Meditation-Relaxation (MR Therapy) for Sleep Paralysis: A Pilot Study in Patients With Narcolepsy

Abstract

Sleep paralysis (SP) is a condition where a person is paralyzed upon waking or falling asleep. SP afflicts ~20% of people, and is also one of the typical symptoms in narcolepsy. During SP the sleeper may experience hallucinations. Unsurprisingly, SP is associated with great fear globally. To date, there are no published clinical trials or outcome data for treating this condition. However, few non-pharmacological interventions have been proposed, including cognitive behavioral approaches, and case studies showing clinical amelioration with auto-hypnosis and Meditation-Relaxation (MR) therapy. The latter for instance showed positive preliminary results; when applied for 8 weeks it reduced SP frequency and anxiety/worry symptoms. With this paper we aimed to evaluate, with a small-scale pilot study, the efficacy of MR therapy for SP in patients with narcolepsy. Ten patients with narcolepsy and SP were enrolled in the study. Notably, MR therapy ( n = 6), applied for 8 weeks, resulted in a dramatic decrease in the number of days SP occurred (50% reduction); and the total number of SP episodes (54% reduction) in the last month of the study (demonstrated by large within-group effect sizes); unlike the control intervention (deep breathing) ( n = 4). These findings are preliminary and exploratory given the small sample. Nonetheless, they represent the first proof of concept at providing empirically-guided insights into the possible efficacy of a novel treatment for frequently occurring SP. Although the study was conducted in patients with narcolepsy we cautiously suggest that the findings may generalize to individuals with isolated SP.

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“…The mechanisms are concerned with duloxetine's edges in depression and anxiety. Dysfunctional 5hydroxytryptamine and norepinephrine signaling will increase the concentration of neurotransmitters at the conjugation cleft, which mediates a therapeutic result 51 .…”

Breakthrough In The Treatment Of Sleep-Paralysis: Meditation-Relaxation and Cognitive Behavioral Therapy

“…The efficacy of MR therapy has been proved by a pilot study was conducted in narcolepsy patients suffering from sleep paralysis in which MR therapy was applied for 8 weeks which showed 50% decrease in the number of days SP occurred and 54% decrease in the total number of SP episodes in the last month of study and 34% decrease in disturbances caused by hallucinations associated with SP [8]. This study also compared MR therapy with deep breathing techniques [8]. These results provide a gateway to develop an efficient treatment plan for SP.…”

Insomnia as an Unmet Need in Patients With Chronic Hematological Cancer: Protocol for a Randomized Controlled Trial Evaluating a Consumer-Based Meditation App for Treatment of Sleep Disturbance

“…Several reviews and meta-analyses have demonstrated the positive effects of mindfulness-based interventions for general sleep complaints and sleep parameters associated with sleep quality (eg, total sleep time, sleep efficiency, and sleep onset latency) [ 27 - 29 ], yielding moderate effect sizes comparable with those of standard of care treatments for insomnia [ 28 ]. Individual studies have also demonstrated effects on specific sleep disorders, including insomnia [ 30 ], narcolepsy [ 31 ], restless leg syndrome [ 32 ], and sleep apnea [ 33 ]. Ong et al [ 34 ] suggested that meditation promotes balanced appraisals, cognitive flexibility, equanimity, and recommitment to values, which can, in turn, allow sleep-related arousal to subside and normal sleep patterns to re-emerge.…”