Mindfulness, Subjective Cognitive Functioning, Sleep Timing and Time Expansion during COVID-19 Lockdown: A Longitudinal Study in Italy
Marco Fabbri
Clocks & Sleep May 30, 2023 DOI: 10.3390/clockssleep5020024 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Longitudinal study Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 39 |
| Population | Italian adults (53.85% males; mean age 35.03 ± 14.02 years) |
| Duration | December 2019-March 2020 (pre-lockdown) and April 2020-May 2020 (during lockdown) |
| Topics | Meditation |
| Keywords | Mediation Feeling Chronotype Boredom Longitudinal study Sleep system call Clinical psychology Developmental psychology Circadian rhythm Psychotherapist |
| Citations | 6 |
| Key findings | Changes in dispositional mindfulness determined a delay of bedtime during workdays through the mediation effect of increased feeling of time expansion/boredom. |
Abstract
During the COVID-19 lockdown, a distortion of time passage has been widely reported in association with a change in daily rhythm. However, several variables related to these changes have not been considered. The purpose of the present study was to assess the changes in dispositional mindfulness, time experience, sleep timing and subjective memory functioning. A longitudinal study was conducted on 39 Italian adults (53.85% males; 35.03 ± 14.02 years) assessing mindfulness, ad hoc questions of sleep habits during workdays and free days, chronotypes, subjective time experience, and memory functioning before (December 2019-March 2020) and during (April 2020-May 2020) the first Italian COVID-19 lockdown. Participants reported delayed sleep timing, a slowdown in the perception of the present time, a decrease of time pressure, and an increase in the feeling of time expansion/boredom. In addition to correlations between mindfulness, memory functioning, and subjective sleep duration during workdays, a mediation model showed that changes in the dispositional mindfulness determined a delay of bedtime during workdays through the mediation effect of increased feeling of time expansion/boredom. This finding highlighted the role of mindfulness in reducing the feeling of time expansion/boredom for regulating the sleep timing. The theoretical and practical implications of the findings are discussed.
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
Cites 9
- 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-induced changes in gamma band activity – Implications for the default mode network, self-reference and attention Clinical Neurophysiology September 21, 2011
- Awareness of the passage of time and self-consciousness: What do meditators report? PsyCh Journal March 1, 2019
- Mindfulness meditation, time judgment and time experience: Importance of the time scale considered (seconds or minutes) PLoS One October 18, 2019
and 4 more in the library