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The value of mindfulness meditation in the treatment of insomnia.

Current opinion in pulmonary medicine
November 1, 2015
Joanne Martires et al. (2 authors)
Journal ArticleReviewHuman Study
Study Details

Study Goal

The researchers aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of mindfulness meditation (MBSR and MBTI) as a treatment for insomnia, comparing its efficacy to other therapies and assessing patient acceptance.

Results Summary

The study found that both MBSR and MBTI significantly improved sleep outcomes, including reduced sleep latency and total wake time, and increased total sleep time. MBTI showed potentially longer-lasting effects, and mindfulness techniques were well-accepted by patients, including older adults.

Population

Patients with insomnia, including older adults.

Effective Dosage

Not specified

Duration

Not specified

Interactions

None mentioned

Extracted Claims (15)
InterventionDirectionEndpointPopulationDosageImpactClaim #
mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR)
decrease
sleep latency
-
-
shown overall reduction
#1
mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR)
decrease
total wake time
-
-
shown overall reduction
#2
mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR)
increase
total sleep time
-
-
increase
#3
mindfulness-based therapy for insomnia (MBTI)
decrease
sleep latency
-
-
shown overall reduction
#4
mindfulness-based therapy for insomnia (MBTI)
decrease
total wake time
-
-
shown overall reduction
#5
mindfulness-based therapy for insomnia (MBTI)
increase
total sleep time
-
-
increase
#6
mindfulness techniques
neutral
-
patients
-
shown to be well accepted
#7
mindfulness techniques
neutral
-
-
-
long-lasting effects
#8
mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR)
decrease
insomnia
-
-
similar improvement
#9
mindfulness-based therapy for insomnia (MBTI)
decrease
insomnia
-
-
similar improvement
#10
mindfulness-based therapy for insomnia (MBTI)
increase
-
-
-
possibly longer duration of efficacy
#11
mindfulness-based therapy for insomnia (MBTI)
decrease
insomnia
older patients
-
effective and accepted treatment
#12
mindfulness meditation
decrease
insomnia
-
-
can be successfully used
#13
mindfulness meditation
neutral
-
-
-
good patient acceptance
#14
mindfulness meditation
neutral
-
-
-
durable results
#15
Abstract

PURPOSE OF REVIEW: Insomnia is the most common reported sleep disorder with limited treatment options including pharmacotherapy and cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia. Pharmacotherapy can be complicated by tolerance and significant side-effects and cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia providers are limited in number. This article reviews mindfulness meditation as an additional therapy for insomnia. RECENT FINDINGS: Both mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) and mindfulness-based therapy for insomnia (MBTI) have been studied in the treatment of insomnia. Randomized controlled studies of MBSR and MBTI have shown overall reduction in sleep latency and total wake time and increase in total sleep time after mindfulness therapy using both patient reported outcome and quantitative measures of sleep. Mindfulness techniques have been shown to be well accepted by patients with long-lasting effects. A three-arm randomized study with MBSR, MBTI, and self-monitoring showed similar improvement in insomnia between the MBSR and MBTI groups, with possibly longer duration of efficacy in the MBTI group. Recent data show that MBTI is also an effective and accepted treatment for insomnia in older patients. SUMMARY: Increasing evidence shows that mindfulness meditation, delivered either via MBSR or MBTI, can be successfully used for the treatment of insomnia with good patient acceptance and durable results.

Medical Subject Headings (MeSH)
Cognitive Behavioral TherapyHumansMeditationMindfulnessSleep Initiation and Maintenance DisordersTime Factors
Study Links
Quality Scores
Safety90
Efficacy85/10
Quality80/10
Citation Metrics
Total Citations13
Citations/Year1.3
Relative Citation Ratio0.70
NIH Percentile37.2%
Research Impact Scores
APT Score0.25
Weight Score1.69
Normalized Score0.86
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