Conscious meditation reduces anxiety and improves sleep quality, according to experts.
The practice of conscious meditation or “mindfulness” is a technique that starts from the observation of one’s own mental content to recognize each thought, feeling or sensation with the aim of accepting them without judging them, with the aim of changing our relationship with those thoughts that can affect us.
According to experts, the practice of mindfulness decreases anxiety, depression and anger and increases joy, satisfaction and feelings of gratitude. This technique is also indicated for problems such as obsessive-compulsive disorder, eating disorder and personality disorder.
In addition, it improves the quality of sleep in older adults with moderate sleep disorders, according to a clinical trial that compares meditation with a more structured program focused on changing insomnia habits and establishing a bedtime routine, according to an article published online in the Archives of Internal Medicine.
An estimated 50 percent of people age 55 and older have some type of sleep problem. Moderate sleep disorders in older adults are associated with higher levels of fatigue, altered mood, depressive symptoms and a reduction in quality of life, according to the background of the study.
Lead researcher David S. Black, MD, from the University of Southern California, Los Angeles, and co-authors conducted a small clinical trial in Los Angeles in 2012 and their analysis included 49 individuals (average age 66).
Small research
The trial included 24 people who participated in standardized mindfulness meditation (MAP) practices and 25 individuals who participated in a sleep hygiene education-based (SHE)-based intervention. Differences between the groups were measured using the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), a widely used questionnaire of sleep disorders.
Participants in the MAP group showed improvement over those in the HE group, with mean PSQI scores of 10.2 at baseline and 7.4 post-intervention, versus the step of 10.2 points at baseline and 9.1 post-intervention, respectively. The MAP group also showed improvement over the SHE group in secondary measures on insomnia symptoms, depression symptoms, fatigue interference, and fatigue severity. However, no differences were observed between the groups for anxiety, stress, or inflammatory signaling, which was reduced in both groups over time.
Source: La Opinión de Málaga
