None listed
Conditions
Brief summary
Insomnia is one of the most common health complaints worldwide and the most prevalent sleep complaint. Insomnia is defined as lack of satisfaction with the quality or duration of sleep, due to persistent difficulty initiating and/or staying asleep and/or early morning waking, despite adequate time in bed. Current therapeutic treatments are suboptimal, with cost, availability, and adverse consequences arising around methodologically sound and practical to administer options. Research shows well established links exist between neurological mechanisms and the mediation of eyelid closure during periods of drowsiness. Therefore, further investigation into slow eye blinking, which is hypothesised to induce sleepiness, may promote sleep onset. Slow eye blinking may provide a treatment that is cost effective, safe and easy to administer for patients with difficulties initiating and staying asleep.
Interventions
The intervention group will receive a sound file and instructions to implement before going to bed.
Materials include:
(1) Participant Information, Appendix A
(2) Instructions how to complete the intervention, Appendix B
(3) The pragmatic slow eye blinking treatment procedure utilises an electronic metronome recording through a World Wide Web link to a sound file through YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3_almgQbCkI). Metronomes are typically used in musical practice as a way of mainta
The intervention group will receive a sound file and instructions to implement before going to bed. Materials include: (1) Participant Information, Appendix A (2) Instructions how to complete the intervention, Appendix B (3) The pragmatic slow eye blinking treatment procedure utilises an electronic metronome recording through a World Wide Web link to a sound file through YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3_almgQbCkI). Metronomes are typically used in musical practice as a way of maintaining rhythm and tempo and can be either electronic or mechanical. The metronome that will be used in the proposed study is an electronic recording that has been set to a rate of 60 beats per minute, which reduces 10 beats per minute over 15 minutes. For each alternating beat, the participants will be required to close and open their eyes, under standardised instructions. (4) Sleep Intervention Log with instructions, Appendix C Procedure: Once recruited, participants will be provided a link access to Qualtrics page. When Qualtrics page is opened participants will have access to information about the proposed research (1), and inclusion criteria. Participants will complete online Qualtrics questionnaires. Participants will then be randomised to either the intervention or waitlist-controlled group. When a participant is invited to complete the sleep intervention they will be given: (1) instructions how to complete the intervention, a link to a sound file through YouTube, and asked to print the Sleep Intervention Log to complete each night. Participants will self-administer the intervention in their private homes, via the internet, and asked to complete the Sleep Intervention Log each night of the intervention, 10 nights (10x15minutes). Participants will be asked to log back into Qualtrics and complete post-treatment measures on the 10th day of treatment. Intervention adherence will be assessed via the Sleep Intervention Log, which records information about sleep duration, time and awakenings.
Sponsors
RMIT University
Study design
Allocation
Randomised controlled trial
Intervention model
Parallel
Primary purpose
Treatment
Masking
Blinded (masking used) (Subject, Caregiver)
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
All
Age
18 Years to 50 Years
Healthy volunteers
No
Inclusion criteria
1- Aged between 18-50 to eliminate the effects of aging on sleep; 2- Have sleep difficulties or have onset and/or maintenance insomnia; and 3- Have the capacity to give consent to the study and follow instructions and procedures, and ability to read and type in English.
Exclusion criteria
1- periodic limb movements during sleep 2- diagnosed sleep disruptive medical condition 3- diagnosed Obstructive Sleep Apnoea 4- currently pregnant 5- currently employed in rotating or night-shift work 6- using sedative or stimulant medications or illicit drug use
Outcome results
None listed