Published online Apr 19, 2022. doi: 10.5498/wjp.v12.i4.636
Peer-review started: February 24, 2021
First decision: April 21, 2021
Revised: April 24, 2021
Accepted: March 14, 2022
Article in press: March 14, 2022
Published online: April 19, 2022
Processing time: 412 Days and 23.8 Hours
Sleep problems are particularly prevalent in people with depression or anxiety disorder. Although mindfulness has been suggested as an important component in alleviating insomnia, no comprehensive review and meta-analysis has been conducted to evaluate the effects of different mindfulness-based intervention (MBI) programs on sleep among people with depression or anxiety disorder.
To compare the effects of different MBI programs on sleep among people with depression or anxiety disorder.
Related publications in Embase, Medline, PubMed and PsycINFO databases were systematically searched from January 2010 to June 2020 for randomised controlled trials. Data were synthesized using a random-effects or a fixed-effects model to analyse the effects of various MBI programs on sleep problems among people with depression or anxiety disorder. The fixed-effects model was used when heterogeneity was negligible, and the random-effects model was used when heterogeneity was significant to calculate the standardised mean differences (SMDs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs).
We identified 397 articles, of which 10 randomised controlled trials, involving a total of 541 participants, were included in the meta-analysis. Studies of internet mindfulness meditation intervention (IMMI), mindfulness meditation (MM), mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT), mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) and mindfulness-based touch therapy (MBTT) met the inclusion criteria. The greatest effect sizes are reported in favour of MBTT, with SMDs of -1.138 (95%CI: -1.937 to -0.340; P = 0.005), followed by -1.003 (95%CI: -1.645 to -0.360; P = 0.002) for MBCT. SMDs of -0.618 (95%CI: -0.980 to -0.257; P = 0.001) and -0.551 (95%CI: -0.842 to -0.260; P < 0.0001) were reported for IMMI and MBSR in the pooling trials, respectively. Significant effects on sleep problem improvement are shown in all reviewed MBI programs, except MM, for which the effect size was shown to be non-significant.
All MBI programs (MBTT, MBCT, IMMI and MBSR), except MM, are effective options to improve sleep problems among people with depression or anxiety disorder.
Core Tip: This meta-analysis provides evidence as to whether various kinds of mindfulness-based intervention programs can help improve sleep problems among people with common mental disorders. Our study indicated that integrative forms of mindfulness-based intervention programs (including mindfulness-based touch therapy, mindfulness-based cognitive therapy, internet mindfulness meditation intervention, and mindfulness-based stress reduction) have shown promising results. However, using mindfulness meditation solely should lead to insignificant effects.