The Impact of Morning Meditation and Sleep Quality on Affective and Health Outcomes in Healthcare Workers.
Ana Junça-Silva, Marisa Kulyk, António Caetano
International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health April 9, 2025 DOI: 10.3390/ijerph22040592 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Observational study with daily surveys Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 44 |
| Population | Healthcare employees |
| Intervention | Morning meditation |
| Duration | 5 consecutive workdays |
| Topics | Meditation |
| Keywords | Meditation practices Mental health Micro-breaks Positive affect Sleep quality Vitality Healthcare-wellness Mindfulness-meditation Workplace-wellbeing Sleep-health Mental-resilience |
| Citations | 2 |
| Key findings | Morning meditation increased positive affect and improved end-of-day vitality and mental health, with the strongest effects occurring when prior-night sleep quality was poor. |
Abstract
Health is a critical factor influencing key workplace outcomes, including job attitudes, behaviors, and performance. This study investigated the role of daily micro-breaks, specifically morning meditation practices, and positive affective experiences (i.e., positive affect) at work in predicting health-related outcomes, namely vitality and mental health. Using a non-experimental design, this study tested a moderated mediation model in which sleep quality moderates the relationship between morning meditation and positive affect, which, in turn, predicts end-of-the-day health-related outcomes. Data were collected twice a day from 44 healthcare employees over five consecutive workdays using a daily survey approach. Multilevel modeling analyses revealed that morning meditation was significantly associated with increased positive affect and improved health indicators at the end of the workday. Moreover, sleep quality moderated the relationship between morning meditation and positive affect, such that the conditional indirect effect of meditation on end-of-day mental health and vitality via positive affect was significant when sleep quality from the preceding night was poor. These findings underscore the interactive effect of prior-night sleep quality and morning meditation on affective and health-related outcomes by the end of the day. By identifying sleep quality as a key boundary condition, we contribute to a more nuanced understanding of when meditation is most beneficial. Our findings have significant implications for both research and practice, particularly in high-stress environments such as healthcare, where optimizing employee well-being is crucial for both individual and organizational performance.
Comparable studies
Other cross-sectional and survey studies on meditation, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| Construct Validity of the Five Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire in Meditating and Nonmeditating Samples Experienced meditators and nonmeditating comparison groups | 2008 | Cross-sectional study | |
| Neural Correlates of Dispositional Mindfulness During Affect Labeling Adult participants | 2007 | Observational cross-sectional | n = 27 |
| Assessing mindfulness in children and adolescents: Development and validation of the Child and Adolescent Mindfulness Measure (CAMM). School-aged children and adolescents | 2011 | Cross-sectional validation study | n = 1,413 |
| Mindfulness and self-compassion as predictors of psychological wellbeing in long-term meditators and matched nonmeditators Experienced meditators and demographically matched nonmeditators | 2012 | Cross-sectional study | n = 152 |
| Mechanisms of Action in the Inverse Relationship Between Mindfulness and Psychological Distress Undergraduates | 2008 | Cross-sectional, correlational |
Citations in the library
Cites 33
- The benefits of being present: Mindfulness and its role in psychological well-being. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 2003
- Mindfulness: A proposed operational definition. Clinical Psychology Science and Practice 2004
- Mindfulness training as a clinical intervention: A conceptual and empirical review. Clinical Psychology Science and Practice 2003
- Alterations in Brain and Immune Function Produced by Mindfulness Meditation Psychosomatic Medicine July 1, 2003
- Neural correlates of attentional expertise in long-term meditation practitioners Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences June 28, 2007
and 28 more in the library