Mindfulness-Based Approaches to Insomnia

Summary

The overall goal of this project is to evaluate the evidence for the efficacy of two mindfulness-based interventions, mindfulness-based therapy for insomnia (MBT-I) and mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR), for reducing arousal and improving sleep among individuals with psychophysiological insomnia.

Specific Aim 1: To obtain evidence for the relative effects of MBT-I and MBSR compared to a delayed-treatment control condition followed by behavior therapy for insomnia (BT-I) on arousal levels. It is hypothesized that MBSR and MBT-I will be superior to the control condition at reducing arousal levels.

Specific Aim 2: To obtain evidence for the relative effects of MBT-I, MBSR, and the delayed-treatment control on sleep. It is hypothesized that MBT-I will be superior to the MBSR and control conditions at improving sleep parameters.

Specific Aim 3: To investigate the relationship between measures of arousal (self-report and objective measures) and sleep (self-report and objective measures) to enhance the understanding of the role of arousal in psychophysiological insomnia.

Conditions

• Insomnia

Interventions

BEHAVIORAL

Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction

The rationale for treatment is that MBSR targets arousal, which is a prominent perpetuating factor of insomnia. Each session meets weekly for 120 minutes and consists of a therapist-led mindfulness meditation, followed by a discussion of the meditation and its application into the participant's everyday life. For homework, each participant is required to practice formal meditation at least 45 minutes a day, 6 days per week. Participants will be provided a tape, an mp3 file, or CD to aid in the participant's personal practice at home. Formal meditations that will be led and discussed include eating meditation, body scan, sitting meditation, Hatha Yoga, and walking meditation. In addition, informal mindfulness practices will be discussed.

BEHAVIORAL

Mindfulness-Based Therapy for Insomnia

MBTI treatment includes the hypothesized active elements of both mindfulness meditation and behavior therapy for insomnia. The intervention includes 8 weekly sessions. Each session meets weekly for approximately 120 minutes. The general format of each session includes formal mindfulness meditation (quiet and movement meditations) and instructions for the behavioral intervention, with a focus on integrating the principles of mindfulness with these instructions. Each participant is required to practice formal meditation for at least 45 minutes a day, 6 days per week as homework. Participants are provided a tape, mp3 file, or CD to aid in the participant's personal practice at home.

BEHAVIORAL

Wait-List + Behavioral Therapy for Insomnia

This delayed treatment condition consists of an 8-week monitoring period (sleep diaries, PSAS) and then BT. The BT treatment consists of 8 sessions of behavioral interventions for insomnia, with instructions targeting the nighttime symptoms of insomnia. The primary components of this treatment package are stimulus control, sleep restriction, and sleep hygiene education. In the BT condition, each weekly session lasts 120 minutes and consists of formal instructions for the behavioral interventions along with a time for discussion of the application of these instructions into each participant's unique circumstances.

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Stanford University

  collaborator OTHER

• University of Toronto

  collaborator OTHER

• Rush University Medical Center

  lead OTHER

Principal Investigators

• Jason C Ong, PhD · Rush University Medical Center

Study Design

Allocation

RANDOMIZED

Purpose

TREATMENT

Masking

NONE

Model

PARALLEL

Eligibility

Min Age

21 Years

Sex

ALL

Healthy Volunteers

No

Timeline & Regulatory

Start

2008-11-30

Primary Completion

2012-11-30

Completion

2013-04-30

Countries

• United States

Study Locations