This study, published in JMIR Formative Research, explores the feasibility and preliminary effects of an AI-supported mobile health intervention designed to provide personalized sleep feedback to high school female soccer players. Adequate sleep is crucial for mood regulation and injury prevention in athletes, yet many high school female athletes experience insufficient sleep.
The primary aim of this pilot randomized controlled trial was to evaluate the technical and operational feasibility of delivering personalized sleep feedback based on data collected from wearable devices. The study involved 25 participants from a single soccer team, who were randomly assigned to either an intervention group receiving personalized feedback or a control group receiving nonpersonalized sleep information.
Over the course of the trial, which lasted from August 2025 to April 2026, participants wore Fitbit devices to track their sleep metrics. The intervention group received AI-generated feedback via the LINE messaging platform, while the control group received generic sleep information. Key outcomes measured included sleep efficiency, total sleep time (TST), wake after sleep onset (WASO), subjective sleep quality, and exploratory outcomes such as mood state and sports injury severity.
Results indicated that all participants completed the trial successfully, with a 100% message delivery success rate and questionnaire completion in both groups. The median number of valid Fitbit wear nights was higher in the intervention group compared to the control group. Notably, the primary outcome, sleep efficiency, showed a favorable change in the intervention group, with a statistically significant difference compared to the control group.
While the study demonstrated the feasibility of the intervention and preliminary positive effects on sleep efficiency, it is important to note that these findings are based on a small sample size and should be interpreted with caution.
What this study does not show
This study does not establish long-term effects of AI-generated sleep feedback on overall health outcomes or performance metrics beyond the trial period.
Evidence scorecard
- Analytic validity: established
- Clinical validity: partial
- Clinical utility: partial
The evidence is based on a human randomized controlled trial.