Can a phone app fix your sleep? new study tests personalized sleep coach
NCT ID NCT05195359
First seen Jun 27, 2026 · Last updated Jun 27, 2026
Summary
This study tested a smartphone app that gives personalized sleep advice based on your sleep data. Over 600 adults with mild sleep problems used the app or were placed on a waitlist. The goal was to see if the app improved sleep quality after 6 and 12 weeks.
What this could mean
Our plain-language read of the trial. This is informational only, not medical advice or a prediction.
- Active substance
- SleepScore Mobile App (behavioral intervention)
- What this could lead to
- If it works, this could offer a simple, app-based way to improve sleep quality without medication.
- What could go wrong
- This is a completed trial, but results may not apply to everyone. The app only works on iOS, and benefits may be modest.
This is an AI summary of the original study and may miss details. Read our disclaimer.
Study facts
What this study's own registry entry says, in plain language.
- Phase
-
Not a phased trial
Phase numbers describe drug development. The registry uses this when they do not apply, as it does for trials of devices, procedures or behaviour changes, and for observational studies.
- Participants
-
637 people
The number who actually took part.
- Started
-
Jan 2023
- Finished
-
Aug 2023
- Lead sponsor
-
A company
The lead sponsor is a pharmaceutical, biotech, or medical-device company.
Who can take part
This study's own entry requirements. Only the study team can say for certain whether you qualify.
- Ages
-
18 years and older
- Sex
-
Anyone
- Healthy volunteers
-
Accepted
You do not need to have the condition being studied to take part.
Show the full entry requirements Hide the full entry requirements
Copied word for word from the study's registry entry, so the wording is the study team's rather than ours.
Inclusion Criteria: * iOS user * Sub-clinical threshold insomnia symptoms (Regensburg Insomnia Scale Score 13-24) * ≥ 18 years old. * Naive to the SleepScore Labs App * Able to fully understand information on data protection and provide written informed consent Exclusion Criteria: * Non-iOS device users due to technical restrictions of the application * Bedtime less than 6 hours * Any of the following medical problems: * Untreated psychological disorder affecting sleep (e.g., depression, anxiety disorders, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia) * Current severe medical conditions (e.g. chronic pain, cancer) * Any of the following medications/substance use: * Prescription sleep medications or regular use of over-the-counter sleep medications * Medication for other conditions (e.g., anxiety, ADHD) that affect sleep, e.g. antidepressants, antipsychotics * Consumption of 3+ units of alcohol on 4 or more nights per week * Recreational or nightly drug use * Pregnant or nursing mothers * Shift work * Travel across 2 or more time zones during study period * Sleeping more than 7 nights not at home during study period * Users who newly received a diagnosis of a sleep disorders * Users who start sleep or other psychoactive medication during the study period * Use of other Sleep Tracking App's during the study period
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Conditions
The condition(s) this trial relates to.
As listed by the trial registrant
The condition terms exactly as the trial's registrant entered them.
Contacts and locations
Locations
-
Ruhrlandklinik Essen
Essen, North Rhine-Westphalia, 45239, Germany
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