None listed
Conditions
Brief summary
Nightmares and nighttime worries are substantial contributors to decreases in child sleep duration and quality, and have been shown to have a myriad of adverse effects on child development and well-being. As these phenomena are pervasive, there is a critical need to provide parents with simple parenting practices that will help their children cope with nightmares and promote better sleep. This project aims to determine whether parents who provide their children with an imagination-based technique (specifically, a ‘Dream-Changer’ remote) subsequently report fewer child nightmares and improved sleep, compared to parents who do not use this technique. The value of identifying such accessible, straightforward, low-cost interventions to promote child sleep and well-being is of vast value and significance.
Interventions
The 'Dream Changer' intervention: Participating parents will be provided with a 'Dream Changer', which is a remote-like device that emits dim light with a push of its button. The 'Dream Changer' is shaped and sized much like a TV remote-control, made out of white plastic. It has one button, that when pushed- lights up a dim (~0.5 lumen) blue light, that shines through a 0.5cm transparent lens surrounding the remote. The 'Dream Changer' also has a vinil 1X1 inch sticker with the words "Dream Chan
The 'Dream Changer' intervention: Participating parents will be provided with a 'Dream Changer', which is a remote-like device that emits dim light with a push of its button. The 'Dream Changer' is shaped and sized much like a TV remote-control, made out of white plastic. It has one button, that when pushed- lights up a dim (~0.5 lumen) blue light, that shines through a 0.5cm transparent lens surrounding the remote. The 'Dream Changer' also has a vinil 1X1 inch sticker with the words "Dream Changer" and an image of a light blue planet, stars and cloud. The 'Dream Changer' will be sent to participants via post. Parents will be instructed to provide the following explanation when presenting the 'Dream Changer' to their child: "Sometimes you wake up from a bad dream at night, right? I want to give you something that will help you (present the Dream Changer to the child). This is the ‘Dream Changer’. It is a remote control, like the remote we have for the TV. When you don’t like something on the screen you use the remote to change the channel, right? Now you can do the same thing with your dreams. Dreams are like videos we watch in our sleep- our brain creates them, and we watch them with our eyes shut. From now on you decide which ‘video’ to watch in your sleep. When you get into bed, think about a good dream you’d like to watch in your sleep tonight. And if a bad dream starts screening, use this to change it”. These instructions will be provided to parents in writing on a single occasion, along with educational information about nightmares in children, and their potential effects on sleep and avoidance behaviors. A link to a short video-clip of a clinical psychologist (with over 15 years experience) explaining these issues and presenting the 'Dream Changer' will additionally be provided to parents. This video clip is designed specifically for the purpose of this study. As a way of monitoring adherence, parents will report the number of nights in which the child went to sleep with the 'Dream Changer', and number of times the child used it during the previous week. This will be done on two occasions- one per week in the two weeks after providing their child with the 'Dream Changer'. Parents will be able to keep the 'Dream Changer' for up to 3 months after treatment is completed.
Sponsors
Flinders University
Study design
Allocation
Randomised controlled trial
Intervention model
Parallel
Primary purpose
Treatment
Masking
Open (masking not used)
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
All
Age
3 Years to No maximum
Healthy volunteers
No
Inclusion criteria
Eligible participants will be (1) parents of children aged 3-8 years old with recurrent nightmares (at least 1 per week on average during the past month); (2) aged 18 years or older; (3) residing in Australia.
Exclusion criteria
N/A
Outcome results
None listed