User experiences of pre-sleep sensory alpha brainwave entrainment for people with chronic pain and sleep disturbance

Abstract

Aim: To explore the user experiences of pre-sleep alpha entrainment via a smartphone-enabled audio or visual stimulation program for people with chronic pain and sleep disturbance. Materials & methods: Semi-structured interviews were held with 27 participants completing a feasibility study of pre-sleep entrainment use for 4 weeks. Transcriptions were subject to template analysis. Results: Five top-level themes generated from this analysis are presented. These report on participants' impressions of the pain-sleep relationship, their previous experiences of strategies for these symptoms, their expectations and their experience of use and perceived impact on symptoms of audiovisual alpha entrainment. Conclusion: Pre-sleep audiovisual alpha entrainment was acceptable to individuals with chronic pain and sleep disturbance and perceived to have symptomatic benefits.