Pre-sleep Cognitive Arousal Decreases Following a 4-Week Introductory Mindfulness Course

Abstract

Objectives Mindfulness-based training has shown potential in reducing anxious and ruminative thoughts before sleep, and improving sleep quality. A majority of experiments on this topic have studied Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction, or related 8-week programs. In this study, we measured the effects of a 4-week Mindfulness Foundation course on sleep quality assessed via subjective report and actigraphic recording. Methods Ninety-six participants were recruited from a pool of Mindfulness Foundation course attendees and studied in a waitlist-control design. Results Although sleep complaints were not an inclusion criterion for this study, sleep quality was poor in the sample as a whole at baseline. We found that sleep quality improved in both groups across the study period (η p 2 = 0.22), with no statistical difference between groups. In contrast, pre-sleep cognitive arousal was significantly reduced in the treatment, but not the waitlist group (η p 2 = 0.058). Exploratory analysis revealed that reductions in cognitive arousal were correlated with improvements in sleep quality in the treatment group, but not the waitlist group. In the actigraphy data, a small but statistically significant interaction favoring the treatment group was found in the amount of time spent awake during the night (i.e., wake after sleep onset) (η p 2 = 0.070). Conclusions Overall, our data demonstrate that some of the benefits to sleep commonly seen over 8 weeks of mindfulness practice can also be observed over a shorter intervention period, and add to the growing body of evidence that mindfulness can help those with poor sleep quality.

Effects of Web-Based Group Mindfulness Training on Stress and Sleep Quality in Singapore During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Retrospective Equivalence Analysis

“…A particular strength of our study protocol was that the mindfulness interventions involved standardized curricula, which were delivered by highly experienced instructors. These interventions have also been tested and reported on in prior studies [ 15 ].…”

“…The participants in the ongoing study were enrollees from 1 of 3 different mindfulness courses that are offered by Brahm Centre, which is a charity organization that conducts wellness activities for the general community. The three courses were (1) the Mindfulness Foundation Course [ 15 ], (2) the Mindfulness Intermediate Course, and (3) Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction [ 7 ]. Detailed descriptions of the courses that were offered in the ongoing study are reported in the Supplementary Information ( Multimedia Appendix 1 ).…”

“…A related but separate body of research has highlighted the beneficial effects of mindfulness training on sleep quality. High dispositional mindfulness correlates with improved self-reported sleep quality across several populations [ 14 ], and a growing number of randomized controlled trials have shown improvements in sleep quality after mindfulness instruction in both nonclinical [ 15 ] and clinical populations [ 16 ]. Regular poor sleep is associated with the significant deterioration of short- and medium-term quality of life, and as with chronic stress, regular poor sleep may predispose individuals to developing serious psychological problems over time [ 17 ].…”

Longitudinal investigation of the relationships between trauma exposure, post-migration stress, sleep disturbance, and mental health in Syrian refugees

“…Second, our findings call for further investigation for the effectiveness of sleep-focused interventions in improving psychological outcomes among refugees. Mindfulness-based training has shown potential in reducing pre-sleep arousal and improving sleep quality (Hassirim, Lim, Lo, & Lim, 2019) and Cognitive Behavioural Therapy for Insomnia is effective in targeting sleep disturbance commonly seen in PTSD (Walters et al, 2019).…”

Effects of Web-Based Group Mindfulness Training on Stress and Sleep Quality in Singapore During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Retrospective Equivalence Analysis (Preprint)

“…The one-way ANOVA test for the three groups showed that there were no significant differences in baseline levels of perceived stress (F 2,159 =0.69; P=.50). Baseline stress was within the moderate range (ie, a PSS score of [14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23][24][25][26]. After comparing the effects of the interventions for each group, we found that training had a significant overall effect (F 1,155 =12.80; P<.001; partial ε 2 =.076).…”