VR-based mindfulness and sleep quality among NHS staff

• Research type

  Research Study

• Full title

  An exploration of the impact of virtual reality-based mindfulness on sleep quality among healthcare professionals.

• IRAS ID

  332015

• Contact name

  Britt Hallingberg

• Contact email

  BHallingberg@cardiffmet.ac.uk

• Sponsor organisation

  Cardiff Metropolitan University

• Duration of Study in the UK

  0 years, 8 months, 1 days

• Research summary

  Current available literature indicates the need for further research into effective interventions addressing poor sleep quality among healthcare professionals. Studies have reported promising effects of mindfulness in relation to sleep quality, however studies have shown that accessing mindfulness interventions during clinical time is a major barrier for healthcare professionals (Byron et al., 2015). VR-based mindfulness has the potential to overcome this barrier, and research has demonstrated its effectiveness in improving sleep quality for intensive care patients (Lee & Kang, 2020). A small, four-case research project has indicated that there is potential for VR-based mindfulness to impact sleep quality in healthcare professionals (Pan et al., 2022), however further exploration is required.
  The proposed study is understood to be the first study in the UK to explore the impact of VR-based mindfulness on sleep quality among healthcare professionals. Due to it’s novelty, the proposed study will aim to explore the impact of VR-based mindfulness practices on self-reported sleep quality, alongside exploring how VR-based mindfulness is experienced by participants. Participants consenting to take part will be asked to practice virtual-reality-based mindfulness for 10 minutes per day, within 30 minutes of their usual bedtime for a 14-day period. A sleep quality measure will be completed by participants before and after the mindfulness practice period. The first 10 participants to sign up to the study will also be asked to complete a 45-60 minutes interview to capture their experience of VR-based mindfulness. Findings have the potential to inform the use of VR-based mindfulness within NHS employee wellbeing services and provide suggestions for future research.

• REC name

  N/A

• REC reference

  N/A