This pilot study supports the feasibility, acceptability, and preliminary effectiveness of a digital circadian-based intervention to improve sleep among nurse leaders.
The digital sleep intervention produced significantly greater improvements in sleep disturbance compared to waitlist controls.
The digital sleep intervention produced significantly greater improvements in insomnia severity compared to waitlist controls.
Resilience scores improved modestly in the intervention group but the difference was not statistically significant.
The digital sleep intervention demonstrated high feasibility and acceptability among nurse leaders.
The study enrolled 40 nurse leaders in a randomized, waitlist-controlled pilot design targeting a population at high risk for sleep and burnout problems.
This research suggests that a smartphone-based sleep improvement app can meaningfully help nurse leaders sleep better. In a small randomized study of 40 nurse leaders, those who used the app for four weeks showed large improvements in both overall sleep quality and insomnia symptoms compared to a control group that was placed on a waitlist. Nearly all participants (97.5%) completed the study, and most found the app easy to use, suggesting this type of tool is practical for a busy healthcare leadership population. The app was designed around circadian science — meaning it worked with the body's natural internal clock to optimize sleep timing and quality. The improvements seen were not just statistically significant but also clinically meaningful, with effect sizes considered large by research standards. There was also a trend toward improved resilience (the ability to bounce back from stress) among app users, though this finding was not statistically significant, possibly because the study was too small to detect a more modest effect. This research matters because nurse leaders are particularly vulnerable to burnout and fatigue, which can affect both their own health and the quality of care they oversee. This study suggests that accessible digital tools targeting sleep could be a low-barrier way to support well-being in this workforce. The authors call for larger, longer-term studies to confirm these findings and to better understand whether sleep improvements translate into lasting gains in resilience and overall well-being.
Gonzalvo K, Walch O, Reich R, Mason T. (2026). Nurse leader well-being: Optimizing sleep with a randomized pilot study of a digital sleep intervention.. Nursing management. https://doi.org/10.1097/nmg.0000000000000351