Before you sign up to Sleepio, please make sure you are clear about what it provides and that it is suitable for you. If you have any questions please contact our team on hello@sleepio.com.
Each week during your Sleepio course you will 'Visit The Prof' to receive your weekly session. Each session is automated, yet the content is tailored to your particular problems (based on the Sleep Test questionnaire you complete before the course), your week-to-week progress in improving your sleep and the choices you make during the session. Although suggestions are made throughout the course, you are ultimately in control of what techniques you put into practice and how, and it's your responsibility to decide how best to make use of the contents of the course. Think of it as a serious computer game - one that helps you learn how to sleep better.
We have tested the Sleepio course to the most rigourous standards of scientific evidence; you can read more about this in this article by Prof Espie about the science behind Sleepio.
The Sleepio Community is a warm and welcoming place where you can share your experiences with others on the course, and get support from 'course graduates' who have been there before. In addition the Library contains over 100 articles covering every topic on the course, details on putting techniques into practice and the science behind them. Each week a sleep expert holds a 'live group seminar' on the Community, and answers the most popular questions from the previous week.
If you have any reason to believe you are suffering from a pre-existing medical condition, or if you frequently struggle to stay awake during the day or fall asleep during the daytime without intending to, then please consult your doctor before starting the Sleepio course.
The CBT techniques within Sleepio have been shown to be highly effective in providing long term relief from even very persistent poor sleep. Many participants see benefits within weeks or even days. However it is not a 'passive' solution; the program requires sustained and significant effort in order for improvements to be made. Many manage to make this effort with support from others in the Sleepio Community, but it is important that you are aware of this before starting the Sleepio course.
The material on Sleepio, whether posted by Sleepio employees or other users, is provided for your information and is not intended as medical advice. Although the information featured in the Sleepio course and Library is written by sleep experts, the community is intended as a peer-to-peer forum, and content is not monitored by our staff unless flagged by users as contravening our Posting Policy. We are not a medical organization and our staff cannot give you medical advice or diagnosis. We strongly recommend that you seek help from your doctor if at any time you are concerned about your physical or mental health.
Sleep is a very common problem in a range of health conditions including cancer, pain, depression and endocrine or hormonal problems (for example menopause). There is good evidence that the approaches used in the Sleepio program can improve sleep when people have such health problems, but you should seek advice from your medical practitioner if you have any concerns. Having your medical information they will be able to advise you safely on your situation which we're not able to do via email or on the website.
The Sleepio program can help with many specific sleep disorders such as Delayed Sleep Phase Disorder, Restless Legs Syndrome, nightmares and Sleep Apnoea, but you should always seek advice from your medical practitioner as for some of these conditions there are specific treatments.
The Sleepio program has been shown to be just as effective for people taking sleeping pills as those not on any sleeping medication , so you should not feel pressured to make any changes to your medication you are not comfortable with. Always seek advice from your medical practitioner before considering making any changes to your medication.
The Sleepio program is not recommended for people under the age of 16 or for pregnant women. This is because the program includes the Sleep Restriction technique which, although shown to be highly effective in improving sleep, isn’t suitable for people who require more sleep biologically such as children and pregnant women.
Many shift workers have successfully completed the Sleepio program. Being based on Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Insomnia, the program consists of proven strategies to address the cognitive (or thought-related) and behavioral (lifestyle and schedule-related) reasons that lead to being unable to sleep.
All the cognitive tools and techniques in the program will be useful for everyone who is worried about getting enough sleep. Relaxation techniques can help you get to sleep at any time of day and night. Lifestyle advice will be relevant to everyone, regardless of what time they go to sleep.
However, Sleepio also includes a daily sleep diary and scheduling tool. These tools were designed to help long term poor sleepers adapt regular sleep and wake routines so they assume that you can choose what time you go to sleep at night. Therefore, they are less relevant to shift workers, but we suggest some simple adaptations you can make to further tailor your Sleepio program in this article on shift work.
For most people who drive, the techniques taught on the Sleepio program are fully appropriate. However, if you drive for a living, or operate heavy machinery, then one of the techniques (Sleep Restriction) may not be suitable for you. This is because Sleep Restriction can temporarily increase feelings of sleepiness during daytime.
You may still benefit from the other parts of the program, especially the lifestyle advice and the cognitive tools and techniques.
For any further questions on technical requirements, please don’t hesitate to reach out to our help team via email to hello@sleepio.com!