Awareness of Gamification as a Non-Pharmacological Intervention in Sleep Health Research: A Systematic Literature Review

Traditional pharmacological treatments can have limited efficacy a nd m ay c ause unwanted side effects. This has prompted exploration of alternative, non-pharmacological approaches to enhance sleep health. This study conducts a systematic literature review (SLR) to investigate the potential of gamification as a n on-pharmacological intervention f or improving sleep quality. Gamification is a technique in computer science that integrates game design elements into non-game applications to enhance user motivation, particularly in areas such as software development, user experience, and data analytics. By leveraging incentives, competition, and accomplishment, gamification may offer a potential alternative or complementary approach alongside traditional treatments such as cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT). The evaluation analyzes research articles encompassing several demographic cohorts, such as chil-dren, adults, and university students, demonstrating a significant surge in research attention since 2021. The findings suggest that the use of gamification leads to a notable improvement i n sleep patterns when compared to groups who did not use gamification. Nevertheless, existing body of literature is limited, reflecting the emerging nature of the topic, which underscores the need for further comprehensive research to thoroughly evaluate the effectiveness and potential of gamification in promoting sleep health. Our study suggests that gamified interventions provide promising benefits for improving sleep health, indicating the potential of innovative technological approaches.