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. 2022 Jul 1;18(7):1877-1884.
doi: 10.5664/jcsm.10022.

The effect of robot interventions on sleep in adults: a systematic review and network meta-analysis

Siri Jakobsson Støre  1 , Linda Beckman  2 , Niklas Jakobsson  3
Affiliations

The effect of robot interventions on sleep in adults: a systematic review and network meta-analysis

Siri Jakobsson Støre et al. J Clin Sleep Med. .

Abstract

Study objectives: Robotic pets or companion robots have demonstrated positive effects on several emotional and physiological factors in humans. Robots could constitute a complementary or alternative method to treat sleep problems, but individual studies on robots' effectiveness regarding sleep show mixed results. The aim of the current study was to compare the effects of robots, plush toys, and treatment as usual on sleep in adults.

Methods: The current study is a systematic review and frequentist network meta-analysis of all randomized and cluster randomized controlled trials comparing the effects of robots, plush toys, and treatment as usual on total sleep time in adults.

Results: Four studies were included in the analysis. Three studies were considered to have a high risk of bias, whereas one was rated with some concerns. The studies comprised 381 participants. These participants were older adults, with or without dementia, living in nursing homes. The total sleep time was the only common sleep measure included in all 4 studies. The network meta-analysis showed no statistically significant differences between the 3 experimental groups.

Conclusions: The robot interventions were not found to have positive effects on total sleep time in older adults compared with plush toys or treatment as usual. Future studies should use robots especially made to target sleep, include a thorough screening of the participants, and exclude people with adequate sleep, select appropriate sleep measures, and report the results appropriately for future meta-analyses.

Citation: Støre SJ, Beckman L, Jakobsson N. The effect of robot interventions on sleep in adults: a systematic review and network meta-analysis. J Clin Sleep Med. 2022;18(7):1877-1884.

Keywords: companion robot; network meta-analysis; plush toy; randomized controlled trial; robot; robotic pets; service robot; sleep; social robot; systematic review.

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Conflict of interest statement

All authors have seen and approved this manuscript. Work for this study was performed at Karlstad University, Sweden. The authors report no conflicts of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1. Flow chart of the selection process.
ICTRP = International Clinical Trials Registry Platform, ISRCTN = International Standard Randomised Controlled Trial Number.
Figure 2
Figure 2. Network forest plot.
Boxes are proportional to the weight of each study in the random-effects network meta-analysis, and shows the estimated mean difference for each study, lines are 95% confidence intervals. Diamonds presents pooled estimates and 95% confidence intervals from the network meta-analysis, including both direct and indirect comparisons.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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