Impact of Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction on sleep-related parameters in a community sample

Objectives

Mindfulness has been increasingly highlighted as a potentially useful ingredient for the management of sleep difficulties such as insomnia. This study examined the impact of Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) on sleep quality and other subjective and objective sleep-related measures in a community sample.

Setting/Intervention

Fifty-four adults complaining about falling or staying asleep and/or non-restorative sleep were included. Of those, 22 completed a two-month MBSR program (intervention group) and 23 formed the control group.

Main outcome measures

Subjective sleep quality, dysfunctional attitudes toward sleep, fatigue, and sleepiness were assessed using questionnaires. Pre-sleep arousal, sleep onset latency, wake duration after sleep onset, and sleep efficacy were measured with a sleep diary and objective sleep parameters with an actigraphic device. Intervention group participants also completed a meditation practice diary during the two-month group period.

Results

The main findings indicated increased subjective sleep quality in participants in the intervention group compared to control participants. Moreover, analyses showed decreased pre-sleep cognitive arousal in the intervention group participants compared to controls and there was a significant correlation between cognitive pre-to-post pre-sleep arousal decrease and the duration of formal mindfulness practice. No pre-to-post changes were observed neither on attitudes toward sleep, fatigue, or sleepiness nor on sleep onset latency, wake duration after sleep onset, and sleep efficacy either when measured with a sleep diary or actimetry.

Conclusions

The results suggest that participating in MBSR enhances sleep quality and practicing mindfulness may contribute to reducing cognitive arousal which is a central perpetuating factor of insomnia. Randomized controlled studies focusing on MBSR and pre-sleep arousal are needed.