Insomnia is an eye-opening problem (pardon the pun!).
There is no doubt that insomnia is a highly serious challenge. Being unable to sleep is certainly a disconcerting and most pressing issue that we all have faced. From time to time, it seems that bouts of sleep deprivation are bound to strike any of us in this hectic world we live in. Work pressures, family issues, and the general sense of the planet being on edge are enough to wreck our sleep patterns.
What you might not be aware of is that an estimated 10% to possibly 30% of adults are at some point in time dealing with chronic insomnia. This is far beyond occasional or episodic insomnia. Chronic insomnia is typically classified as a disorder, reflecting the seriousness and severity that it can inflict on your physical body and your mental well-being.
There are lots of suggested ways to cope with insomnia.
I bet you’ve heard, seen, and possibly tried many. Some say that you can mentally will yourself out of insomnia. Various therapeutic techniques purport to do so. Rarely are you able to do this entirely on your own. It is customary to seek out professional mental health guidance. In addition, medications sometimes can play an important role too, though you should be cautious about taking medications unless you’ve got a suitably prescribed approach.
Let’s go ahead and add another option for tackling insomnia.
Are you sitting down and ready for what it is?
Okay, the option is generative AI.
That’s right, include generative AI such as ChatGPT, GPT-4, Claude, Gemini, and other popular generative AI apps on your list of presumed solution possibilities for conquering insomnia. A vital point to clarify is that generative AI should not be overstated or classified as a remedy or cure per se. It is simply another tool in the toolbox of ways to combat and defeat insomnia. No silver bullet on this front.
I trust that you are intrigued about how generative AI in some sensible manner can be utilized to cope with insomnia. I am quite glad that you asked, thanks.
I will walk you through essential background about insomnia and dovetail how generative AI enters newly into the picture. The aim is to be informative, reveal something you probably didn’t know, and showcase that modern-day generative AI is worthy of being included in any regimen or method of coping with insomnia.
Before we leap into the details, allow me to go into my customary opening remarks.
For my ongoing readers, in today’s column, I am continuing my in-depth series about the impact of generative AI in the health and medical realm. The focus this time is once again on the mental health domain and examines the use of generative AI for coping with insomnia.
I have previously examined numerous interleaving facets of generative AI and mental health, see my comprehensive overview at the link here. You might also find of notable interest a CBS 60 Minutes episode that recently examined crucial facets of this evolving topic, see the link here (I am honored and pleased to indicate that I was featured in the episode, see the link here).
Other vital background includes my in-depth coverage of mental health chatbots which have been bolstered by generative AI (see the link here) and the rapidly changing nature of the client-therapist relationship due to generative AI at the link here. I explored where things are headed regarding the levels of AI-based mental therapy autonomous guidance at the link here, and showcased the importance of the World Health Organization (WHO) report on global health and generative AI at the link here, and so on.
Research On Insomnia Tells Quite A Story
We shall begin by taking a quick glimpse at some key timely research covering insomnia.
An esteemed medical journal recently explored the latest research and insights about insomnia, doing so in a published paper entitled “Management of Insomnia” by Charles Morin and Daniel J. Buysse, The New England Journal Of Medicine, July 2024. Here are some key points (excerpts):
- “Insomnia disorder is characterized by dissatisfaction with sleep quality or duration associated with difficulty falling or staying asleep and substantial distress or daytime impairments.”
- “The disorder is a sleep disturbance that occurs 3 nights or more per week, persists for more than 3 months, and is not the result of inadequate opportunities for sleep.”
- “It frequently co-occurs with other medical conditions (e.g., pain) and psychiatric disorders (e.g., depression), as well as other sleep disorders (e.g., restless legs syndrome and sleep apnea).”
- “Insomnia is the most prevalent sleep disorder in the general population and among the most frequent issues raised by patients during primary care visits, although it often goes untreated. Approximately 10% of adults meet the criteria for insomnia disorder and another 15 to 20% report occasional insomnia symptoms.”
- “Current treatment options for insomnia include prescribed and over-the-counter medications, psychological and behavioral therapies (also referred to as cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia [CBT-I]), and complementary and alternative therapies.”
