Peters, A., Junge, M., Cunnington, D., Ong, J., and Greenwood, K. (2012) Mindfulness-based therapy for insomnia in an Australian population. Journal of Sleep Research, 21 (Supplement 1). O319. p. 95.

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Abstract

Objective: This study investigated group delivery of a mindfulnessbased intervention for primary insomnia in an Australian population. Mindfulness Based Therapy for Insomnia (MBT-I) offers an alternative approach to the current gold standard, non-pharmacological approach to insomnia, CBT-I, with a focus on reducing sleep-related arousal. Findings have indicated reductions in several subjective sleep measures following MBT-I treatment (Ong, Shapiro, & Manber, 2008). This study aimed to investigate the outcome of MBT-I in an Australian population recruited from a sleep clinic to examine the generalizability in a diverse sample. Participants: 30 participants, consisting of 21 females (M age = 50, range = 26–72) and nine males (M age = 45, range 34–59) who met criteria for primary insomnia.

Methods: Treatment consisted of six sessions of MBT-I (Ong, Shapiro, & Manber, 2008) delivered in groups of 7–8 with each session lasting 2 h in duration. The primary outcome measure was the Insomnia Severity Index (ISI) and secondary the Pittsburg Sleep Quality Index (PSQI). Outcome measures were recorded at four timepoints (screening, baseline, post-treatment and 3 month follow-up).

Results: The average severity of insomnia as measured by the ISI reduced significantly from a moderate level of insomnia (M = 18.74) to sub-clinical insomnia (M = 12.79, P < 0.01) indicating that on average, participants no longer met the criteria for insomnia following treatment. The Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) overall score reduced significantly (M = 13.1 to M = 9.2, P < 0.01) reflecting an increase in sleep quality following treatment. All 7 PSQI component scores reduced significantly. The largest change was the component score assessing sleep efficiency (the proportion of average sleep compared to time in bed), which increased from 72% to 83% (P < 0.01) following treatment.

Conclusion: Analysis of data collected in response to a group treatment of MBT-I for insomnia delivered over 6 weeks revealed significant reductions in insomnia symptoms, and improvements in sleep quality and sleep efficiency. This suggests that MBT-I can be delivered in a sleep clinic setting with indications of effectiveness.

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