Nature and Science of Sleep (Sep 2019)
Novel non-pharmacological insomnia treatment – a pilot study
Abstract
Milena K Pavlova,1 Véronique Latreille,1 Nirajan Puri,1 Jami Johnsen,1 Salma Batool-Anwar,2 Sogol Javaheri,2 Paul G Mathew1 1Department of Neurology, Harvard Medical School, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Boston, MA, USA; 2Department of Medicine, Harvard Medical School, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Boston, MA, USACorrespondence: Milena K PavlovaDepartment of Neurology, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, 75 Francis Street, Boston, MA 02115, USATel +1 617 983 7580Fax +1 617 983 7582Email [email protected]: The objective of this prospective pilot study was to examine the effects of a novel non-pharmacological device (BioBoosti) on insomnia symptoms in adults.Methods: Subjects with chronic insomnia were instructed to hold the device in each hand for 8 mins for 6 cycles on a nightly basis for 2 weeks. Outcomes tested included standardized subjective sleep measures assessing sleep quality, insomnia symptoms, and daytime sleepiness. Sleep was objectively quantified using electroencephalogram (EEG) before and after 2 weeks of treatment with BioBoosti, and wrist actigraphy throughout the study.Results: Twenty adults (mean age: 45.6±17.1 y/o; range 18–74 y/o) were enrolled in the study. No significant side effects were noted by any of the subjects. After 2 weeks of BioBoosti use, subjects reported improved sleep quality (Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index: 12.6±3.3 versus 8.5±3.7, p=0.001) and reduced insomnia symptoms (Insomnia Severity Index: 18.2±5.2 versus 12.8±7.0, p<0.001). Sleepiness, as assessed by a visual analog scale, was significantly reduced after treatment (5.7±2.8 versus 4.0±3.3, p=0.03).Conclusion: BioBoosti use yielded an improvement in insomnia symptoms. Larger placebo-controlled studies are needed to fully assess efficacy.Keywords: insomnia, non-pharmacological treatment, sleep quality, actigraphy, electroencephalography
