Online Intervention Can Reduce Sleep Onset Latency in Children With Epilepsy

TUESDAY, Jan. 13, 2026 (HealthDay News) -- An online sleep intervention can reduce sleep onset latency among children with epilepsy, according to a study published online Jan. 7 in Scientific Reports.Paul Gringras, M.D., from King's College London in the United Kingdom, and colleagues conducted a randomized controlled trial involving children aged 4 to 12 years with epilepsy and sleep problems through 26 U.K. outpatient clinics. Participants were randomly assigned to standard care (SC; control) provided by their pediatric epilepsy services or to the experimental SC plus CASTLE Online Sleep Intervention (COSI) in a 1:1 ratio (42 and 43 children, respectively). The Children's Sleep Habits Questionnaire (CSHQ) at three months was the primary outcome. At six months, cost-effectiveness was estimated.The researchers found that the adjusted mean CSHQ difference between the arms was 3.00 at three months, indicating superiority of SC. A mean 16.5-minute reduction was seen in sleep onset latency by actigraphy among children in the SC + COSI group, and parents' knowledge increased. Overall, only 53 percent of the families accessed the core intervention materials. SC + COSI had an incremental mean cost of £1,232, with a mean incremental quality-adjusted life year (QALY) of 0.00, yielding an incremental cost-effectiveness ratio of £433,167/QALY gained (probability of being cost effective at the £30,000/QALY threshold, 0.04)."The main issue was engagement. Half of the people who were given access to the resources used them," senior author Deb K. Pal, M.D., Ph.D., also from King's College London, said in a statement.Abstract/Full Text.Sign up for our weekly HealthDay newsletter

Online Intervention Can Reduce Sleep Onset Latency in Children With Epilepsy

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