Reinventing Sleep EAP Engagement Strategy

Improving mental and physical health by reducing fatigue and boosting wellbeing through the power of sleep in the workplace.

"The GFP team delivered beyond expectations on a high-urgency brief. Within weeks, they took our World Sleep Day idea and turned it into a fully built, personalised CEA journey — helping us run one of our most effective EAP programs yet.

Not only that, but they developed a clear, prioritised plan for short-term impact and laid out the roadmap for our next two phases of optimisation.

Their ability to move fast, stay strategic, and execute at a high standard made all the difference."

- Daniel Platt, CTO

Sleepfit

Client

Year

2024

Background

Sleepfit is an employee assistance program (EAP) designed to support employees and workers with getting better sleep. Sleepfit is an evidence-based digital sleep solution that uses science & the knowledge of sleep experts to educate and mitigate sleep risks. It’s been designed to help boost performance, safety, wellbeing, mental health and productivity through sleep awareness, screening for sleep disorders and kick-starting healthy sleep habits.

Key Goals

• Improve sleep quality and mental wellbeing across participating employee groups
• Educate users on sleep science and psychological techniques in a fun, digestible format
• Drive sustained user engagement with the Sleepfit app

Our Role 

We implemented customer engagement automation (CEA) through targeted email campaigns—designing and crafting content to drive app engagement and ongoing use. By encouraging consistent interaction, the goal was to help employees improve their sleep and mental health, ultimately boosting focus, wellbeing, and workplace productivity.

TARGET AUDIENCE

Improving Sleep For Employees

Sleepfit aims to help people who are struggling with their sleep. Sleep is essential for recovery, improving physical, mental and emotional health. With Sleepfit being provided for free, employees can being their journey of improving their sleep and as well as their mental, physical and emotional health which will consequently result in increased productivity.

OVERVIEW

Sleepfit World Sleep Day Challenge – Strategic Briefing

The World Sleep Day Challenge is a 4-week, app-led wellbeing initiative designed to help employees improve their sleep and mental health through engaging, evidence-based daily content.

Initially launched in the lead-up to World Sleep Day on March 15th, the challenge combines behavioural science, psychology, and gamification to spark sustainable habit change across sleep, stress, and mindset.

While the campaign began as a fixed-date challenge for existing clients, it was later adapted into a repeatable onboarding and engagement tool for new EAP clients, using World Sleep Day as an evergreen starting point for sleep and mental wellbeing journeys.

CHALLENGE STRUCTURE

Each week follows a focused theme. Daily push notifications and in-app content are aligned with core psychological principles like cognitive reframing, environmental conditioning, and relaxation training. Users are encouraged to explore, reflect, and apply new tools daily.

WEEK ONE

Daily Habit Hacks

Theme: Lay the foundation with essential daily habits
 
Psychology Used: 
Behavioural nudging, habit stacking, cognitive dissonance (prompting users to examine their current habits)

Day 1: Why We Sleep – Introduce biological importance and mental health links

Day 2: What Happens in Your Brain – Raise awareness of sleep’s role in memory and emotion regulation

Day 3: Lifestyle Impacts – Explore caffeine, alcohol, screen time, and stress

Day 4: What Works – Simple changes with outsized results (eg. routine, wind-down rituals)

Day 5: What to Do When You Can’t Sleep – Coping strategies from the Sleepfit library

Notable Email Strategy:
Framed as a friendly invitation to “join your team” in a sleep upgrade. Copy emphasised the mental health risks of poor sleep while highlighting small, empowering actions. Prizes offered an incentive, but the real win was feeling better.

Psychology Principles Used:

👉 Behavioural Nudging

Nudging uses subtle prompts or design choices to influence behaviour without forcing it. Think of it like placing fruit at eye level to encourage healthier choices — it’s still your decision, but the environment gently steers you.

📚 Habit Stacking

This involves linking a new behaviour to an existing habit. For example, "After I brush my teeth, I’ll do a 2-minute breathing exercise." It leverages routines you already have to make change easier and more automatic.

🧠 Cognitive Dissonance

This occurs when there’s a mismatch between what we do and what we believe. Prompting users to reflect on habits that go against their values (like poor sleep affecting mental health) creates discomfort — which motivates change to reduce that internal tension.

Push Notification Cycle

 Bedroom Makeover

WEEK TWO

Theme: Optimise your environment for rest and recovery

Psychology used:
Environmental psychology, priming, behavioural design

Day 1: Remove Sleep Disruptors (tech, blue light, noise)
Day 2: Light, Noise, and Temperature Tweaks – Create a haven using simple adjustments
Day 3: Upgrade Bedding – Comfort influences depth of rest
Day 4: Ambience & Routine – Ritual and emotional tone influence sleep latency
Day 5: “Does It Really Matter?” – Reinforce why effort pays off (from the content library)

Push Copy Example:
“ 🌡️ Adjust Your Room Temp! Find your cool, comfy sweet spot for sleep. Around 18°C is ideal for deep rest and mental clarity.”