You might closely observe that when sleep is a disorder there is a qualitative and quantitative measurement involved, such as the second point above noting that a considered severe or chronic sleep disturbance occurs at least 3 nights per week and persists for 3 months or more. That’s the really rough-and-tumble side of insomnia.
The fourth bullet point reveals an aspect that you might find surprising.
According to the researchers, when patients visit their primary care physician, sleep issues are a frequently cited concern by the patient. Have you done the same? Meanwhile, lamentedly, sleep difficulties tend to be less likely viewed as something for treatment, unless the lack of sleep has already risen to a debilitating level. Some would argue that this is the classic oversight of trying to catch the horse after it is already out of the barn.
The fifth bullet point mentions that besides medications, various psychological and behavioral therapies are often employed. One that gets the most attention is known as CBT-I, cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia. I’ll be saying more about this in a moment.
CBT-I used to be mainly done via in-person visits with a mental health professional or clinician. Nowadays, in our online world, the use of remote options exists, including apps or digital CBT-I which is typically referred to as eCBT-I.
There are specialized apps that are built specifically to guide you via the precepts of CBT-I. Other times, a mental health app will cover a variety of behavioral realms and happen to include CBT-I amid the many others via the app. Another possibility is using eCBT-I in conjunction with a mental health professional, such that you are presumably getting the best of both worlds.
The cited research paper provides a handy set of details about the range of psychological and behavioral therapies for patients with insomnia, and identifies these major areas:
- Sleep restriction
- Stimulus control
- Relaxation training
- Cognitive therapy
- Sleep hygiene education
- Acceptance and commitment therapy
- Mindfulness
- Brief behavioral treatments for insomnia
Not only do eCBT-I specialized apps tend to cover those areas, but you might be pleasantly surprised to know that generic generative AI can usually provide similar capabilities. For my extensive coverage of how generic generative AI for mental health use is different from and at times similar to specialized mental health apps, see the link here and the link here, just to mention a few.
I will in a moment walk you through the use of modern-day generative AI for serving as a handy tool for coping with insomnia.
First, let’s talk in general about generative AI and large language models (LLMs), doing so to make sure we are on the same page when it comes to discussing the matter at hand.
Generative AI And Tackling Of Insomnia
I’m sure you’ve heard of generative AI, the darling of the tech field these days.
Perhaps you’ve used a generative AI app, such as the popular ones of ChatGPT, GPT-4o, Gemini, Bard, Claude, etc. The crux is that generative AI can take input from your text-entered prompts and produce or generate a response that seems quite fluent. This is a vast overturning of the old-time natural language processing (NLP) that used to be stilted and awkward to use, which has been shifted into a new version of NLP fluency of an at times startling or amazing caliber.
The customary means of achieving modern generative AI involves using a large language model or LLM as the key underpinning.
In brief, a computer-based model of human language is established that in the large has a large-scale data structure and does massive-scale pattern-matching via a large volume of data used for initial data training. The data is typically found by extensively scanning the Internet for lots and lots of essays, blogs, poems, narratives, and the like. The mathematical and computational pattern-matching homes in on how humans write, and then henceforth generates responses to posed questions by leveraging those identified patterns. It is said to be mimicking the writing of humans.
I think that is sufficient for the moment as a quickie backgrounder. Take a look at my extensive coverage of the technical underpinnings of generative AI and LLMs at the link here and the link here, just to name a few.
Back to the crux of things.
As you might imagine, generative AI can be handy for aiding those who are concerned about insomnia overall. This includes a wide array of stakeholders, including adults, children, therapists, policymakers, regulators, and many others.
Here are some significant ways that generative AI can be useful:
- (1) Generative AI – Insomnia Detection. Generative AI can potentially detect that someone seems to have insomnia or might be heading in that direction.
- (2) Generative AI – Insomnia Mental Health Advisement. Generative AI can conversationally guide someone through the mental health dynamics of insomnia and serve as a kind of therapist in a limited way.
- (3) Generative AI – Insomnia Education. Generative AI can educate people about insomnia, such as explaining what insomnia is, what to do about insomnia, etc.
- (4) Generative AI – Scenario Simulation Of Insomnia Impacts. Generative AI can showcase what insomnia can do in terms of mental health ramifications arising due to insomnia, doing so by taking on or simulating a persona, see examples of generative AI persona usage at the link here.
