-based intervention aimed at increasing psychological flexibility resulting in improved sleep management for 32.7% of participants (Langrial et al, 2018). However, the role played by stress and the skills of openness and engagement with regards to insomnia or its severity in other clinical samples remains unclear.…”