Investigating efficacy of two brief mind-body intervention programs for managing sleep disturbance in cancer survivors: a pilot randomized controlled trial.
Study Goal
The researchers aimed to determine whether Mind-Body Bridging (MBB) and Mindfulness Meditation (MM) could improve sleep disturbance and comorbid symptoms in posttreatment cancer survivors compared to sleep hygiene education (SHE).
Results Summary
Both MBB and MM significantly reduced sleep disturbance compared to SHE. MBB also showed additional benefits, including reduced depression symptoms and improved mindfulness, self-compassion, and well-being.
Population
Posttreatment cancer survivors with clinically significant self-reported sleep disturbance.
Effective Dosage
Three sessions, once per week.
Duration
3 weeks
Interactions
None mentioned
| Intervention | Direction | Endpoint | Population | Dosage | Impact | Claim # |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Mind-Body Bridging (MBB) | decrease | mean sleep disturbance symptoms | cancer survivors with clinically significant self-reported sleep disturbance | - | were lower than in the SHE group | #1 |
Mindfulness Meditation (MM) | decrease | mean sleep disturbance symptoms | cancer survivors with clinically significant self-reported sleep disturbance | - | were lower than in the SHE group | #2 |
Mind-Body Bridging (MBB) | decrease | self-reported depression symptoms | cancer survivors with clinically significant self-reported sleep disturbance | - | showed reductions | #3 |
Mind-Body Bridging (MBB) | increase | overall levels of mindfulness | cancer survivors with clinically significant self-reported sleep disturbance | - | improvements | #4 |
Mind-Body Bridging (MBB) | increase | self-compassion | cancer survivors with clinically significant self-reported sleep disturbance | - | improvements | #5 |
Mind-Body Bridging (MBB) | increase | well-being | cancer survivors with clinically significant self-reported sleep disturbance | - | improvements | #6 |
PURPOSE: After completing treatment, cancer survivors may suffer from a multitude of physical and mental health impairments, resulting in compromised quality of life. This exploratory study investigated whether two mind-body interventions, i.e., Mind-Body Bridging (MBB) and Mindfulness Meditation (MM), could improve posttreatment cancer survivors' self-reported sleep disturbance and comorbid symptoms, as compared to sleep hygiene education (SHE) as an active control. METHODS: This randomized controlled trial examined 57 cancer survivors with clinically significant self-reported sleep disturbance, randomly assigned to receive MBB, MM, or SHE. All interventions were conducted in three sessions, once per week. Patient-reported outcomes were assessed via the Medical Outcomes Study Sleep Scale and other indicators of psychosocial functioning relevant to quality of life, stress, depression, mindfulness, self-compassion, and well-being. RESULTS: Mixed effects model analysis revealed that mean sleep disturbance symptoms in the MBB (p = .0029) and MM (p = .0499) groups were lower than in the SHE group, indicating that both mind-body interventions improved sleep. In addition, compared with the SHE group, the MBB group showed reductions in self-reported depression symptoms (p = .040) and improvements in overall levels of mindfulness (p = .018), self-compassion (p = .028), and well-being (p = .019) at postintervention. CONCLUSIONS: This study provides preliminary evidence that brief sleep-focused MBB and MM are promising interventions for sleep disturbance in cancer survivors. Integrating MBB or MM into posttreatment supportive plans should enhance care of cancer survivors with sleep disturbance. Because MBB produced additional secondary benefits, MBB may serve as a promising multipurpose intervention for posttreatment cancer survivors suffering from sleep disturbance and other comorbid symptoms. IMPLICATIONS FOR CANCER SURVIVORS: Two brief sleep-focused mind-body interventions investigated in the study were effective in reducing sleep disturbance and one of them further improved other psychosocial aspects of the cancer survivors' life. Management of sleep problems in survivors is a high priority issue that demands more attention in cancer survivorship.