- (5) Generative AI – Policymaking On Insomnia. Generative AI can contribute to the policymaking sphere about insomnia from a medical/legal perspective. This can be done by aiding in crafting policies, reviewing policies, and serving as a handy tool throughout the policymaking process.
- (6) Generative AI – Other Insomnia Aspects. Generative AI can be used in a variety of other ways that might aid in dealing with insomnia, though there is always a chance that generative AI won’t be helpful, or worse still, might be misapplied and misinterpreted.
That’s an impressive array of potential uses.
Allow me a brief moment to stand on a soapbox and make some important remarks about the mental health uses of generative AI. It is a topic I’ve been covering extensively, such as the link here and the link here.
We are right now in a somewhat wanton grand experiment of using generic generative AI for mental health purposes. Insomnia is one instance of how generative AI can be applied for mental health advisement. The thing is, no one can say whether using generic generative AI for mental health uses will ultimately be for the good or the bad. In a sense, we have mental health advisement via the auspices of generative AI that is taking place under our noses at a massive scale, and we can’t say how it will pan out.
The population-level impacts are either amazing or chilling.
Okay, I provided my warnings, so I’ll get down from the soapbox, and we can proceed with considering the upsides and downsides of generative AI in this realm.
Using ChatGPT To Showcase The Use Of Generative AI
I will next proceed to examine further the use of generative AI for insomnia.
This will consist of a series of dialogues with ChatGPT. ChatGPT is a logical choice in this case due to its immense popularity as a generative AI app. As noted, an estimated one hundred million weekly active users are said to be utilizing ChatGPT. That’s a lot of people and a lot of generative AI usage underway.
A few quick comments before we launch into using ChatGPT.
If you are going to try to do the same prompts that I show here, realize that the probabilistic and statistical properties will likely produce slightly different results than what I show here. That’s the nature of generative AI and how it is devised.
You also should expect that different generative AI apps will respond in different ways. Not all generative AI apps are the same. The key is that sometimes a particular prompt will work in one generative AI app and not another. Nonetheless, the odds are relatively high that you will get roughly similar responses from all the major generative AI apps such as GPT-4, Gemini, Bard, Claude, etc.
There is also a timing factor to be considered. A prompt that worked today might not work the same way tomorrow. Most of the generative AI apps are continually being updated. The updates might alter internal mechanisms that could change how the generative AI reacts to your prompting.
We are ready to get underway with ChatGPT.
I opted to start by asking ChatGPT what insomnia is.
As an aside, whenever you are starting a conversation with generative AI, I recommend as a prompt engineering technique to begin by asking a question that will establish if the AI has been data-trained on the topic at hand. A generated response that is vacuous will give you a heads-up that you might be barking up the wrong tree with that generative AI app.
Here we go.
- My entered prompt: “What is insomnia?”
- ChatGPT generated response: “Insomnia is a sleep disorder characterized by difficulty falling asleep, staying asleep, or getting restful sleep, leading to daytime fatigue and impairment.”
I’d say that the response by ChatGPT was an apt description, short and to the point.
That’s an encouraging sign that ChatGPT has likely scanned the topic during the initial data training phase of development. This makes indubitable sense. The odds are that while scanning the Internet for content to pattern match on, invariably content associated with the popular topic would have been encountered.
Moving on, let’s see what ChatGPT has to say about some deeper facets.
- My entered prompt: “How prevalent is insomnia? And what are potential mental health problems that can arise due to insomnia?”
- ChatGPT generated response:
“Insomnia is a common sleep disorder affecting a significant portion of the population. Research indicates that approximately 10-30% of adults experience chronic insomnia, with some studies suggesting prevalence rates as high as 50-60% for occasional insomnia. Insomnia is more prevalent among women and older adults. For instance, up to 50% of elderly people may suffer from insomnia.”
“Insomnia can have several negative impacts on mental health, including:”
“Depression: Chronic insomnia is strongly associated with an increased risk of developing depression. Individuals with insomnia are ten times more likely to develop depression compared to those without sleep issues.”
“Anxiety: Insomnia can exacerbate anxiety disorders. Lack of sleep can heighten anxiety symptoms and make it more difficult for individuals to cope with stress.”
