Feasibility, Acceptability and Effectiveness of the SOmNI Mobile Phone App for Sleep Promotion in Adolescents

Over 60% of adolescents sleep less than the 9 hours of sleep recommended for 13-18 year olds. Quality of life is reduced due to the daytime consequences of chronic sleep deprivation such as sleepiness, fatigue, low mood, and inattentiveness at school. Although this sleep debt occurs in otherwise healthy adolescents, it significantly increases their risk of development of the chronic health conditions (cardiovascular disease and depression) and forms of accidental injury (motor vehicle accidents) that place the greatest demands on our health care system. Despite increased recognition of adequate sleep as a key contributor to health, there exist few effective interventions to promote sleep in adolescents. This study is designed to determine compliance, feasibility and preliminary data on health outcomes (nocturnal sleep measured objectively by actigraphy; daytime sleepiness; anxiety; depression; unintentional injuries; morning school attendance). This study will be a pilot RCT, randomizing 76 adolescents to one of two groups (i.e. 38 per group). Study arms will include a control group and intervention group (activity monitoring device with custom application). Mobile health, user-friendly low-intensity interventions with wearable sleep sensors and tailored feedback may help many adolescents to increase the amount of sleep they achieve.

Inclusion criteria

• enrolled in high school (grades 9 to 12)
• ages 13-17 years
• report sleeping <8 hours per weeknight (Sun-Thurs)
• endorse daytime sleepiness that interferes with their daily function to a moderate or severe degree (e.g. To what extent do you consider your sleepiness to interfere with your daily functioning (e.g. daytime fatigue, mood, ability to function at school, concentration, memory)
• report sleeping >9 hours on weekend nights (Fri-Sat)
• have either their own iPhone (version 4S or higher) or are willing to use a study-provided iPhone

Exclusion criteria

• developmental delay (e.g. more than one grade level beyond what is appropriate for age)
• physician-diagnosed, significant physical health problem (e.g. cystic fibrosis, diabetes, lupus, kidney disease, hypertension, inflammatory bowel disease, etc)
• physician-diagnosed mental health problem (e.g. anxiety, depression, ADHD),
• physician-diagnosed sleep disorder (e.g. narcolepsy, obstructive sleep apnea, insomnia, restless leg syndrome)
• suspected sleep disordered breathing problem as identified by screening with questions from the Pediatric Sleep Questionnaire
• suspected insomnia based on screening with questions from the Insomnia Severity Index
• suspected Restless Leg Syndrome based on screening with the International RLS Study Group questionnaire
• suspected delayed sleep phase syndrome as evidenced by consistent inability to fall asleep before 01h00 to 06h00, significant impairment in the ability to attend school due to extreme delay of their sleep schedule, and avoidance of other social or family functions in the daytime