Effectiveness of internet-delivered cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia: a systematic review and meta-analysis

ABSTRACT

This systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to assess the effectiveness of internet-delivered cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia (ICBT-I) in the short and long term. We searched five electronic databases for studies published from June 2000 to May 2022. Our analysis included 27 studies with 8,728 participants, of which 4394 were in the experimental group and 4334 were in the control group. ICBT-I significantly improved the sleep scores of the experimental group by reducing the intensity of insomnia (ISI) (−4.32) in the post-intervention (I2 = 94%) (95% CI −6.15 to −2.48, p < 0.0001, g = 0.760) and follow-up phases (−2.92) (I2 = 95%) (95% CI −4.87 to −0.97, p < 0.0003, g = 0.622). This therapy also effectively improves short-term and long-term insomnia symptoms, including sleep onset latency, wake after sleep onset, night awakenings, sleep efficiency, and total sleep time. That holds the potential for extensive utilization across diverse populations suffering from insomnia, surpassing the limitations associated with conventional in-person therapeutic methods.

KEYWORDS:

• cognitive behavioral therapy
• insomnia
• internet
• sleep
• systematic review
• meta-analysis

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Ethical approval

For this type of study, there was no need for formal ethics approval.

Statements and Declarations

The data that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request. We have no conflicts of interest to disclose. We have no affiliations with or involvement in any organization or entity with any financial or non-financial interest in the subject matter or materials discussed in this manuscript.

Supplemental data

Supplemental data for this article can be accessed online at https://doi.org/10.1080/09291016.2023.2242063.

Additional information

Funding

We have no affiliations with or involvement in any organization or entity with any financial interest or non-financial interest in the subject matter or materials discussed in this manuscript.