Occupation-based Sleep Interventions for Improving Sleep Quality in Individuals With Severe Mental Disorders: A Scoping Review

Abstract

Background and Aims Sleep problems such as insomnia are common in individuals with severe mental disorders. The sleep-enhancing interventions provided by occupational therapists can be used for primary prevention and health promotion. This study aims to explore the existing evidence on occupation-based sleep interventions for individuals with severe mental disorders. Methods This is a scoping review, conducted based on Arksey and O’Malley’ five-step method. A search was first conducted in eight online databases (MagIran, SID, IranDoc, Google Scholar, PubMed, Cochrane Library, Scopus, Web of Science , OT seeker, Psych INFO) to find articles that addressed sleep interventions for individuals with severe mental disorders Two raters reviewed all articles independently. Articles were categorized according to the type of sleep interventions. Results Thirty-two studies were reviewed. Four categories of occupation-based sleep interventions were extracted, including cognitive behavioral therapy (n=12), physical activity (n=7), multicomponent interventions (n=5), and other interventions (n=8). Conclusion The occupation-based sleep interventions can improve sleep quality and health in people with severe mental disorders. Occupational therapists and clinicians need to conduct more studies to provide evidence for occupation-based sleep interventions.