Using a meditation app for eight weeks led to greater improvements in depression and anxiety among 239 adults with insomnia symptoms compared to a control group. The mental health benefits were driven by reductions in both physical and mental arousal before sleep, which fully accounted for the effect on depression and partially for the effect on anxiety. Fatigue and daytime sleepiness did not explain the changes. A meditation app may improve depression and anxiety in adults with sleep disturbance by lowering pre-sleep arousal.
A survey of Calm app subscribers who used a sleep-related component in the prior 90 days found that most reported help falling asleep, staying asleep, and getting restful sleep. Nearly half of participants had a mental health diagnosis (anxiety, depression, or PTSD), and most of those reported that Calm helped improve symptoms. Using meditation components was associated with perceived improvement in anxiety and depression, but Sleep Stories and music/soundscapes were not. Severity of sleep disturbance moderated the link between using Calm components and reporting better sleep, but not between using components and mental health improvements.