Effects of an 18-month meditation training on subjective and objective sleep quality in older adults: a secondary analysis of the Age-Well randomized controlled trial
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Study objectives
Aging is associated with increased sleep complaints and changes in sleep architecture, microstructure and rest-activity rhythms. Meditation-based interventions have shown benefits on subjective sleep quality, but their effects on objective sleep parameters remain largely underexplored. This study investigated the effects of an 18-month meditation intervention on sleep combining subjective (questionnaires) and objective (polysomnography and actigraphy) measures in older adults.
Methods
A total of 120 cognitively unimpaired older adults (≥65 y) with minimal sleep complaint completed questionnaires, one week of actigraphy and in-home polysomnography at baseline, and again 18 months later. Following the baseline visit, participants were randomly assigned to one of 3 groups: meditation training, non-native language training (active control), or passive control. Group-by-visit interactions were examined using mixed-effects models for sleep questionnaires, actigraphy-derived metrics, sleep architecture and microstructure, including slow waves, spindles, and spectral power.
Results
Compared to the passive control group only, meditation training was associated with greater ease of morning awakening (p=0.04). No significant intervention effects were observed for any other sleep parameter, including actigraphy- and polysomnography-derived measures. These findings remained unchanged after adjustment for depressive symptoms and trait anxiety.
Conclusion
In cognitively unimpaired older adults, this 18-month meditation intervention yielded only limited improvements in subjective sleep assessment. Meditation may therefore have subtle effects on self-reported sleep quality in this healthy older population, although no effects on objective sleep measures were detected. Future studies should examine whether adapting the content, intensity, or timing of meditation practice and enrolling populations with clinically meaningful sleep disturbances or psychoaffective symptoms may yield greater benefits.
Statement of significance
Sleep quality is impaired with age and may contribute to cognitive decline. This randomized controlled trial is the first to assess the effects of an 18-month meditation intervention on both subjective and objective sleep parameters in cognitively unimpaired older adults, compared with active and passive control groups. Meditation improved perceived ease of morning awakening compared to the passive control group, but no other group differences were observed. These findings suggest that meditation, an accessible and low-cost intervention, may modestly improve some aspects of self-reported sleep quality, while having limited effects on objective sleep measures in older adults without sleep complaints. Studies evaluating the effects of meditation on objective sleep measures in more diverse and clinically affected populations are needed.
