187. Research on the mitigating effect of cultural heritage digitization on nightmare disorder among digital artists

Abstract Background Due to the occupational particularities, digital artists suffer from high work pressure, circadian rhythm disorders and creative exhaustion, resulting in a significantly higher incidence of nightmare disorder than the general population, which seriously impairs their cognitive function and artistic output. As an interdisciplinary practice integrating technological innovation and cultural inheritance, cultural heritage digitization can serve as a potential intervention to alleviate artists’ psychological stress by providing structured creative tasks and enhancing cultural identity as well as community belonging. However, systematic empirical research to support this is currently lacking. Therefore, this study adopted standardized psychological and sleep scales to assess the effect of structured cultural heritage digitization projects on relieving nightmare disorder and related psychological indicators among digital artists, aiming to provide empirical evidence for the mental health support system of the creative industry. Methods A total of 100 full-time digital artists who met the screening criteria for nightmare disorder and had more than 2 years of professional experience were enrolled and randomly divided into an intervention group (n = 50) and a control group (n = 50). On the basis of maintaining their original work rhythm, the intervention group participated in a 12-week structured cultural heritage digitization workshop, with two 90-minute sessions per week. The workshop included digital restoration and re-creation of designated cultural heritage via 3D scanning, digital modeling and other technologies, incorporating cultural background learning, group collaboration and achievement display. The control group maintained their regular work and life routines. Assessments were conducted at baseline (T0), the 6th week (T1) and the 12th week (T2) using the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), Nightmare Frequency Scale (NFS), Generalized Anxiety Disorder 7-item scale (GAD-7) and Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9). Data analysis was performed using repeated measures analysis of variance (p<.05) and Cohen’s d effect size was calculated. Results In the intervention group, the total PSQI score decreased significantly from 12.8 ± 2.6 at T0 to 8.4 ± 2.2 at T2 (p<.001, d = 1.82), with significant improvements in the subscales of sleep quality, sleep onset latency and daytime dysfunction (p<.01). The NFS score dropped from 3.5 ± 1.2 episodes per week to 1.6 ± 0.9 episodes (p<.001, d = 1.78). Meanwhile, the levels of anxiety and depression in the intervention group decreased significantly (p<.001). No significant changes were observed in all indicators of the control group (p>.05). Repeated measures analysis of variance showed significant interaction effects between time and group on PSQI, NFS, GAD-7, PHQ-9 and WMS scores (p<.001). Discussion After 12 weeks of intervention with the cultural heritage digitization project, digital artists achieved significant improvements in sleep quality, nightmare frequency and emotional indicators, with the intervention group outperforming the control group. The results indicate that structured workshops integrating cultural inheritance and technological innovation can effectively alleviate the occupational psychological distress of digital artists, providing empirical evidence for mental health support in the creative industry. Future research could further explore the differential impacts of different cultural heritage types, technical forms and intervention intensities, and optimize intervention programs through long-term follow-ups, so as to develop improved mental health promotion schemes suitable for digital creative talents.