Mind and Body Practices for Sleep Disorders
Research has demonstrated beneficial results of cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia (CBT-I) for people with chronic insomnia disorder. There is also some evidence suggesting that relaxation therapy may be useful for this condition. There is limited evidence that other complementary health approaches such as yoga and meditation may be helpful for people with sleep problems. This issue of the digest provides a summary of the current research for several health approaches for sleep disorders, including CBT-I, relaxation techniques, yoga, and meditation and mindfulness practices.
What the Science Says:
Mind and Body Practices for Sleep Disorders
Modality and Summary of Current Research
Current clinical practice guidelines from the American Academy of Sleep Medicine (2021) and the American College of Physicians (2016) recommend psychological and behavioral interventions in the treatment of chronic insomnia disorder in adults.
- The American Academy of Sleep Medicine guidelines state: “We recommend that clinicians use multicomponent cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia (CBT-I) for the treatment of chronic insomnia disorder in adults (strong recommendation). We suggest that clinicians use relaxation therapy as a single-component therapy for the treatment of chronic insomnia disorder in adults (conditional recommendation).” The authors of the guidelines also noted that there were fewer than three studies meeting their inclusion criteria for the use of cognitive therapy, paradoxical intention, mindfulness, biofeedback, and intensive sleep retraining; as a result, no recommendations were made about these treatments.
- The American College of Physicians guidelines recommend CBT-I as the initial treatment for chronic insomnia disorder (strong recommendation, moderate-quality evidence).
Current clinical practice guidelines from the American Academy of Sleep Medicine (2021) conditionally recommend relaxation therapy as a single-component therapy for the treatment of chronic insomnia disorder in adults. Guidelines from the American College of Physicians (2016) found insufficient evidence to determine the effect of relaxation therapy on global outcomes in the general population or in older adults with chronic insomnia disorder.
Read more about the research on relaxation techniques for sleep disorders
Yoga has been shown to be helpful for sleep in several studies of cancer patients, women with sleep problems, and older adults and in individual studies of other population groups, including people with arthritis and women with menopause symptoms.
Results of several studies, using objective and subjective measures, have shown that tai chi may be helpful for people with sleep problems.
There is some limited evidence that mindfulness meditation practices may help reduce insomnia and improve sleep quality.
Read more about the research on meditation for sleep disorders
Scientific Literature
Information for Your Patients
NCCIH Clinical Digest is a service of the National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health, NIH, DHHS. NCCIH Clinical Digest, a monthly e-newsletter, offers evidence-based information on complementary health approaches, including scientific literature searches, summaries of NCCIH-funded research, fact sheets for patients, and more.
The National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health is dedicated to exploring complementary health products and practices in the context of rigorous science, training complementary health researchers, and disseminating authoritative information to the public and professionals. For additional information, call NCCIH’s Clearinghouse toll-free at 1-888-644-6226, or visit the NCCIH website at nccih.nih.gov. NCCIH is 1 of 27 institutes and centers at the National Institutes of Health, the Federal focal point for medical research in the United States.
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