University of Virginia Health System researchers developed an Internet-based intervention to help insomnia sufferers based on face-to-face cognitive behavioral therapy that showed promising results in a recent pilot study.

The researchers evaluated the effectiveness of the Internet-based intervention, called SHUTi, among 44 adults with a history of sleep difficulties lasting more than 10 years on average. Half of the participants were randomly assigned to a control group, and the other half received the intervention.

“All 44 patients were in the moderate severity range for insomnia when we began our study,” said researcher Lee M. Ritterband, PhD, associate professor of psychiatry and neurobehavioral sciences at the UVA School of Medicine. “After completing our study, 73% of those who used our system reported no severity of insomnia, whereas all patients who didn’t use the system continued to have the same level of moderate severity.”

The patients who reported improved sleep after using the intervention maintained the improvements 6 months after the study’s completion.

Participants rated their symptoms on the seven-item Insomnia Severity Index, which produces a score from zero (no symptoms) to 28 (severe insomnia). Scores on the index improved from 15.73 to 6.59 among individuals who received the intervention. Scores did not change for the control group.

The 9-week intervention uses text, graphics, animations, vignettes, quizzes, and games to present behavioral, educational, and cognitive techniques for improving sleep.

“Our program is unique in that it engages the user and tailors the treatment to an individual’s particular needs,” said Ritterband. “These interactive components make it like no other online intervention for insomnia out there right now.

“An effective and inexpensive Internet intervention would expand treatment options for large numbers of adults with insomnia, especially those whose geographical location prohibits access to relevant care, and could be a substantive first-line treatment choice,” said Ritterband.

The study appears in the Archives of General Psychiatry.