The Effect of Uncoupled Sleep and Dysfunctional Sleep Beliefs on Sleep Outcomes in Older Adults following Online Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Insomnia: A Single-Group Non-randomized Trial (Preprint)

BACKGROUND The current Covid-19 pandemic has brought about a marked interest in sleep health, as well as an increased demand for telehealth services, such as online Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for insomnia (CBT-I). Older adults in particular report a high rate of sleep problems. Recent studies have suggested that dysfunctional sleep beliefs could contribute to the high rates of self-reported insomnia in this age group. In addition, older adults have an increased rate of uncoupled sleep, e.g. displaying an insomnia complaint in the absence of objectively measured poor sleep. It is essential to determine the prevalence of coupled and uncoupled sleep in older adults and to examine the efficacy of online CBT-I to improve sleep outcomes. OBJECTIVE This study aims to assess objective and subjective sleep quality and dysfunctional sleep beliefs in a sample of community-dwelling older adults aged 60-80 years with and without uncoupled sleep in Western Australia following digitally delivered CBT-I. METHODS Objective sleep was measured using wrist actigraphy, and subjective sleep quality via sleep diaries and the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI). Dysfunctional sleep beliefs were assessed by the Dysfunctional Beliefs and Attitudes about Sleep scale (DBAS-16) prior to and following a four-week online CBT-I programme. Linear mixed model and generalised linear mixed model analyses were conducted to examine objective and subjective sleep onset latency, total sleep time, wake after sleep onset and number of awakenings as well as PSQI and DBAS16 scores, respectively. RESULTS 62 participants (55 females; 88.7%) completed the study. CBT-I effectively reduced dysfunctional sleep beliefs and PSQI scores across all sleep classifications, even in good sleepers without a sleep complaint. Objective and self-reported changes in sleep parameters were mainly demonstrated in complaining poor sleepers. Complaining good sleepers reported a decrease in the number of subjective sleep awakenings only. CONCLUSIONS Online CBT-I was effective in improving the sleep outcomes of individuals who had both subjective and objective poor sleep. However, as the online CBT-I reduced dysfunctional sleep beliefs in all sleep groups, further examination of dysfunctional sleep beliefs and whether they mediate the outcomes of digital CBT-I in older adults will need to be conducted. CLINICALTRIAL Australian New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry (ANZCTR), ACTRN 12619001509156; http://www.anzctr.org.au/Trial/Registration/TrialReview.aspx?id=378451 INTERNATIONAL REGISTERED REPORT RR2-32705