BACKGROUND: Nurse leaders experience high levels of stress, fatigue, and burnout, often worsened by poor sleep quality and circadian disruption. Digital tools that support sleep optimization may help strengthen well-being and resilience in this population.
PURPOSE: This randomized, waitlist-controlled pilot study evaluated the feasibility and acceptability of a digital circadian-based sleep intervention and explored its impact on sleep quality, insomnia severity, and resilience among nurse leaders.
METHODS: Forty nurse leaders were randomized to a 4-week digital sleep intervention or waitlist control. Participants completed validated measures, including the PROMIS Sleep Disturbance 8b, Insomnia Severity Index, and Brief Resilience Scale, at baseline and 4 weeks. Engagement, satisfaction, and qualitative feedback were also collected.
RESULTS: Completion was high (97.5%). The intervention group demonstrated significantly greater improvements in sleep disturbance (d = 1.44; P < .001) and insomnia severity (d = 1.55; P < .001) than controls. Resilience scores improved modestly in the intervention group but weren't statistically significant (d = 0.4; P = .15). Participants reported favorable satisfaction (mean = 3.51/5) and found the app easy to use.
CONCLUSIONS: This pilot study supports the feasibility, acceptability, and preliminary effectiveness of a digital circadian-based intervention to improve sleep among nurse leaders. Although effects on resilience weren't significant, trends suggest potential benefit and warrant further study in larger, longer-term trials.
