Cited by 500Mindfulness and Compassion InterventionsSleep and related disordersObstructive Sleep Apnea Research

The effect of mindfulness meditation on sleep quality: a systematic review and meta‐analysis of randomized controlled trials

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Rusch, Heather L., Rosario, Michael, Levison, Lisa M., Olivera, Anlys, Livingston, Whitney S., Wu, Tianxia, Gill, Jessica M.·2019·Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences

Abstract

There is a growing interest in the effectiveness of mindfulness meditation for sleep disturbed populations. Our study sought to evaluate the effect of mindfulness meditation interventions on sleep quality. To assess for relative efficacy, comparator groups were restricted to specific active controls (such as evidenced‐based sleep treatments) and nonspecific active controls (such as time/attention‐matched interventions to control for placebo effects), which were analyzed separately. From 3303 total records, 18 trials with 1654 participants were included. We determined the strength of evidence using four domains (risk of bias, directness of outcome measures, consistency of results, and precision of results). At posttreatment and follow‐up, there was low strength of evidence that mindfulness meditation interventions had no effect on sleep quality compared with specific active controls (ES 0.03 (95% CI –0.43 to 0.49)) and (ES –0.14 (95% CI –0.62 to 0.34)), respectively. Additionally, there was moderate strength of evidence that mindfulness meditation interventions significantly improved sleep quality compared with nonspecific active controls at postintervention (ES 0.33 (95% CI 0.17–0.48)) and at follow‐up (ES 0.54 (95% CI 0.24–0.84)). These preliminary findings suggest that mindfulness meditation may be effective in treating some aspects of sleep disturbance. Further research is warranted.

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  • Studies have consistently demonstrated moderate to strong effect sizes for MBIs in improving symptoms of anxiety, depression, pain, and sleep disturbances.

    “Although studies have consistently demonstrated moderate to strong effect sizes for MBIs in improving symptoms of anxiety, depression, pain, and sleep disturbances, 30,31”

    From Nursing Implications of Mindfulness-Informed Interventions for Stroke Survivors and Their Families. (2022) · cites this paper as [31]

    The Results (Nonspecific active controls; page not provided) report improved sleep quality with effect sizes of 0.33 after intervention and 0.54 at follow-up. The Results (Specific active controls; page not provided) find no significant sleep benefit against evidence-based sleep treatments. This review does not establish the claimed moderate-to-strong effects for anxiety, depression, or pain, and the sleep finding depends on the comparator. (LLM, conf=0.88)

    Experimental — accuracy not yet measured
  • The reduction in total SRSS score in MTG was consistent with findings of a systematic review and meta-analysis of RCTs showing mindfulness meditation interventions significantly improved sleep quality.

    “In terms of sleep quality, the reduction in total SRSS score in MTG was consistent with the findings of a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials (RCTs), which showed that mindfulness meditation interventions significantly improved sleep quality (Rusch et al. 2019).”

    From Changes in Mental Health and EEG Biomarkers of Undergraduates Under Different Patterns of Mindfulness (2024) · cites this paper as Rusch et al. 2019

    The Results (Nonspecific active controls) report significantly improved sleep quality compared with nonspecific active controls. The claim omits that comparator: the Discussion reports no improvement compared with evidence-based sleep treatments, so the unqualified statement overstates the findings. The cited paper does not assess the citing study’s SRSS result. (LLM, conf=0.88)

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Research works printed but not linked: 2

  1. [23]Goyal M 2014 Meditation programs for psychological stress and well-being. Comparative Effectiveness Review 124: 1– 194.
  2. [29]The Nordic Cochrane Centre, The Cochrane Collaboration. Review Manager (RevMan) [Computer program]. Version 5.3. Copenhagen. 2014.

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Authors
Rusch, H. L., Rosario, M., Levison, L. M., Olivera, A., Livingston, W. S., Wu, T., & Gill, J. M.
Affiliations
  • National Institutes of Health (US)
  • Columbia University (US)
Corresponding author
Rusch, Heather L.
Venue
Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences
Publisher
Wiley
Published
2018-12-21
Volume
1445
Issue
1
Pages
5-16
ISSN
  • 0077-8923 (ISSN-L)
  • 1749-6632
OpenAlex
W2906531803
Cited by
500
References
66
Citations by year
2026: 62 · 2025: 93 · 2024: 82 · 2023: 80 · 2022: 58 · 2021: 53 · 2020: 64 · 2019: 8
FWCI
5.27
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed Central (acceptedVersion)
Funders
National Institutes of Health (Z99 NR999999)
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Mindfulness and Compassion Interventions
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Experimental and Cognitive Psychology › Sleep and related disorders
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Physiology › Obstructive Sleep Apnea Research
Keywords
mindfulness meditation, sleep quality, sleep disorders, active control, placebo effect, intervention efficacy
MeSH terms
Humans, Sleep, Sleep Wake Disorders, Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic, Meditation, Mindfulness

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