If you have chronic problems with your sleep, a new study has found that a form of meditation may help. Sleep problems are very common in older people, with some estimates saying that half of people over age 55 have trouble getting to sleep or staying asleep.
The type of meditation used in the study is called mindfulness meditation or mindful awareness. It is the practice of becoming nonjudgmentally aware of thoughts and feelings as they drift through your mind. In this study, the technique was taught by a certified teacher.
The study was conducted by researchers at the University of Southern California and the University of California, Los Angeles. They enrolled 49 people who had moderate sleep problems and sorted them at random into two groups. One group was taught sleep hygiene behaviors, such as establishing a regular bedtime routine and avoiding caffeine and alcohol before bed. The other group took part in a 6-week program in mindfulness medication.
The participants were evaluated for sleep problems before the study started and again after a year. They were also evaluated for daytime impairment that was related to their sleep problems and for issues such as anxiety, stress, and fatigue, and in levels of a chemical called NF-KappaB, which plays a role in the body's immune response.
After a year, the researchers found that the people in the mindfulness group had greater improvements in the quality of their sleep than did the people who were taught sleep hygiene behaviors. They had fewer symptoms of insomnia and depression and fewer problems with fatigue. There were no differences between the groups in levels of anxiety, or stress. There was no difference seen in levels of NF-KappaB, but levels in both groups went down over the course of the study.
The study was published in JAMA Internal Medicine.
