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Mental Imagery and Targeted Memory Reactivation in Insomnia

Key facts

Who runs it
University Hospital, Geneva
Where
Switzerland1 site in 1 countryChoose a country to see its sites
Trial code
Status
Recruiting
People taking part
120 people, planned
Started
22 Apr 2024
Expected to end
31 Aug 2027
Type of study
Interventional, 4 groupsOne group gets an existing treatment, for comparison.
Treatments tested
  • Imagery Rescripting (IR)
  • Imagery Rescripting (IR) and Targeted Memory Reactivation (TMR) during sleep
  • Sleep Hygiene
  • Sleep Hygiene + Odor
  • "Rocking bed" if patients still have insomnia complaints (ISI >10) after the 4 weeks of the intervention
Record updated
3 March 2026

Who can take part

Age
18 years to 45 years
Sex
Women and men
Healthy volunteers
Cannot take part

The registry criteria, word for word

Show all 11 criteriaShow less

Who can take part

  • Age between 18 and 45 years
  • Insomnia disorder according to the International Classification of Diseases 3 (ICSD-3)
  • ISI > 10
  • PSQI > 5
  • No other current treatment for Insomnia

Who cannot take part

  • patients with another psychiatric disorder requiring acute treatment according to DSM-5
  • patients with medical (e.g. neurological disorders) or other disorders explaining the predominant complaint of insomnia (e.g., sleep apneas with ODI>15/h, restless legs syndrome, periodic limb movements with PLM>15, chronic pain)
  • patients with significant substance use/withdrawal
  • patients with heavy smoking
  • known pregnancy
  • patients suffering from anosmia, olfactory related issues and respiratory pathology

Check if you might fit

Answer for yourself. This is not a decision: only the study team can say whether you can take part.

  • Are you between 18 and 45 years old?

This trial has no sites in United States.

It has sites in one country. Choose a country to see its sites.

About the trial

What the trial wants to find out

In this clinical trial, the investigators test whether mental Imagery Rescripting (IR), a technique where the individual is instructed to transform a negative memory or image into a positive one, and olfactory Targeted Memory Reactivation (TMR), a technique used to strengthen memories, can reduce hyperarousal and insomnia severity in patients with Insomnia Disorder (ID).

Read full original descriptionShow less

Patients with ID will be randomized into four groups: in the first group (SH group), patients will have 4 weekly sessions (1 session/week) of a minimal intervention for insomnia (sleep hygiene information) in the presence of an odorless diffuser, which will be also used during the night. In the second group (IR group), patients will use IR during wakefulness to induce a state of relaxation and positive emotionality. More specifically, during 4 weekly sessions of IR, patients will imagine a negative scenario related to their pre-sleep images or current concerns (e.g., social interactions, self-image, sleep problem, nightmares) and transform it into a positive script. They will then perform IR every day for 4 weeks at home in the presence of an odorless diffuser, which will be also used during the night. In the third group, patients will undergo the same 4 weekly IR sessions and an odor will be paired to the positive imagery and will be diffused during the night (TMR group). Patients from this group will also perform IR every day for 4 weeks at home. Finally, the fourth group (OA group) will receive 4 weekly sessions of sleep hygiene instructions in the presence of an odor, which will be also used during the night.

Clinical evaluation of insomnia severity before and after the intervention will take place using the Insomnia Severity Index (ISI, primary outcome measure).

At the end of these interventions, patients with persistent symptoms will benefit from an alternative experimental treatment ("rocking bed") in which they will be cradled for one night.

The investigators hypothesize that patients treated with IR will have significantly reduced insomnia severity compared to participants who received a minimal intervention. They also hypothesize that patients of the TMR group, will have more reduced ID severity compared to participants performing IR and with an odorless diffuser, therefore without an association (IR group). Finally, they hypothesize that one night of sleeping in a rocking bed will improve objective measures of sleep in ID compared to a stationary condition.

The 4 groups in the trial

  • Sleep Hygiene (SH)Existing treatment, for comparison

    Participants will receive 4 weekly individual sessions of standardized instructions on sleep hygiene, that they will be asked to apply every day for 4 weeks. Each session will consist of providing patients with advice to help their sleep without any CBT-I or other complementary medicine components. They will also have an odorless diffuser being diffused at the end of each weekly individual session and during the night.

    Treatment: Sleep Hygiene and "Rocking bed" if patients still have insomnia complaints (ISI >10) after the 4 weeks of the intervention

  • Imagery Rescripting (IR)Treatment being tested

    Participants will receive 4 weekly individual sessions of IR. The IR technique consists of imagining a negative memory or image as vividly as possible, and of transforming it into a positive one. An odorless diffuser will be presented while imagining the positive imagery generated during IR. During 4 weeks, patients of this group will practice IR at home, every day in bed and have the same odorless diffuser being diffused during the night.

    Treatment: Imagery Rescripting (IR) and "Rocking bed" if patients still have insomnia complaints (ISI >10) after the 4 weeks of the intervention

  • Targeted Memory Reactivation (TMR)Treatment being tested

    Participants will receive 4 weekly individual sessions of IR, at the end of which, a chosen odor will be presented while imagining the positive imagery generated during IR. During 4 weeks, patients of this group will practice IR at home every day in bed and have the same odor being diffused during the night.

    Treatment: Imagery Rescripting (IR) and Targeted Memory Reactivation (TMR) during sleep and "Rocking bed" if patients still have insomnia complaints (ISI >10) after the 4 weeks of the intervention

  • Odor Alone (OA)Existing treatment, for comparison

    Participants will have a chosen odor diffused during the night for 4 weeks and will receive 4 weekly individual sessions of standardized instructions on sleep hygiene, that they will be asked to apply every day for 4 weeks. The chosen odor will be diffused at the end of each weekly individual session.

    Treatment: Sleep Hygiene + Odor and "Rocking bed" if patients still have insomnia complaints (ISI >10) after the 4 weeks of the intervention

Questions to ask the study team

  1. How often do I need to come in, and for how long each time?
  2. Are travel costs paid?
  3. Can I keep my own doctor?
  4. What happens if I want to stop?

Contact the study team: see the registry record → Contacts and Locations

Print a page for my doctor

Data and sources

Registry record
Listed on ClinicalTrials.gov.
Fit questions
Built from NCT06335784, who can take part
Record updated
3 March 2026