MINDFULNESS MAY ASSIST IN THE TREATMENT OF MIGRAINE

A recent study, published in the JAMA Internal Medicine, of mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) has found that MBSR can assist in the treatment of migraine.

Migraine is a neurological condition that can cause multiple symptoms. It is frequently characterized by intense, debilitating headaches. Symptoms may include nausea, vomiting, difficulty speaking, numbness or tingling, and sensitivity to light and sound. The condition of migraine often runs in families and can affect all ages.

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MBSR is an eight-week program that offers secular, intensive mindfulness training to assist people with stress, anxiety, depression and pain. Thereafter, participants are encouraged to practise mindfulness on a daily basis. For what it's worth, here is my definition--description might be a better word--of mindfulness:

Mindfulness is the watchful, receptive and purposeful presence of bare attention to, and choiceless awareness of, the content of the action—both internal and external—of the present moment ... from one moment to the next.

 

The outcomes of this recent study indicate that while MBSR does not appear to reduce the frequency of migraines, pain perception and other secondary outcomes including quality of life did improve.

Migraine is the second leading cause of disability around the world. Unfortunately, about two-thirds of migraine sufferers discontinue migraine medications for various reasons. In recent years there has been a growing interest in non-pharmacological approaches to the treatment of the condition.

 

‘For a condition with recurrent, lifelong unexpected attacks,’ the study authors wrote, ‘improving a patient’s pain perception and ability to function despite migraine has significant implications for overall long-term emotional and social health.’

Reference

Wells R E, O’Connell N, Pierce C R, et al. ‘Effectiveness of mindfulness meditation vs headache education for adults with migraine: A randomized clinical trial.’ JAMA Intern Med. Published online Dec 14, 2020. doi:10.1001/jamainternmed.2020.7090

CAN’T SLEEP? TRY MINDFULNESS

‘I can sleep anywhere but in bed,’ quipped the great Groucho Marx [pictured left] who suffered from insomnia most of his adult life. Indeed, despite his quip, Groucho had trouble sleeping anywhere, and not just in bed. He even wrote a book about beds entitled---yes, you guessed it, Beds. Now, had Groucho known about mindfulness he might not have been up half the night.

New research just published in JAMA Internal Medicine shows that mindfulness can help the involuntarily sleep deprived to get their much needed sleep. The study---a randomized clinical trial using real-world interventions with real people---found that the use of a standardized mindful awareness practices (‘MAP’) intervention resulted in improvements in sleep quality at immediate post-intervention which were superior to a highly structured sleep hygiene education (‘SHE’) intervention.

In the study adults 55 and older with at least moderate problems sleeping were randomly assigned to 1 of 2 groups. One group received a 6-week SHE program. The other group participated in community-based MAP taught by a certified instructor. They also received sleep hygiene instruction.

The MAP group met 2 hours per week for 6 weeks. As stated in the NIH clinical trials database, those in this group were guided through in-class meditation practices and were assigned daily meditation homework. Active program components included sitting and walking somatosensory-focused meditation, audio-guided body scan meditation, and loving kindness meditation.’ The SHE group also met twice a week for 6 weeks. They met as a group so as to provide equal support, attention, time and expectation of benefit. They were taught knowledge of sleep biology, identifying characteristics of healthy and unhealthy sleep, sleep problems, and self-monitoring of sleep behaviour.

While both groups showed improvements in sleep by the end of the study, the MAP group did significantly better in reporting reductions in sleep problems and also showed significant improvements in secondary health outcomes of insomnia symptoms, depression symptoms, fatigue interference, and fatigue severity.

The study also shows that the positive effects in sleep quality appear to carry over into reducing sleep-related daytime impairment.

Of course, as another great American comedian of yesteryear pointed out---the man was W C Fields---the best cure for insomnia is to get a lot of sleep.

Resource: Black D S, O’Reilly G A, Olmstead R, Breen E C, and Irwin M R. ‘Mindfulness Meditation and Improvement in Sleep Quality and Daytime Impairment Among Older Adults With Sleep Disturbances: A Randomized Clinical Trial.’ JAMA Intern Med. Published online February 16, 2015. doi:10.1001/jamainternmed.2014.8081.

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