Can a meditation app help my sleep? A cross-sectional survey of Calm users.
Jennifer Huberty, Megan E. Puzia, Linda Larkey, Ana-Maria Vranceanu, Michael R. Irwin
PLoS One 2021 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0257518 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Cross-sectional survey Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Population | Calm subscribers who had used a sleep-related component in the last 90 days |
| Intervention | Sleep Stories |
| Topics | Meditation |
| Key findings | Most Calm subscribers reported that using the app helped them fall asleep, stay asleep, and get restful sleep; among those with mental health diagnoses, most reported that Calm helped improve symptoms, with meditation components linked to perceived improvement in anxiety and depression. |
Abstract
Use of mindfulness mobile apps has become popular, however, there is little information about subscribers' perceptions of app content and its impact on sleep and mental health. The purpose of this study was to survey subscribers to Calm, a popular mindfulness meditation app, to explore perceived improvements in sleep and mental health, evaluate what components of the app were associated with improvements in sleep and mental health, and determine whether improvements differed based on sleep quality. Calm subscribers who had used a sleep-related component in the last 90 days completed a Web-based investigator-developed survey and the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index. The survey included questions about using Calm for sleep, sleep disturbances, mental health diagnoses (i.e., anxiety, depression, PTSD) and perceived impacts of the app. Participants reported on the extent to which they felt that using Calm had improved their sleep and mental health. Most participants reported sleep disturbance, and almost half reported a mental health diagnosis. The majority of participants reported that using Calm helped them fall asleep, stay asleep, and get restful sleep. All sleep components were associated with perceived improvements in sleep disturbance. Severity of sleep disturbance moderated relationships between using Calm components and reporting improved sleep. Among subscribers with mental health diagnoses, most reported that Calm helped improve symptoms. Perceived improvement in anxiety and depression was associated with using Calm's meditation components but not Sleep Stories or music/soundscapes. Severity of sleep disturbance did not moderate relationships between using Calm components and reporting mental health improvements. Given the accessibility of app-based meditation, research is needed to evaluate the efficacy of meditation apps to improve sleep disturbance. While some sleep content may be helpful for sleep, more research is needed to test what specific content affects mental health.
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
Cited by 4
- Combining Behavioral Economics-Based Incentives With the Anchoring Strategy: Protocol for a Randomized Controlled Trial. JMIR Research Protocols April 28, 2023
- Identifying Common Patterns in the Time of Day of Mindfulness Meditation Associated with Long-Term Maintenance. Behavioral Sciences March 18, 2025
- Barriers and Facilitators to Mindfulness-Based Interventions in Diabetic Peripheral Neuropathy: A Qualitative Inquiry to Inform Intervention Design Mindfulness August 21, 2026
- Feasibility, appropriateness, and acceptability of a mobile mindfulness meditation intervention to improve sleep quality among a racially/ethnically diverse population. Sleep Health April 2023
Cites 8
- The effect of mindfulness meditation on sleep quality: a systematic review and meta‐analysis of randomized controlled trials Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences December 21, 2018
- Mindfulness Meditation and Improvement in Sleep Quality and Daytime Impairment Among Older Adults With Sleep Disturbances JAMA Internal Medicine February 16, 2015
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- Future directions in meditation research: Recommendations for expanding the field of contemplative science PLoS One November 7, 2018
- Using Mindfulness for the Treatment of Insomnia. Current Sleep Medicine Reports April 29, 2017
and 3 more in the library