Department of Social and Psychological Studies, Karlstad University, Sweden.
Department of Health Sciences, Karlstad University, Sweden.
J Clin Sleep Med. 2022 Jul 1;18(7):1877-1884. doi: 10.5664/jcsm.10022.
Robotic pets or companion robots have demonstrated positive effects on several emotional and physiological factors in humans. Robots could constitute a complementary or alternative method to treat sleep problems, but individual studies on robots' effectiveness regarding sleep show mixed results. The aim of the current study was to compare the effects of robots, plush toys, and treatment as usual on sleep in adults.
The current study is a systematic review and frequentist network meta-analysis of all randomized and cluster randomized controlled trials comparing the effects of robots, plush toys, and treatment as usual on total sleep time in adults.
Four studies were included in the analysis. Three studies were considered to have a high risk of bias, whereas one was rated with some concerns. The studies comprised 381 participants. These participants were older adults, with or without dementia, living in nursing homes. The total sleep time was the only common sleep measure included in all 4 studies. The network meta-analysis showed no statistically significant differences between the 3 experimental groups.
The robot interventions were not found to have positive effects on total sleep time in older adults compared with plush toys or treatment as usual. Future studies should use robots especially made to target sleep, include a thorough screening of the participants, and exclude people with adequate sleep, select appropriate sleep measures, and report the results appropriately for future meta-analyses.
Støre SJ, Beckman L, Jakobsson N. The effect of robot interventions on sleep in adults: a systematic review and network meta-analysis. . 2022;18(7):1877-1884.
机器宠物或陪伴机器人已被证明对人类的多项情绪和生理因素具有积极影响。机器人可以作为治疗睡眠问题的一种补充或替代方法，但针对机器人治疗睡眠效果的个别研究结果喜忧参半。本研究旨在比较机器人、毛绒玩具和常规治疗对成年人睡眠的影响。
本研究是一项系统综述和传统的网络荟萃分析，纳入了所有比较机器人、毛绒玩具和常规治疗对成年人总睡眠时间影响的随机和整群随机对照试验。
共有 4 项研究纳入分析。其中 3 项研究被认为存在高偏倚风险，1 项研究存在一定的关注。这些研究共纳入 381 名参与者，均为年龄较大的成年人，患有或不患有痴呆症，居住在养老院。总睡眠时间是所有 4 项研究中唯一共同的睡眠测量指标。网络荟萃分析显示，3 个实验组之间在总睡眠时间上无统计学显著差异。
与毛绒玩具或常规治疗相比，机器人干预并未被发现对老年人的总睡眠时间有积极影响。未来的研究应使用专门针对睡眠问题的机器人，对参与者进行全面筛查，排除睡眠充足的人群，选择适当的睡眠测量指标，并适当报告结果，以便为未来的荟萃分析提供参考。
Støre SJ, Beckman L, Jakobsson N. The effect of robot interventions on sleep in adults: a systematic review and network meta-analysis.. 2022;18(7):1877-1884.
