The effect of mindfulness-based stress reduction on anxiety and sleep quality in informal family caregivers of cancer patients: a randomized controlled trial.
BMC Nursing November 6, 2025 Sayedeh Farkhondeh Safavi, Hakimeh Vahedparast, Batool Amiri et al.
A randomized controlled trial with 66 female informal caregivers of cancer patients in Iran found that eight sessions of mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) training, each lasting 120 minutes, reduced anxiety and improved sleep quality compared to a control group receiving no intervention. Mean anxiety scores decreased from 105.94 to 80.39, and mean sleep quality scores improved from 11.26 to 9.94 at one-month follow-up. The authors note the findings apply only to women and caution that limitations include a passive control group, small sample size, convenience sampling, and partial blinding.