Cited by 34Sleep and related disordersDigital Mental Health InterventionsObstructive Sleep Apnea Research

Digital and AI-Enhanced Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Insomnia: Neurocognitive Mechanisms and Clinical Outcomes

Open access
Gkintoni, Evgenia, Vassilopoulos, Stephanos P., Nikolaou, Georgios, Boutsinas, Basilis·2025·Journal of Clinical Medicine

Abstract

Background/Objectives: This systematic review explores the integration of digital and AI-enhanced cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) for insomnia, focusing on underlying neurocognitive mechanisms and associated clinical outcomes. Insomnia significantly impairs cognitive functioning, overall health, and quality of life. Although traditional CBT has demonstrated efficacy, its scalability and ability to deliver individualized care remain limited. Emerging AI-driven interventions—including chatbots, mobile applications, and web-based platforms—present innovative avenues for delivering more accessible and personalized insomnia treatments. Methods: Following PRISMA guidelines, this review synthesized findings from 78 studies published between 2004 and 2024. A systematic search was conducted across PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, and PsycINFO. Studies were included based on predefined criteria prioritizing randomized controlled trials (RCTs) and high-quality empirical research that evaluated AI-augmented CBT interventions targeting sleep disorders, particularly insomnia. Results: The findings suggest that digital and AI-enhanced CBT significantly improves sleep parameters, patient adherence, satisfaction, and the personalization of therapy in alignment with individual neurocognitive profiles. Moreover, these technologies address critical limitations of conventional CBT, notably those related to access and scalability. AI-based tools appear especially promising in optimizing treatment delivery and adapting interventions to cognitive-behavioral patterns. Conclusions: While AI-enhanced CBT demonstrates strong potential for advancing insomnia treatment through neurocognitive personalization and broader clinical accessibility, several challenges persist. These include uncertainties surrounding long-term efficacy, practical implementation barriers, and ethical considerations. Future large-scale longitudinal research is necessary to confirm the sustained neurocognitive and behavioral benefits of digital and AI-powered CBT for insomnia.

The claims and statistics of this paper haven’t been checked yet.

Run the check — free, no account needed. It reads the open-access text and checks the sources it cites.

A few free checks a day · papers already verified open instantly · results are public

Integrity signals

Registry

Crossref · 10.3390/jcm14072265

Cites

171 of 173 references verified0 citation errors · 0 not checkable

Statistics

Claims the paper makes

The claims and statistics of this paper haven’t been checked yet.

Run the check — free, no account needed. It reads the open-access text and checks the sources it cites.

A few free checks a day · papers already verified open instantly · results are public

Claims other papers make about this one

Each is checked against this paper’s own text: does it say what the citing paper says it does?

  • Instruction on how to create an optimal sleep environment and the benefits of a regular sleep schedule reinforces positive habits, promoting sleep quality in the long term.

    “Instruction on how to create an optimal sleep environment (e.g., dark, quiet, and cool) and the benefits of a regular sleep schedule reinforces these positive habits, promoting sleep quality in the long term [71].”

    From Pre-Sleep Anxiety: Mechanisms and Therapeutic Approaches in Clinical Practice. (2026) · cites this paper as [71]

    Section 2.1 identifies sleep hygiene education as a component of CBT for insomnia, and Section 4.7 reports sustained improvements in sleep hygiene and sleep quality after a CBT-I app intervention (pages unavailable). The paper does not specifically say that instruction about a dark, quiet, cool bedroom or a regular sleep schedule reinforces those habits and thereby produces long-term sleep-quality benefits. (LLM, conf=0.84)

    Experimental — accuracy not yet measured

Self-check

Percentages, sums and reported differences re-computed from the paper’s own numbers.

The self-check needs the paper’s full text.

Cites

Flagged first, then by citations

Research works printed but not linked: 1

  1. [77]Jiang M. Zhao Q. Li J. Wang F. He T. Cheng X. Yang B.X. Ho G.W. Fu G. A Generic Review of Integrating Artificial Intelligence in Cognitive Behavioral Therapy arXiv 2024 2407.19422

Cited by

Sorted by citations

Authors
Gkintoni, E., Vassilopoulos, S. P., Nikolaou, G., & Boutsinas, B.
Affiliations
  • University of Patras (GR)
  • Department of Educational Sciences and Social Work, University of Patras, 26504 Patras, Greece
Corresponding author
Gkintoni, Evgenia
Venue
Journal of Clinical Medicine
Publisher
MDPI AG
Published
2025-03-26
Volume
14
Issue
7
Pages
2265
ISSN
2077-0383 (ISSN-L)
OpenAlex
W4408943265
Cited by
34
References
171
Citations by year
2026: 16 · 2025: 18
FWCI
5.61
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • Journal of Clinical Medicine (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
Funders
Research Council of the University of Patras, Greece
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Experimental and Cognitive Psychology › Sleep and related disorders
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Applied Psychology › Digital Mental Health Interventions
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Physiology › Obstructive Sleep Apnea Research
Keywords
insomnia, cognitive behavioral therapy, artificial intelligence, chatbots, mobile health apps, digital mental health interventions, neurocognitive mechanisms, personalized treatment, medication adherence, sleep disorders

About these checks

Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.

Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.

Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.

What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›

Are you an author, or do you see a problem with this page? Request a review