Biofeedback for Insomnia: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

 Insomnia is a common sleep disorder that affects many people worldwide. Biofeedback, a non-pharmacological intervention, has been proposed as a potential treatment for insomnia. It is a technique that involves using electronic or mechanical instruments to provide real-time feedback about a physiological process, such as muscle tension, heart rate, or brain activity, with the goal of improving self-regulation of the process.

A systematic review and meta-analysis were conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of biofeedback in treating insomnia. The study included randomized controlled trials that compared biofeedback to a control or placebo intervention in adults with insomnia. The outcomes of interest were subjective measures of sleep quality, including sleep onset latency, total sleep time, and wake after sleep onset.

The results of the meta-analysis showed that biofeedback was significantly more effective than control interventions in improving sleep onset latency and total sleep time. However, there was no significant difference in wake after sleep onset between the two groups. The study also found that the effects of biofeedback on sleep quality were maintained over a longer period of time compared to control interventions.

The findings suggest that biofeedback may be a promising intervention for the treatment of insomnia. It has several advantages over pharmacological treatments, including the lack of side effects and the potential for long-term effectiveness. Additionally, biofeedback can be tailored to an individual's specific needs, and patients can learn to self-regulate their physiological responses over time.

However, there are limitations to the study that should be considered. The number of studies included in the meta-analysis was relatively small, and the quality of the evidence was moderate to low. Additionally, there was considerable variability in the types of biofeedback interventions used across studies, which may have affected the results.

In conclusion, biofeedback appears to be a promising non-pharmacological intervention for the treatment of insomnia. It has the potential to improve sleep quality, particularly in terms of reducing sleep onset latency and increasing total sleep time. Further research is needed to better understand the optimal protocols for delivering biofeedback and to determine the long-term effects of this intervention on sleep quality.