Effects of mindfulness-based stress reduction for adults with sleep disturbance: a protocol for an update of a systematic review and meta-analysis

BACKGROUND: Sleep disturbance is a common and significant health problem that has been linked to decreased quality of life. Mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) can be a potentially effective intervention for insomnia. In previous systematic review examining the effects of MBSR for people with sleep disturbance, the authors highlighted the need for additional well-designed randomized controlled trials (RCTs) to assess the effects of MBSR practice. Recently, several RCTs of the effectiveness of MBSR for individuals who have difficulties in sleep have been published. Therefore, the aim of this review is to update and synthesize evidence on the effects of MBSR for people with sleep disturbance or insomnia. METHODS/DESIGN: We will search ovidMEDLINE, ovidEMBASE, Allied and Alternative Medicine, PsycINFO, the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, the Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature, and four representative Korean electronic databases including KoreaMed, the Korean Studies Information Service System, the Korean Medical Database, and the National Digital Science Library. Two reviewers will independently screen and select relevant studies. The Cochrane Risk of Bias tool will be used to assess risk of bias in the included studies. The primary outcomes will be defined as the change in sleep quality before and after the intervention as evaluated by the polysomnography or self-reported questionnaires such as the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index. If quantitative synthesis is not appropriate, a descriptive analysis might be undertaken. DISCUSSION: Many published primary studies have investigated the positive effects of MBSR on sleep quality; however, there are no systematic reviews and meta-analyses synthesizing the evidence of up-to-date research on the effects of MBSR for sleep problems. The review findings will aid the general population and healthcare providers in making informed decisions on evidence-based intervention selection for sleep disturbance or insomnia. SYSTEMATIC REVIEW REGISTRATION: PROSPERO CRD42015027963. ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s13643-016-0228-2) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.