All NHS staff will be provided with free access to mental health apps as part of a nationwide effort to support the mental health of the NHS workforce during the coronavirus pandemic.

The aim is to support staff to maintain healthy and restorative sleep, reduce anxiety and worry, and to help them learn evidence-based techniques to address mental health issues when they arise.

Big Health’s programmes Sleepio and Daylight are two of four apps that will be made immediately available to all NHS staff.

Sleepio is a digital sleep improvement programme featuring cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) techniques which aims to reduce symptoms of poor sleep, as well as helping those with anxiety and depression move to recovery.

Daylight is an app for worry and anxiety, developed with anxiety experts and designers from Pixar, NPR: RadioLab and Google. Like Sleepio, Daylight uses evidence-based CBT techniques delivered through voice and animation.

Sleepio and Daylight will be available to everyone working in the NHS during the Covid-19 pandemic, NHS England said. 

Colin Espie, professor of sleep medicine at the University of Oxford and co-founder of Big Health, said: “I’m honoured that Big Health is able to support our colleagues in the NHS to help safeguard their mental health during these most challenging of times. NHS staff are working under enormous pressure whilst also experiencing significant changes to their lives at home as a result of Covid-19.”

He added: “We built Sleepio and Daylight to help people effectively manage their mental health whether the challenges occur during the night, or day, round the clock. The NHS is facing an unprecedented crisis with the Covid-19 pandemic, and the staff fighting on the front line urgently need our support. It is imperative, now more than ever before, that we look after the mental as well as the physical health of our most vital workforce.”

Chris Adams, GP and managing director of HFP Medical, commented: “Covid-19 has placed a great strain on the mental health of our staff and patients. Digital solutions like Sleepio and Daylight allow us to provide instant support for those working either on the NHS frontline or from home and for those self-isolating, helping to keep people healthy during this difficult time.”