Chatbot interventions effective in improving physical activity, diet, and sleep

By Susha Cheriyedath, M.Sc.Jun 27 2023Reviewed by Benedette Cuffari, M.Sc. In a recent study published in npj Digital Medicine, researchers evaluate the efficacy of chatbot interventions in improving individuals’ activity, diet, and sleep patterns across various age- and ethnic groups. These virtual assistants were found to improve a person’s food choices and lifestyle, with text-based chatbots found to be more effective than their more vocal counterparts.

Chatbots, a type of software that utilizes various forms of communication to emulate human interaction, can improve physical and mental health through positive prompts, timely reminders, and information delivery aimed at lifestyle, diet, and sleep interventions. Unlike their living healthcare counterparts, chatbots present numerous advantages, including significant time-, travel-, and money savings.

Research target groups included spanned the health spectrum, including those with insomnia to sufficient sleep and cancer survivors. Moreover, fifteen of the 19 papers analyzed physical activity, seven focused on diet patterns, and five involved sleep. Different types of chatbots, including those utilizing artificial intelligence [AI], text- and voice-based, as well as non-AI chatbots, were also compared. This information allowed the researchers to determine which chatbots performed best at improving overall participant lifestyle.

Multi-component interventions may be more beneficial than chatbot-only interventions in regard to sleep. To this end, wearable trackers may provide chatbots with information on individual sleep quality that the participants themselves could not provide to improve the accuracy of chatbot recommendations ultimately.

Conclusions The study findings highlight how chatbots can provide a cost-effective, as well as a time- and travel-efficient alternative to traditional ‘in-person’ visits to healthcare professionals to combat the growing pandemic of lifestyle-related chronic health issues. Both AI and non-AI-based chatbots were found to be effective at improving individuals’ physical activity, diet, and sleep patterns.

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