A new trial at The University of Western Australian aims to discover if a digital treatment for insomnia improves symptoms of depression in young adults, and if so, why.

Dr Cele Richardson, from UWA’s School of Psychological Science, said depression and poor sleep were related health problems. 

“Sleep problems are highly prevalent in young adults, and sleep problems increase the risk of experiencing mental health problems like depression, anxiety and eating disorders,” Dr Richardson said.

“In this study, we are interested in whether a digital insomnia treatment program improves young people’s depression, and we hope to identify what factors influence change.”

The Digital Cognitive Behavioural Therapy for Insomnia program is looking for young people aged 18 to 24 years of age who are experiencing symptoms of depression.

Participants will be asked to complete an online questionnaire at home which asks about sleep, daytime functioning and mood.

The program adjusts information and therapy recommendations to participants’ unique sleeping patterns and sleep changes during treatment.

Each morning participants will be asked to complete a brief sleep diary, so they receive the most appropriate treatment recommendations.
Participants will also be invited to attend UWA to complete a number of computerised tasks which measure cognitive and emotional processing.

“Administering insomnia treatment through a digital platform overcomes the problem that there are far more young people with sleep problems than there are health professionals who are trained to deliver specialised sleep treatments,” Dr Richardson said.

To determine if you are eligible to participate you will need to complete a 10-minute online questionnaire. In all cases where individuals are excluded from the study, an appropriate onward referral will be made. 

Email [email protected] for more information or to register your interest click here.