Digital insomnia therapeutic as a workplace performance solution for improving productivity
Recommended Citation
Russell JP, Teotia A, Kalmbach DA, Drake CL, Cheng P. Digital insomnia therapeutic as a workplace performance solution for improving productivity. Sleep Med. 2026;143:108896.
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
7-1-2026
Publication Title
Sleep medicine
Keywords
Humans, Sleep Initiation and Maintenance Disorders, Male, Female, Efficiency, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Adult, Workplace, Middle Aged, Surveys and Questionnaires, Work Performance, Absenteeism, Presenteeism
Abstract
OBJECTIVES: Insomnia is highly prevalent in the workforce and impairs productivity. Cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia (CBT-I) is the gold-standard treatment but has limited scalability. Digital CBT-I (dCBT-I) offers scalable alternative, yet its effects on workplace productivity are not well established. This study investigated whether dCBT-I produces significant and occupationally meaningful improvements in productivity.
METHODS: This study is a secondary analysis of a RCT (clinicaltrials.gov: NCT02988375) with 444 employed adults with DSM-5 insomnia disorder and no other sleep disorders were included (245 in dCBT-I, 199 in sleep education). The Work Productivity and Activity Impairment questionnaire, adapted to a specific health problem with insomnia as the health problem (WPAI-SHP), assessed productivity outcomes. A mixed-effects model evaluated changes in productivity via total work impairment (the primary outcome). Logistic regressions tested the odds of achieving occupationally meaningful improvements (reductions of ≥15% in total work impairment, ≥10% in presenteeism, and ≥5% in absenteeism).
RESULTS: Participants receiving dCBT-I demonstrated significantly greater reductions in total work impairment than controls at post-treatment (between-group difference = 16.5 percentage points, 95% CI [11.2, 21.8], p < .001). The odds of achieving a 15% reduction in total work impairment were higher in the dCBT-I group (OR = 2.7 95% CI [1.7, 4.3]).
CONCLUSIONS: dCBT-I produced significant improvements in workplace productivity with estimated annual productivity savings of $12,376 per employee. These findings suggest dCBT-I may provide a cost-effective strategy to improve workforce health and productivity, supporting investment in digital mental health tools by employers and health systems.
Medical Subject Headings
Humans; Sleep Initiation and Maintenance Disorders; Male; Female; Efficiency; Cognitive Behavioral Therapy; Adult; Workplace; Middle Aged; Surveys and Questionnaires; Work Performance; Absenteeism; Presenteeism
PubMed ID
41825236
Volume
143
First Page
108896
Last Page
108896
