Active Psychology & Behaviour Lungs & Breathing

Transforming Paediatric Insomnia: A New Sleep Solution for Children to Improve NHS Patient Outcomes

Funder InnovateUK (part of UKRI)
Recipient organisation Braintrain2020 Limited
Funding £370K
Period Mar 2025 — Sept 2027

In plain English

AI plain-English summary

A handheld device that uses biofeedback to treat insomnia in adults is now being tested in children aged 6 to 16. Sleep problems affect one in three people, and the CDC has called insomnia a health epidemic. Poor sleep impairs mood, memory, and alertness after a single night, while long-term deprivation raises the risk of cardiovascular disease, obesity, and depression. Existing treatments often rely on medication or lengthy behavioural therapy, neither of which is ideal for children. SleepCogni’s device delivers a patented active-biofeedback therapy that was already shown in a randomised controlled trial with 80 adults to reduce clinical insomnia to non-clinical insomnia in seven days and increase total sleep time by 56 minutes. If the paediatric trial succeeds, the NHS could offer a drug-free, home-based insomnia treatment for children that works within a week. This would directly improve children’s daily functioning—school performance, mood, and physical health—and reduce the long-term burden of sleep-related chronic disease. The project develops the software platform and gathers real-world evidence for this age group, aiming to transform paediatric insomnia care without requiring specialist clinic visits.

View original technical description
Sleep is a vital component of overall health, yet one-in-three people suffer from insomnia - a condition recognised as a "health epidemic" by the CDC. Over recent years, our understanding of the profound effects that sleep has on both our physical and mental health has grown significantly. A single night of poor sleep can impact a person's mood, alertness and memory. Long-term sleep deprivation can lead to life-threatening conditions such as cardiovascular disease, obesity and depression. Given these factors, the market for effective insomnia treatments is substantial, estimated to be worth $80bn this year. SleepCogni has pioneered a patented Active-Biofeedback therapy, delivered through a unique handheld device. This breakthrough therapy was clinically proven in a randomised-controlled-trial with 80 adults, successfully reducing Clinical Insomnia to Non-Clinical Insomnia in just 7 days and increasing total sleep time by 56 minutes. The aim of this project is develop SleepCogni's paediatric software platform, conduct a clinical trial, real world evidence, of SleepCogni's therapy and platform focusing on SleepCogni's ability to reducing insomnia symptoms among children and adolescents aged between 6 and 16 years.

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Related Research

Grants with similar aims, by meaning.

Transforming Sleep: Developing an Patient and Clinician Centred Platform Designed for NHS Systems
New insomnia therapy for children: development of AI for therapy and proof-of-concept trial with Sheffield Children's NHS Foundation Trust
Multiple physiological inputs to optimise real-time biofeedback through artificial intelligence to improve sleep in insomniacs
Product development clinical trial and commercialisation of revolutionary bedside sleep device SleepCogni.
Enabling better health and self-care at scale with digital sleep medicine

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