Benefits of Mindfulness and Meditation for Narcolepsy
Mindfulness and meditation are life-changing practices and also affirming for the millions of people who incorporate these into their daily lives. There’s been some fascinating research into how practicing meditation can actually make positive changes to your brain’s structure.
The academic journal “Psychiatry Research: Neuroimaging” published a study about meditation. This study, completed by Massachusetts General Hospital clinicians, looked at a small number of subjects and used brain imaging equipment to look at their brains before and after an 8-week meditation class.
The results highlighted that for meditators, the areas of the brain that focus on being compassionate toward others and being self-aware got larger and the brain areas devoted to stress actually got smaller.
Experts are so sure of the positive mind-altering benefits of meditation that it’s beginning to be taught in some grade schools.
Mindfulness and Narcolepsy
Mindfulness has been widely studied as a psychological construct and clinical intervention in a vast number of patients. It has been found that “elements of mindfulness, namely awareness and non-judgemental acceptance of one’s moment-to-moment experience, are potentially effective antidotes against common forms of psychological distress” (Keng et al., 2011). The relationship between narcolepsy and psychological distress is profound, with the current literature highlighting that patients with narcolepsy are often subject to unrelenting and severe psychosocial and psychological distress (Broughton and Broughton, 1994). Hence, mindfulness is proposed as a promising approach to the alleviation of narcoleptic episodes.
Brain Wave Activity
A 2017 study by Yun et al. identified the differences between people with narcolepsy and those without concerning the delta and theta activity of seven narcolepsy patients through an electroencephalogram (EEG) spectrum analysis of nocturnal polysomnography (PSG). It was recorded that both delta and theta-related activity was disturbed during sleep, with a notable decline in non-rapid eye movement (NREM) delta activity being observed during the first three periods of NREM. Moreover, a notable increase in low-amplitude NREM theta activity was observed during the same periods (Yun et al., 2017). The enhanced number of low-amplitude theta waves correlates with decreased alertness and increased drowsiness, a characteristic presentation in patients with narcolepsy (Posada-Quintero et al., 2019).
Theta activity represents the low frequency oscillations found in the local field potential of the hippocampus, amygdala, and neocortex, giving to its importance to the reactivation and consolidation of memory traces. Hence, any disruption to this activity, as often found in narcoleptics, can significantly hinder a patient’s ability to process emotional memories (Hutchison and Rathore, 2015). Delta activity, on the other hand, occurs during the deepest stage of sleep, Stage 3. The importance of this stage is indisputable, with body repairs and tissue regrowth occurring here. Therefore, it comes as no surprise that sleep deprivation or disturbances that result in a change in theta and delta activity may drastically alter cognitive performance when awake (Posada-Quintero et al., 2019).
Benefits for narcolepsy that you may not know:
Improvement to Episodic Memory
A study by Nyhus et al., stated that “mindfulness meditation has been shown to improve episodic memory and increase theta oscillations” (Nyhus et al., 2019). As previously stated, theta oscillations are indicative of normal sleep and are often compromised in patients with narcolepsy. Therefore, the findings of this study suggest the psychological benefits of mindfulness that may offset the health issues that result from the fragmented sleep associated with narcolepsy. On the other hand, mindfulness practices have been shown to alter brain activity, specifically delta activity, through persistent training (Ng et al., 2021). Experienced practitioners are able to develop dominance in these brain activities during the practice, enhancing the outcomes yielded.
A clinical trial (NCT04306952) is currently recruiting patients with narcolepsy that aims to test the effectiveness of a mindfulness-based intervention for improving health-related quality of life as a complementary practice to standard care for narcolepsy.
Reduction in Sleep Paralysis
A small pilot study conducted by Jalal et al. investigated the efficacy of meditation-relaxation therapy for sleep paralysis in ten patients with narcolepsy. The intervention was employed for eight weeks and demonstrated a significant decrease in the number of days that sleep paralysis occurred. Fifty per cent of patients noted a decrease in the number of days that sleep paralysis occurred, with fifty-four per cent noting an overall reduction in the number of sleep paralysis episodes. Despite the small sample size, this study provides a solid foundation for additional research on the adoption of meditation-relaxation therapy in patients with narcolepsy (Jalal et al., 2020). Moreover, Lutz et al. described meditation as a form of mental training, enabling patients to familiarise themselves with one’s own mental health, in turn enhancing cognition and emotion in the long-term (Lutz et al., 2004). These variables are often compromised in patients with narcolepsy as a result of fragmented sleep and the disturbance to both theta and delta activity.
Overall Well-Being
Besides the marked improvement in the fragmented sleep patterns associated with narcolepsy, mindfulness and meditation practices have shown a significant impact on overall patient well-being (Behan, 2020). The current research emphasises that meditators have “reported significantly higher levels of mindfulness, self-compassion and overall sense of wellbeing, and significantly lower levels of psychological symptoms, rumination, thought suppression, fear of emotion, and difficulties with emotion regulation, compared to non-mediators, and changes in these variables were linearly associated with the extent of meditation practice” (Keng et al., 2011).
Meditation is one of the most powerful self-development tools available. A short meditation session each day can provide profound results. The benefits aren’t limited to your psychology. Studies have demonstrated physical benefits, too. Consider adding meditation to your daily routine for 30 days and see the results for yourself.