Prof Dianne Rodriguez PHD,RGC, MAED

Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction and Sleep Quality during COVID 19

     COVID 19 pandemic has drastically changed the lives of people by forcefully encapsulating everyone in the confines of their homes. Routines and the usual way of living people normally do are no longer applicable during the quarantine. Consequently, the sudden disruption in the typical way of life may cause psychological concerns such as stress, anxiety, and disruption in people’s usual sleeping patterns. 

    During the COVID 19 pandemic, there is:

One hour and forty 48 minutes average delay in going to bed after being quarantined for a month

and

An average of 2 hours and 28 minutes delay of getting up in the morning during the quarantine.

Hence, the extended hours for waking and sleeping disrupt the circadian rhythm of the body.

    According to Lim, Julian, Leow, Ong, Pang & Lim, (2020) research studies conducted about mental health during COVID 19 showed increased cases in depression, stress, and anxiety seen in diverse populations. Covipd-19 pandemic affects psychological health negatively. The sudden disruption of the common way of living made people feel unbalanced and the fear of uncertainty of when the pandemic will end or how it may affect each and everyone adds to the concerns of people who are affected by the pandemic.  

    Tang and Harvey (2004) emphasized that sleep quality is increased through mindfulness by:

1. Reducing the level of arousal before going to sleep. High levels of cognitive arousal before sleep are associated with prolonging the delay of time before sleeping. (Howell, Digdon, & Buro,2010)

2. Mindfulness predicts sleep-related self-regulation and well-being.

3. Mindfulness training can develop metacognitive processes or higher-order thinking which can help people to increase awareness in his or her conscious experience (Hassirim, Lim, Lo, et al. 2019).

4. A person then can deviate from maladaptive and automatic cognition related to sleep such as rumination which may lead to more relaxed and less anxious thoughts. 

Mindfulness can help decrease the anxiety and mental activities of a person and helps him or her sleep better.

    If you want to know how mindfulness can help you sleep better, feel free to send me a message and schedule a consultation.

References:

• Brewer, J. A., Roy, A., Deluty, A., Liu, T., & Hoge, E. A. (2020). Can mindfulness mechanistically target worry to improve sleep disturbances? Theory and study protocol for app-based anxiety program. Health Psychology, 39(9), 776–784. https://doi.org/10.1037/hea0000874

  Buysse, D. J., Reynolds III, C. F., Monk, T. H., Berman, S. R., & Kupfer, D. J. (1989). The Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index: a new instrument for psychiatric practice and research. Psychiatry research, 28(2), 193-213.

  Hassirim, Z., Lim, E.C.J., Lo, J.C. et al. (2019) “Pre-sleep Cognitive Arousal Decreases Following a 4-Week Introductory Mindfulness Course”. Mindfulness 10, 2429–2438 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12671-019-01217-4

  Howell AJ, Digdon NL, Buro K. (2010) Mindfulness predicts sleep-related self-regulation and well-being. Personality and Individual Differences 2010; 48(4): 419-

  Caldwell, K., Harrison, M., Adams, M., Quin, R. H., & Greeson, J. (2010). Developing mindfulness in college students through movement-based courses: effects on self-regulatory self-efficacy, mood, stress, and sleep quality. Journal of American college health : J of ACH, 58(5), 433–442. https://doi.org/10.1080/07448480903540481

  
  

What is Mindfulness

Mindfulness is a kind of thinking that involves a deeper level of awareness of not only one's thoughts but also of other elements. Mindfulness contributes to both high levels of awareness and acceptance of "in the moment reality". (Kabat-Zinn, 2005) Mindfulness can broadly be defined as ‘paying attention in a particular way: on purpose, in the present moment, and nonjudgmentally’ (Kabat-Zinn, 1994, p. 4).

Mindfulness techniques originated in the Buddhist traditions (Rosenberg, 1998; Thera, 1962; Thompson & Gauntlet – Gilbert, 2008) However, mindfulness skills are now being utilized without reference to its religious beginnings and regarded as a legitimate field of western scientific and clinical research (Hayes & Wilson, 2003).

Mindfulness Helps

• Stress management
• Anxiety
• Depression
• Sleep problems
• Improve wellbeing

Benefits of Mindfulness

According to Thompson & Gauntlet-Gilbert (2008), mindful behavior involves an individual being fully in contact with what is taking place in the present moment, both in the external world and in terms of their responses to it. 

Mindfulness helps people:

• stay in the present moment to respond to present situations with full awareness of their actions.
• help make decisions not base on emotions by being aware of their own impulse and thought patterns.  

• gives awareness of one's thought and emotional processes can lessen emotional vulnerability and emotional reactivity.

Mindfulness meditation is not designed to change cognition, but to accept cognition in a non-judgmental manner and learning to let them go bringing a person to be fully aware of cognitions, emotions, and sensations at the present moment (De Petrillo, Arkoff, Glass & Kauffman, 2009).

Sources:

De Petrillo, L. A., Kaufman, K. A., Glass, C. R., & Arnkoff, D. B. (2009). Mindfulness for long-distance runners: An open trial using Mindful Sport Performance Enhancement (MSPE). Journal of Clinical Sport Psychology, 3(4), 357-376.

Kabat&Zinn, J. (2003). Mindfulness‐based interventions in context: past, present, and future. Clinical psychology: Science and practice, 10(2), 144-156.

Kabat-Zinn, J. (2005). Coming to our senses: Healing ourselves and the world through mindfulness. Hachette UK.

Thompson & Gauntlet-Gilbert (2008) “Mindfulness with Children and Adolescents: Effective Clinical Application.” Clinical Child Psychology and Psychiatry Copyright © 2008 SAGE Publications Vol 13(3): 395–407. DOI: 10.1177/1359104508090603 www.sagepublications.com

Sometimes when we feel hesitation to seek professional help, it is not always because we do not acknowledge that we have a problem. Instead, it is at times because of the following reasons.

• We are not familiar with the therapeutic alliance and process.
• We are scared to allow another individual to take a peek into our world because we are afraid of being judged or misunderstood.
• We feel vulnerable and scared of the mental health stigma attached to seeking professional help.

Some of us might opt to do self-help which is defined as "a focus on self-guided, in contrast to professionally guided, efforts to cope with life problems. Self-help can involve self-reliance, in which one addresses such problems on one's own (e.g., by reading self-help books), or it can involve joining with others to address shared concerns, as in self-help groups" (APA, 2020).

Self-help is related to a person's efforts to find strategies and plan a course of action to create new goals, learn more about oneself, and improve one's lifestyle guided by literature, customs, or a belief rather than a professional.

There are numerous available resources online and a good recommendation for self-help materials. However, it is crucial to seek the right one that caters to one's needs and is backed up by sound science is the most important of all.

Here is a recommendation for a new self-help book available in Amazon recommended for those looking to improve their self-awareness and develop mindfulness. Remember, this is not a substitute for therapy but only a tool to help you know yourself better. If you feel the need to discuss your concerns and explore more options to help yourself, it is always best to reach out to a professional who can help you better.

Dear Self: We Need to Talk is a self-help book that focuses on finding healing and rekindling oneself through self-awareness and practicing mindfulness. It is a journey to self-discovery and identifying past hurts that are still holding us back from growing as a person and realizing our total capacity to forgive and love ourselves. The book has many exercises and insights from notable speakers and scientists from mindfulness and brain-based research. These concepts will guide the readers to explore parts of themselves they are usually scared to take a peek at and discover our humanity within.

Link: Dear Self We Need to Talk E-Book