NICE recommends insomnia app as an alternative to medication

An app which uses cognitive behavioural therapy techniques to help people overcome insomnia has received recommendation from the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE). Sleepio, from Big Health, uses an artificial intelligence (AI) algorithm to provide people with tailored therapy and provides a digital six-week self-help programme involving a sleep test, weekly interactive sessions with users encouraged to keep a diary about their sleeping patterns. Sleepio was rolled out in the south of England towards the end of 2018 and in 2019 was made available across London. NICE is recommending that the Sleepio app is used as cost-effective alternative to prescribed medication after is Medical Technologies Advisory Committee evaluated the platform. The committee concluded that Sleepio is more effective than conventional treatment options (sleep hygiene and medication) in reducing symptoms of insomnia in adults.