Development of an Intervention Module for Insomniac Young Adults: A Pilot Study

Background: Insomnia is defined as difficulty initiating sleep, maintaining sleep, or nonrestorative sleep, with daytime consequences. Insomnia is highly prevalent in the young population. Literature review shows there are limited data regarding applying Cognitive Behavioural Interventions to young adults. Aim: To develop an Intervention Module for young adults with insomnia and to evaluate its preliminary feasibility and efficacy. Methodology: Development of the Intervention Module: Based on an exhaustive literature review and following the six crucial Steps for Quality Intervention Development (6SQuID), an eight-session Insomnia Intervention Module for Insomnia was developed. Participants: A mixed-gender group of 20 young adults with a mean age of 25.35 years was selected from university level students. Procedure: Participants were recruited via an online survey with the help of the Insomnia Severity Index. 100 participants responded to the online survey on Insomnia Severity Index out of which 24 met the inclusion criteria and finally 20 participants gave their consent to undergo the Cognitive Behavioural Intervention Module. The intervention was given for five weeks. Scores of Insomnia Severity Index (ISI) and Pittsburg Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) were taken at baseline (Pre-Intervention) and the end of the intervention (Post Intervention) as outcome measures. Results: The overall patterns of change after the administration of the intervention module demonstrated statistically and clinically significant improvements in sleep quality and reduction in the severity of insomnia symptoms. On the outcome measures ISI pre and post scores and PSQI pre and post scores indicated high treatment effectiveness. Conclusion: The findings of the study suggest that Insomnia Intervention Module was feasible to implement to reduce insomnia severity, improved sleep quality to treat insomnia symptoms in young adults. Further studies with RCT design are needed to evaluate the efficacy of the present Intervention Module on functional outcomes in the insomniac young adults as well as in other populations with more sample sizes.