Senior Vipassana Meditation practitioners exhibit distinct REM sleep organization from that of novice meditators and healthy controls.
Nirmala Maruthai, Ravindra P. Nagendra, Arun Sasidharan, Sulekha Srikumar, Karuna Datta, Sunao Uchida, Bindu M Kutty
International Review of Psychiatry June 1, 2016 DOI: 10.3109/09540261.2016.1159949 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Observational study Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 55 |
| Population | Senior Vipassana meditators, novice Vipassana meditators, and non-meditating controls |
| Intervention | Vipassana meditation |
| Topics | Meditation |
| Keywords | Rem burst Rem sleep Vipassana meditation |
| Key findings | Senior Vipassana meditators exhibit enhanced REM sleep and REMA dynamics, including more REM episodes and increased phasic and tonic activity, compared to novices and controls. |
Abstract
The present study is aimed to ascertain whether differences in meditation proficiency alter rapid eye movement sleep (REM sleep) as well as the overall sleep-organization. Whole-night polysomnography was carried out using 32-channel digital EEG system. 20 senior Vipassana meditators, 16 novice Vipassana meditators and 19 non-meditating control subjects participated in the study. The REM sleep characteristics were analyzed from the sleep-architecture of participants with a sleep efficiency index >85%. Senior meditators showed distinct changes in sleep-organization due to enhanced slow wave sleep and REM sleep, reduced number of intermittent awakenings and reduced duration of non-REM stage 2 sleep. The REM sleep-organization was significantly different in senior meditators with more number of REM episodes and increased duration of each episode, distinct changes in rapid eye movement activity (REMA) dynamics due to increased phasic and tonic activity and enhanced burst events (sharp and slow bursts) during the second and fourth REM episodes. No significant differences in REM sleep organization was observed between novice and control groups. Changes in REM sleep-organization among the senior practitioners of meditation could be attributed to the intense brain plasticity events associated with intense meditative practices on brain functions.
Comparable studies
Other observational and cohort studies on meditation, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| Using Self-Report Assessment Methods to Explore Facets of Mindfulness Undergraduate students | 2006 | Observational cohort | |
| Effectiveness of a meditation-based stress reduction program in the treatment of anxiety disorders Patients with generalized anxiety disorder or panic disorder with or without agoraphobia | 1992 | Observational cohort | n = 22 |
| Meditation experience is associated with increased cortical thickness Participants with extensive Insight meditation experience and matched controls | 2005 | Observational cohort | n = 20 |
| Meditation experience is associated with differences in default mode network activity and connectivity Experienced meditators and matched meditation-naive controls | 2011 | Observational cohort | |
| Long-term meditators self-induce high-amplitude gamma synchrony during mental practice Long-term Buddhist practitioners and controls | 2004 | Observational cohort |
Citations in the library
Cited by 15
- The Dream of God: How Do Religion and Science See Lucid Dreaming and Other Conscious States During Sleep? Frontiers in Psychology 2020
- Enhanced dehydroepiandrosterone levels are positively correlated with N3 sleep stage in long-term mindfulness meditation practitioners. Sleep Science 2022
- Intensive Mindfulness Meditation Reduces Frequency and Burden of Migraine: An Unblinded Single-Arm Trial. Mindfulness February 1, 2023
- Different Patterns of Sleep-Dependent Procedural Memory Consolidation in Vipassana Meditation Practitioners and Non-meditating Controls. Frontiers in Psychology January 23, 2020
- EEG Brain Rhythms During Resting-State Wakefulness and Sleep in Elderly Expert Meditators. Journal of Sleep Research July 29, 2025
and 10 more in the library
Cites 8
- Alterations in Brain and Immune Function Produced by Mindfulness Meditation Psychosomatic Medicine July 1, 2003
- Meditation experience is associated with increased cortical thickness Neuroreport November 7, 2005
- Long-term meditators self-induce high-amplitude gamma synchrony during mental practice Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences November 8, 2004
- Meditation and its regulatory role on sleep. Frontiers in Neurology April 18, 2012
- Occipital gamma activation during Vipassana meditation. Cognitive Processing December 16, 2009
and 3 more in the library