Evaluation of an occupation-based sleep programme for people with Insomnia.
Eris C M Ho, Andrew M H Siu
PMID 36467519WHAT IT FOUND
An occupation-based sleep programme combining group education and individual coaching outperformed standard sleep hygiene advice.
Participants improved more on insomnia severity, sleep quality, and mood. Gains were largest between the end of the programme and the one-month follow-up.
Key findings
01The occupation-based programme group showed significantly greater reductions in insomnia severity and improvements in sleep quality than the Treatment as Usual group.
02Participants in the intervention group reported significantly better occupational balance and lower levels of depression and anxiety compared to the control group.
03Improvements in sleep, mood, and occupational balance continued to increase significantly during the one-month period after the programme ended.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for OTs
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What it does not show
The study used a non-equivalent group design with no randomisation, as participants were recruited from two different clinics and treated by different therapists. This introduces potential selection bias and confounding by therapist effect. The follow-up period was short (one month), so long-term sustainability of the gains is unknown. The sample size was small (42 participants total), and the study was conducted in a specific cultural context (Hong Kong Chinese population), which may limit generalisability. Sleep duration was measured using a commercial activity wristband (MiBand2), which is less precise than research-grade actigraphy or polysomnography.
Declared interests
The authors declared no potential conflicts of interest and received no financial support for the research.
The easy way to misread this
Do not attribute the positive outcomes solely to the specific occupational therapy techniques without considering the study design flaws. The intervention and control groups were treated in different clinics by different therapists, meaning the observed benefits could be due to therapist enthusiasm or clinic environment rather than the programme content itself.