Improving mental health among UK adolescents through a school-based sleep intervention

This project will prepare to test the efficacy, cost-effectiveness, and scalable delivery of a sleep intervention to treat adolescent depression and anxiety by building on an established, evidence-based sleep programme, utilising existing school mental health delivery structures, and by strengthening links with implementing partners. The sleep need in young people with mental health problems is high, unmet, and likely to impact on ability to benefit from other interventions. Sleep interventions have proven efficacy to improve symptoms of anxiety and depression alongside broader positive impacts on mental health and functioning. We will address the key knowledge gap of how to implement a sleep intervention across Mental Health Support Teams in Schools (MHSTs) in the UK. We have 3 objectives: 1) To create a sustainable partnership between researchers, stakeholders, and implementation partners. 2) To generate study protocols for the intervention and trial design, as well as co-designing effective recruitment, measurement, and data collection processes. 3) To prepare for a cluster-randomised controlled trial of a Cognitive Behavioural Therapy for Insomnia (CBT-I) programme “The Better Sleep Programme” on depression and anxiety in MHSTs. These foundational activities will establish a sustainable school-based model for improving mental health, designed and fit for future scale-up.