Insomnia Treatment in the Digital Healthcare Era: Present and Future

Abstract

Insomnia is a prevalent sleep disorder characterized by difficulties in falling asleep, frequent awakenings, or waking up too early. These disturbances adversely affect patient’s health. Although numerous insomnia treatment guidelines recommend cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia (CBT-I) as the primary treatment approach, its clinical effectiveness has been hampered because of challenges such as insurance concerns, limited healthcare accessibility, inadequate compensation for providers, and a shortage of specialists. To address these limitations, CBT-I should be implemented as a digital therapeutic modality. Internationally, products such as Somryst, Sleepio, CBT-I Coach, Night Owl-Sleep Coach, and Minddistrict have been utilized. In South Korea, emerging digital therapeutic devices such as Somzz and PilLow Rx are also being introduced. In this review, we explored the current status of digital therapeutic modalities for insomnia in both international and domestic markets, aiming to provide insights into the future prospects in the realm of insomnia treatment in the modern digital healthcare era.