Abstract
Introduction Systematic reviews and metanalyses have shown that mindfulness-based interventions
can have positive effects on health, such as reducing anxiety, depression, and chronic
pain. However, their effect on sleep-related outcomes is not yet well established.
Sleep can be assessed subjectively (questionnaires, sleep logs, self-reporting) and/or
objectively (actigraphy, polysomnography, biological markers), and outcomes may differ
depending on which type of assessment is used.
Objective In this study, we present a literature overview on mindfulness and sleep, innovatively
presenting and discussing studies that address sleep subjectively and objectively.
Methods The search was undertaken using four databases (Pubmed Medline, Scopus, Web of Science,
Psychinfo) in September 2019, and repeated in May 2021.
Studies were analyzed through a two-step process: (1) reading titles and abstracts,
and (2) full text analysis that met the review's eligibility criteria, with the final
sample comprising 193 articles. We observed a growth in the number of studies published,
particularly since 2005. However, this was mostly due to an increase in studies based
on subjective research. There is a moderate to nonexistent agreement between objective
and subjective sleep measures, with results of subjective measures having higher variability
and uncertainty.We identified 151 articles (78%) using an exclusively subjective sleep
evaluation, which can cause a misperception about mindfulness effects on sleep.
Conclusion Future studies should place greater emphasis on objective measurements to accurately
investigate the effects of mindfulness practices on sleep, although subjective measures
also have a role to play in respect of some aspects of this relationship.
Keywords
actigraphy - polysomnography - bibliometrics - sleep quality - mindfulness - sleep
