A pilot study was conducted over 3 days to encourage better sleep among 7-8 graduate students and recent graduates. Participants were asked to sleep over 7.5 hours per night and received daily text messages asking how much they slept. Compliance with the sleep goal was around 66%. The study found it was difficult to focus on results but increased awareness of sleep patterns. Reminders through SMS did not feel punitive, likely because participants scheduled the reminders themselves. The study suggests reminding and awareness may increase self-efficacy and improve sleep.

1. Txt2Calm: a Pilot to
Decrease Stress
through Sleeping
Frank Chen
Stanford University
Txt2Calm: Insights a Sleep Study 1

2. 2
Pilot study
• 3 Day study to encourage sleep
• 7/8 participants accepted invitation
• Graduate students & 2 recent graduates in
busy lives, sleep sometimes suffers.
• Instructions include both carrot and
stick
“Studies have shown sleeping more
drastically helps manage stress,
mood, and weight-loss. I am trying to
create better sleep for your schedule.
80% of Americans sleep much less
than their bodies need and are in a
constant state of sleep deprivation.”
• Asked for >7.5 hrs of sleep. ~ 66%
compliance. 2 had early Monday
flights, 1 had early Monday meeting,
1 had friends visiting entire weekend.
Txt2Calm: Insights from a Sleep Intervention

3. 3
Protocol
• Participants placed calendar entry to
remind themselves to sleep for Friday,
Saturday, Sunday.
• Calendar entry: “Go to bed!” Google
Calendar lets you send text messages
• Every morning at 9:45 AM I text
message each individual to ask how
many hours they slept.
• I acknowledge accomplishments or
improvements with message back:
“Nice!”
• “Each morning I hope you will be able
to sleep longer than the previous night!
Think of it as a game. :)”
Txt2Calm: Insights a Sleep Study

4. 4
Key insights
 Difficult to focus on results. Focus on awareness of
sleeping patterns.
 “I did not go to bed immediately … I wasn’t ready to go to
bed” [P5, short sleeper, who slept ~ 8 hours a night but did not
feel positive or negative effects]
 “It allowed me to be somewhat routine about when I slept. [I
forced myself to sleep before 1 AM]. Even before the alarm
sounded I became aware that I needed to sleep” [P4, who
slept slightly more and felt more rested]
 Reminder through SMS did not trigger the “slap-on-wrist”
response.
 Participants placed this reminder themselves.
 Did this increase self-efficacy?
 Some included the exclamation mark in their calendar
 Did this decrease the prescriptive feeling?
Txt2Calm: Insights a Sleep Study

5. 5
Find out more?
 Research : www.designmindfulness.com
 Twitter : @frankc / #CalmingTech
 Personal : www.frankc.net
Txt2Calm: Insights a Sleep Study