Effectiveness of an 8-Week Meditation Intervention on Stress, Anxiety, and Sleep Quality in Older Adults: A Randomised Controlled Trial
International Journal For Multidisciplinary Research July 11, 2026 Pushpendra Yaduvanshi, Barkha Sahu, Tanay Bhardwaj
An 8-week structured meditation program involving guided sessions of 30–45 minutes produced clinically meaningful improvements in perceived stress and sleep quality among 58 community-dwelling older adults aged 60 years or older with mild-to-moderate stress, anxiety, or sleep disturbance. Both meditation protocols led to very large reductions in perceived stress (44–47%) and sleep disturbance (40–47%), with no significant difference between the two protocols for these outcomes. Only one of the two protocols significantly reduced anxiety (by 46.5%), while the other's anxiety reduction was not statistically significant. The findings suggest that meditation strategies should be selected according to the predominant symptom profile, particularly when anxiety is a primary concern.