“Cognitive Impairments: Persistent insomnia can lead to problems with concentration, memory, and decision-making, which can affect daily functioning and work performance.”
“Mood Disorders: Insomnia can cause mood swings and irritability. The lack of restorative sleep can affect emotional regulation and lead to mood disorders.”
“Substance Abuse: People with insomnia might turn to alcohol or other substances as a means to induce sleep, leading to potential substance abuse and dependency issues.”
“Addressing insomnia through behavioral interventions, cognitive-behavioral therapy for insomnia (CBT-I), and, when necessary, medication can help mitigate these mental health risks.”
End of ChatGPT response
The response by ChatGPT is solid.
I say this because it is vital to always double-check any output from generative AI. There is a chance that generative AI can make up fictitious facts, often referred to as AI hallucinations, see my coverage at the link here. In this case, based on the literature on insomnia, the indications by ChatGPT are sound.
We are now ready to ask the zillion-dollar question.
- My entered prompt: “Can generative AI help someone cope with insomnia?”
- ChatGPT generated response:
“Yes, generative AI can help someone cope with insomnia by providing personalized relaxation techniques, sleep hygiene tips, and generating calming content such as bedtime stories or soothing sounds. It can also offer cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) strategies to address underlying thoughts and behaviors contributing to insomnia.”
“Here are some specific ways generative AI can help cope with insomnia:”
“Personalized Sleep Hygiene Tips: AI can analyze individual sleep patterns and suggest personalized routines to improve sleep quality, such as optimal bedtime, wake-up times, and pre-sleep activities.”
“Guided Relaxation and Meditation: Generative AI can create custom guided meditations or relaxation exercises to help calm the mind before sleep.”
“Calming Content Generation: AI can generate bedtime stories, white noise, or soothing music tailored to individual preferences, promoting a more relaxing sleep environment.”
“Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Insomnia (CBT-I): AI can provide interactive CBT-I sessions, helping users identify and change thoughts and behaviors that negatively impact sleep.”
“Sleep Tracking and Analysis: AI-powered apps can track sleep patterns and provide insights and recommendations based on the data collected.”
“Stress and Anxiety Management: AI can offer tools and exercises to manage stress and anxiety, which are common contributors to insomnia.”
“Virtual Sleep Coaches: AI can act as a virtual sleep coach, offering ongoing support and adjustments to sleep strategies as needed.”
End of ChatGPT response
I believe that to be a handy list of the ways that generative AI can be beneficial in coping with insomnia. The list generally comports with my list, shown earlier, though providing a more detailed look at the topic.
Doing A Therapeutic Dialogue With ChatGPT About Insomnia
I’ve used generative AI for nearly all the listed approaches, having done so not for personally having insomnia but as a tryout of generative AI for said therapeutic purposes. I will go ahead and show you a sample dialogue to give you a sense of what this kind of usage consists of. Note that I will be pretending to have insomnia.
Here we go.
- My entered prompt: “I’ve been having trouble sleeping lately. Can you help me?”
- ChatGPT generated response: “Of course! I’m here to help. Can you describe your sleep difficulties? Are you having trouble falling asleep, staying asleep, or both?”
- My entered prompt: “Mostly falling asleep. I just can’t seem to shut my mind off at night.”
- ChatGPT generated response: “That sounds frustrating. Let’s start with some relaxation techniques. Would you like to try a guided meditation or some breathing exercises?”
I’d like you to observe some key facets shown via this dialogue.
First, you might have noticed that generative AI goes along with my remark that I am having trouble sleeping. A fellow human might right away doubt you or otherwise not take seriously your expressed concern. In a sense, you could say I am being heard by ChatGPT. Happy face.
Second, I was right away asked useful probing questions.
The initial question was a broad one. The accompanying question was more specific, namely asking about whether I had trouble falling asleep, staying asleep, or both. This one-two punch using a general question in combination with a more specific question is a great way to get someone to suitably respond. You see, if you ask only a general question, you are bound to get a general answer. If you ask only a more specific question, you might be diving too fast into the depths of the matter. Having both questions posed is a good approach.
Third, after I gave my answer, an expression of empathy was given (“That sounds frustrating”), which is an important means of getting the person to further open up. For my analysis of how generative AI can appear to be empathetic, see my analyses at the link here and the link here.
