USleep: efficacy of app-based audio interventions to improve sleep disturbance in working adults, a multi-arm randomized controlled trial
Jessica Vazzaz, Faith Matcham, Marcos Economides, Heather Bolton, Kate Cavanagh · 2026
Read USleep: efficacy of app-based audio interventions to improve sleep disturbance in working adults, a multi-arm randomized controlled trial by Jessica Vazzaz, Faith Matcham, Marcos Economides, Heather Bolton, Kate Cavanagh (2026) in the Tower of Babel, a free online library of public-domain works preserved in clean, searchable text. No sign-up. The full text is served as a plain-text file at a predictable URL, where text is present: https://antarctic-labs.com/tower-of-babel/pmc-13553283.txt.
Description
Jessica Vazzaz and co-authors test whether sounds alone, delivered by an app, can treat disturbed sleep in working adults. Their 2026 multi-arm trial randomized 495 adults to bedtime stories, sleep sounds, sleep skills audio, or a digital control for four weeks. Sleep disturbance was the main outcome, tracked by self-report.
None of the three audio arms beat the control meaningfully. Effect sizes were very small and statistically insignificant, though every group, control included, improved slightly. The same pattern held for impairment, mental health, and pre-sleep arousal. The interventions were safe and well tolerated, which the authors note without inflating. Their verdict is plain: as standalone treatments, app audio is not supported. They suggest future work let users choose content and measure sleep objectively, since self-report may hide small real effects. Null results this clean save other researchers money.
Catalog record
| CREATOR | Jessica Vazzaz, Faith Matcham, Marcos Economides, Heather Bolton, Kate Cavanagh |
|---|---|
| YEAR | 2026 |
| COLLECTION | PAPERS |
| FORMAT | TXT |
| FILE SIZE | 74 KB |
| VERSION | 1.0 |
| LICENSE | CC BY 4.0 |
| RIGHTS | CC BY |
| SOURCE | Europe PMC |