Psychology Principles Used:

🌿 Environmental Psychology

Our physical space influences our behaviour and well-being.

Week 2’s “Bedroom Makeover” helps participants manipulate their environment for better sleep, reducing barriers like noise, temperature, and light.

🎯 Priming

Priming subtly prepares the brain to respond in certain ways through cues or content. For instance, showing peaceful imagery or language about relaxation before bed can prime the brain to shift into rest mode more easily.

🧠 Cognitive Dissonance

This occurs when there’s a mismatch between what we do and what we believe. Prompting users to reflect on habits that go against their values (like poor sleep affecting mental health) creates discomfort — which motivates change to reduce that internal tension.

Push Notification Cycle

WEEK THREE

Mental Master

Theme: Shift your mindset to reduce sleep-disrupting thoughts
 
Psychology Used: 
Cognitive Behavioural Therapy for Insomnia (CBT-I), metacognition, thought distancing

Day 1: Stressing About Sleep – The paradox of trying too hard
Day 2: Questioning Unhelpful Thoughts – Learn to challenge common distortions
Day 3: Perspective on Worries – Introduce cognitive defusion
Day 4: Thought Awareness – Educational content from the library
Day 5: Insomnia Thinking Patterns – Flag common cognitive traps (library)

Push Copy Tone:
More reflective and empowering. Encouraged journaling, thought awareness, and shifting from judgement to curiosity.

Psychology Principles Used:

🧠 Cognitive Behavioural Therapy for Insomnia (CBT-I)

A structured, evidence-based therapy that helps people identify and change thoughts and behaviours that negatively impact their sleep. It often includes sleep restriction, stimulus control, and cognitive restructuring.

🤔 Metacognition

A structured, evidence-based therapy that helps people identify and change thoughts and behaviours that negatively impact their sleep. It often includes sleep restriction, stimulus control, and cognitive restructuring.

💭 Thought Distancing

A structured, evidence-based therapy that helps people identify and change thoughts and behaviours that negatively impact their sleep. It often includes sleep restriction, stimulus control, and cognitive restructuring.

Push Notification Cycle

Relaxation Relay

WEEK FOUR

Theme: Learn advanced relaxation techniques for body and mind

Psychology used:
Somatic awareness, guided visualisation, progressive relaxation

Day 1: Guided Meditation – Learn to use breath to drop into calm
Day 2: Progressive Muscle Relaxation – Physical tension = mental tension
Day 3: Autogenic Training – Visualising warmth and heaviness to induce calm
Day 4: Visualisation Techniques – Calm the mind through imagery
Day 5: Soothing Sounds – Use soundscapes to reduce wakefulness and anchor routine

Engagement Hook:
The “Relaxation Relay” created momentum by showcasing a different relaxation strategy daily—offering users the chance to find what worked best for them.

Psychology Principles Used:

⚖️ Somatic Awareness

Bringing attention to physical sensations in the body, often used to recognise tension and guide relaxation. Encouraging this helps users downregulate their nervous system before bed.

🎯 Priming

Priming subtly prepares the brain to respond in certain ways through cues or content. For instance, showing peaceful imagery or language about relaxation before bed can prime the brain to shift into rest mode more easily.

🏖️ Progressive Relaxation

A technique involving the gradual tensing and releasing of muscle groups. It lowers physical tension, reduces anxiety, and signals to the body that it's safe to fall asleep.

Push Notification Cycle

LAUNCH & SIGN-UP TIMELINE

From Start to Finish

Prelaunch Comms Start: March 13–14
Official Launch / World Sleep Day: March 15, 2024
Sign-Up Window: March 15–31

Weekly Prize Draw Dates:

• Week 1: April 5
• Week 2: April 12
• Week 3: April 19
• Week 4: April 26

Challenge Wrap-Up Comms: April 12–14
Survey Request & Feedback Capture: May 30

Post-launch adaptation:

Following this, the WSD challenge was positioned as a reusable sign-up strategy and onboarding journey for newly signed EAP clients, providing a low-barrier starting point to drive app installs and early engagement.

The images on the left - show the email a user will receive after completing the 4 week program, congratulating them and leading them to a well placed CTA to continue using the program.

They are most likely to continue if they finished the program and it has already worked well for them.

After completing the Sleepfit program, users will be sent an email to complete a survey based on their experiences. Results from this can be used to analyse the app’s strengths and weaknesses so the app can be improved.

Reciprocity as a psychological principle is used here as the tone implies that the user has already received value (the app), so this is a subtle ask in return — “We hope you found it beneficial” sets up the idea that giving feedback is a way to give back.

Ready to Grow?

Get in touch to book in a call, and make sure to check out our case studies showcasing some of our recent impact!