Abstract
BackgroundReceiving insufficient sleep has wide-ranging consequences for health and well-being. Although educational programs have been developed to promote sleep, these have had limited success in extending sleep duration. To address this gap, we developed a Web-based program emphasizing how physical appearances change with varying amounts of sleep.ObjectiveThe aims of this study were to evaluate (1) whether participants can detect changes in appearances as a function of sleep and (2) whether this intervention can alter habitual sleep patterns.MethodsWe conducted a 5-week, parallel-group, randomized controlled trial among 70 habitual short sleepers (healthy adults who reported having <7 hours of sleep routinely). Upon study enrollment, participants were randomly assigned (1:1) to receive either standard information or an appearance-based intervention. Both groups received educational materials about sleep, but those in the appearance group also viewed a website containing digitally edited photographs that showed how they would look with varying amounts of sleep. As the outcome variables, sleep duration was monitored objectively via actigraphy (at baseline and at postintervention weeks 1 and 4), and participants completed a measure of sleep hygiene (at baseline and at postintervention weeks 2, 4, and 5). For each outcome, we ran intention-to-treat analyses using linear mixed-effects models.ResultsIn total, 35 participants were assigned to each group. Validating the intervention, participants in the appearance group (1) were able to identify what they looked like at baseline and (2) judged that they would look more attractive with a longer sleep duration (t26=10.35, P<.001). In turn, this translated to changes in sleep hygiene. Whereas participants in the appearance group showed improvements following the intervention (F1,107.99=9.05, P=.003), those in the information group did not (F1,84.7=0.19, P=.66). Finally, there was no significant effect of group nor interaction of group and time on actigraphy-measured sleep duration (smallest P=.26).ConclusionsOur findings suggest that an appearance-based intervention, while not sufficient as a stand-alone, could have an adjunctive role in sleep promotion.Trial RegistrationClinicalTrials.gov NCT02491138; https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/study/NCT02491138.
Highlights
BackgroundSleep is often described as 1 of 3 pillars of health, ranked alongside nutrition and exercise as modifiable targets of well-being
We evaluated a sleep promotion program emphasizing 1 immediate outcome—how physical appearances change as a function of sleep duration
As a proof of concept, we first confirmed that participants (1) were sensitive to appearance changes and (2) judged their well-rested selves as more attractive. This approach was more effective than a standard information program in promoting sleep hygiene, with benefits sustained for 1 month after the intervention
Summary
BackgroundSleep is often described as 1 of 3 pillars of health, ranked alongside nutrition and exercise as modifiable targets of well-being. The US Department of Health and Human Services has outlined a nation-wide goal to reduce the number of habitual short sleepers over a 10-year period [9] Despite this goal, sleep promotion campaigns have met with limited success. Participants were randomly assigned (1:1) to receive either standard information or an appearance-based intervention Both groups received educational materials about sleep, but those in the appearance group viewed a website containing digitally edited photographs that showed how they would look with varying amounts of sleep. Validating the intervention, participants in the appearance group (1) were able to identify what they looked like at baseline and (2) judged that they would look more attractive with a longer sleep duration (t26=10.35, P
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