Digital therapeutics for insomnia: an umbrella review and meta-meta-analysis

The growing burden of insomnia underscores the necessity for accessible and effective treatments, with digital therapeutics offering a promising solution. A systematic search was conducted across seven databases (PubMed, Web of Science, EMBASE, MEDLINE, ProQuest, Scopus, and the Cochrane Library) covering the period from the inception of each database until October 2024. A total of 28 systematic reviews and meta-analyses evaluating digital therapeutics with reported insomnia-related outcomes were included, encompassing 118,970 participants. The primary outcome, Insomnia Severity Index (ISI), indicated that digital therapeutics significantly improved insomnia (SMD = -0.42, p < 0.01), with better results observed during follow-up (SMD = -0.69, p < 0.01). Under the guidance of therapists, digital therapeutics exerted a more positive effect (SMD = -1.05, p < 0.01). The secondary outcomes also showed consistent results, with no significant differences observed in Total Sleep Time (TST) between the post-intervention and follow-up periods. Based on the assessment results, there is sufficient evidence to recommend the use of digital therapeutics.