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Meditation-Relaxation (MR Therapy) for Sleep Paralysis: A Pilot Study in Patients With Narcolepsy.

Baland Jalal, Ludovico Moruzzi, Andrea Zangrandi, Marco Filardi, Christian Franceschini, Fabio Pizza, Giuseppe Plazzi

Frontiers in Neurology 2020 DOI: 10.3389/fneur.2020.00922 (opens in new tab)

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Study at a glance

AI-extracted from the abstract
Characteristics Proof-of-concept pilot study Peer reviewed
Sample size 10
Population Patients with narcolepsy and sleep paralysis
Intervention deep breathing
Duration 8-week intervention
Topics Meditation
Keywords Meditation-relaxation therapy Narcolepsy Proof-of-concept study Sleep paralysis Treatment
Citations 13
Key points Meditation-Relaxation therapy over eight weeks reduced sleep paralysis frequency by 50% in days and 54% in total episodes among patients with narcolepsy.

Abstract

Sleep paralysis (SP) is a condition where a person is paralyzed upon waking or falling asleep. SP afflicts ~20% of people, and is also one of the typical symptoms in narcolepsy. During SP the sleeper may experience hallucinations. Unsurprisingly, SP is associated with great fear globally. To date, there are no published clinical trials or outcome data for treating this condition. However, few non-pharmacological interventions have been proposed, including cognitive behavioral approaches, and case studies showing clinical amelioration with auto-hypnosis and Meditation-Relaxation (MR) therapy. The latter for instance showed positive preliminary results; when applied for 8 weeks it reduced SP frequency and anxiety/worry symptoms. With this paper we aimed to evaluate, with a small-scale pilot study, the efficacy of MR therapy for SP in patients with narcolepsy. Ten patients with narcolepsy and SP were enrolled in the study. Notably, MR therapy (n = 6), applied for 8 weeks, resulted in a dramatic decrease in the number of days SP occurred (50% reduction); and the total number of SP episodes (54% reduction) in the last month of the study (demonstrated by large within-group effect sizes); unlike the control intervention (deep breathing) (n = 4). These findings are preliminary and exploratory given the small sample. Nonetheless, they represent the first proof of concept at providing empirically-guided insights into the possible efficacy of a novel treatment for frequently occurring SP. Although the study was conducted in patients with narcolepsy we cautiously suggest that the findings may generalize to individuals with isolated SP.

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Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction in Relation to Quality of Life, Mood, Symptoms of Stress, and Immune Parameters in Breast and Prostate Cancer Outpatients Early-stage breast and prostate cancer patients 2003 Pre-post intervention study n = 59
Exploring self‐compassion and empathy in the context of mindfulness‐based stress reduction (MBSR) Community sample 2010 Pre-post intervention study
Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction Lowers Psychological Distress In Medical Students Second-year medical students 2003 Prospective nonrandomized cohort-controlled study n = 302
Intensive meditation training, immune cell telomerase activity, and psychological mediators. Retreat participants and matched controls 2011 Controlled trial with wait-list control group n = 60
The Effectiveness of Mindfulness Training for Children with ADHD and Mindful Parenting for their Parents Children aged 8-12 with ADHD and their parents 2011 Within-group waitlist controlled trial n = 22

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