Let’s see what happens next.
- My entered prompt: “A guided meditation sounds good.”
- ChatGPT generated response: “Great! Here’s a short, guided meditation to help you relax and prepare for sleep…” [Note: I’ve clipped the dialogue for space purposes].
- My entered prompt: “Thanks, that was helpful. What else do you advise?”
- ChatGPT generated response: “Next, let’s work on your bedtime routine. Do you have any habits before bed, like using screens or consuming caffeine?”
- My entered response: “I often use my smartphone before bed, and I drink coffee in the afternoon.”
- ChatGPT generated response: “Using screens can interfere with sleep. Try to put away your smartphone at least an hour before bed. Also, consider switching to a decaf coffee or avoiding caffeine after noon. How does that sound?”
- My entered response: “I can give that a try.”
The dialogue went on for quite a while.
I am cutting it there for space purposes herein. You can readily try the same type of conversation by creating an account in a generative AI app and proceeding as I’ve demonstrated.
Be Mindful And Cautious In Your Use Of Generative AI
Do not falsely assume that generative AI will be a silver bullet for dealing with insomnia.
Besides the fact that you are interacting with a generic AI system rather than a mental health professional, there are other potential issues to keep in mind.
Let’s get generative AI to fess up to those concerns.
- My entered prompt: Might the use of generative AI for coping with insomnia have any drawbacks or downsides?”
- ChatGPT generated response:
“Yes, there are potential drawbacks and downsides to using generative AI for coping with insomnia.”
“Over-Reliance: Users might become too dependent on AI for sleep support, which could hinder their ability to develop and maintain healthy sleep habits independently.”
“Privacy Concerns: AI systems often require personal data to provide tailored advice. This data collection can raise privacy and security issues if not properly managed.”
“Effectiveness: AI interventions might not be as effective as personalized treatment from a healthcare professional, especially for complex or severe cases of insomnia.”
“Generalization: AI-generated advice may not always account for individual nuances and might offer generalized solutions that don’t fully address specific needs.”
“Lack of Human Touch: AI lacks the empathy and understanding that a human therapist or counselor can provide, which may be crucial for some individuals dealing with insomnia.”
“Potential Misinformation: AI systems can sometimes provide incorrect or outdated information, which could negatively impact sleep hygiene or overall health.”
End of ChatGPT response
I wholeheartedly agree with those stated downsides.
Consider this mindfully.
For example, please do not tell someone to use generative AI for insomnia without also mentioning and cautioning about the downsides. People going on this path need to be fully informed about what generative AI can and cannot do.
One aspect that was mentioned consists of privacy or the lack thereof.
A lot of people seem to think that when they use generative AI, they are guaranteed total privacy and confidentiality. This is a highly unlikely assumption. The licensing agreements usually say that the AI maker can readily access your prompts and anything else that you’ve entered into the generative AI app. Furthermore, the licensing typically indicates that they can use your entered content as an additional form of data training for the AI. See my detailed discussion on this disconcerting matter of privacy intrusions and what to watch out for, at the link here.
Conclusion
Congratulations, you are now up-to-speed about the use of generative AI for coping with insomnia.
There is still a long way to go on this topic. The clever idea of applying modern-day generative AI to aid in overcoming insomnia is only in its infancy. Join in and help advance the research in this budding and promising realm. You can make a difference.
There are controversies afoot and grand challenges ahead.
For example, some would fervently insist that no one should ever turn to generative AI for this purpose unless they are doing so under the vaunted guidance of a mental health professional. What do you think? For now, you get to be the judge. See my discussion on the latest in coupling human-based therapy with AI-based therapy to know more about the ins and outs involved, at the link here.
A final remark or two for now.
F. Scott Fitzgerald famously said, “The worst thing in the world is to try to sleep and not to.” I dare say that most of us have learned that lesson the hard way. Even if you don’t have chronic insomnia, the occasional episodic insomnia due to say jet lag can be seemingly unbearable. Sleep is vital.
Let’s end the discussion with some revered Shakespeare: “O sleep, O gentle sleep, Nature’s soft nurse, how have I frightened thee. That thou no more will weigh my eyelids down.”
Maybe a bit of poetry will help with this, and I wish you all the best in your everyday and much-needed sleeping endeavors.
