HALEO releases interim data from its better sleep program

June 13, 2022, Montreal — HALEO presented interim real-world data from its virtual care CBTi protocol for shiftwork, which showed significant reductions in symptoms of insomnia, anxiety and depression, at a recent sleep professionals conference.

“Shift workers such as first responders are dealing with greater complexity when it comes to their sleep and are more likely to suffer from insomnia. They often work in safety-sensitive roles, and their insomnia puts them at higher risk of workplace accidents.  For employers, poor sleep also increases other risks such as employee turnover, as well as higher rates of absenteeism, disability, and mental health disorders,” said Brad Smith, CEO of HALEO, in a news release.

HALEO, a centre of expertise in behavioural sleep health, developed a program specifically for individuals with a complex rotating or nightshift schedule experiencing chronic insomnia.  Patients achieved significant reductions in symptoms of insomnia, anxiety and depression following the intervention. These results were presented as a poster at the annual meeting of the Associated Professional Sleep Societies (APSS), known as SLEEP 2022, held June 4-8 in Charlotte, NC.

“The high demand from shift workers for our regular CBTi program led us to develop a specific protocol tailored to their needs.  The primary objective of the protocol was to deliver a clinically significant reduction of symptoms of insomnia, depression, and anxiety.  Our real-world data demonstrates that our shift work intervention is as effective as our market-leading CBT-I protocol, and that delivering it through our telehealth platform reduces the insomnia, depression and anxiety symptoms of shift workers in a highly significant manner” said Philippe Stenstrom, PhD and scientific director of HALEO, in a press statement.

Interim data showed participants treated with the HALEO SW-CBT-I program for shiftworkers experienced the following improvements:

• ISI scores were significantly lower post-therapy (mean of = 7.23, SD = 4.11) compared to baseline (mean of = 16.90 SD = 3.69; significance of p<.001, Cohen’s d = 2.29).
• HADS-Depression scores, which measure depressive symptoms were found to be significantly lower post-therapy (mean of = 2.83, SD = 3.08) compared to baseline (mean of = 5.12, SD = 3.68) significance of Cohen’s p<.001, d = 1.03).
• HADS-Anxiety scores, which measure anxiety symptoms, were also significantly lower post-therapy (mean of = 5.08, SD = 2.97) compared to baseline (mean = 6.92, SD = 3.73; p<.001, Cohen’s d = 0.83).

HALEO’s SW-CBTi program is being rolled out to thousands of first responders, manufacturers, health care workers and other shift workers as part of its corporate health and safety solution.