Mindfulness Meditation for Insomnia

Launched by BRIGHAM AND WOMEN'S HOSPITAL · May 12, 2025

Keywords

ClinConnect Summary

This clinical trial is exploring how different types of mindfulness meditation (MM) can help people who struggle with insomnia, which is a condition that makes it hard to fall asleep or stay asleep. The study will involve 30 participants who will be divided into three groups: one group will practice guided mindfulness meditation at bedtime, the second group will practice meditation without instructions, and the third group will receive information on good sleep habits. The goal is to see how well these methods work for improving sleep quality and to understand if participants find these approaches helpful.

To be part of this study, you need to be at least 18 years old and have chronic insomnia, which means you have trouble sleeping three or more nights a week for at least three months. You should also have difficulty falling asleep for more than 20 minutes and score above a certain level on a sleep severity questionnaire. Participants will use a mobile app to answer surveys about their sleep at specific times during the study and will receive a kit with wearable devices to track their sleep. This research is not yet recruiting, so if you're interested, keep an eye out for when it starts!

Gender

ALL

Eligibility criteria

• Inclusion Criteria:
• • Age 18 years and older;
• • Chronic insomnia (≥ 3 nights/week, for ≥ 3 months), defined by DSM-V or ICSD-3;
• • Have a primary complaint of difficulty falling asleep (sleep-onset insomnia) with self-reported sleep onset latency \>20 min;
• • Insomnia Severity Index score ≥ 15;
• • Speak and understand English;
• • Have a smart device (phone or tablet) for mobile app installation
• Exclusion Criteria:
• • Current diagnosis of sleep disorders other than insomnia (e.g., narcolepsy, restless leg syndrome, REM sleep behavior disorder, etc.);
• • Shift worker or routine night shifts;
• • Women with pregnancy or breastfeeding;
• • Regular (defined as twice a week or more) practice of mind-body interventions;
• • Patients with pace-maker or routinely using cardiovascular medications that have effects on heart rates (i.e., beta-blockers);
• • Neurological disorders (e.g. epilepsy, dementia, stroke, Parkinson's disease, neuroinfections, brain tumors, etc.) or current diagnosis of comorbid psychotic, substance use, and trauma-related disorders;
• • Currently under medications with sleep changing effects (e.g., anxiolytics/benzodiazepines, selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, hypnotics, etc.);
• • Hearing impairment or loss. Participants will be asked to report any medication for at least 2 weeks prior to study onset and during the study period.