Resilience to Sleep Deprivation and Changes in Sleep Architecture in Shoonya Meditators

NCT05026541 | Recruiting

• 1 other identifier: 2021P000544
• Study Type: observational
• Target: 75
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 1

Brief Summary

This study aims to investigate the effect of a 15-minute meditation practice on sleep architecture and high-frequency Heart Rate Variability (HF-HRV), as well as cognitive performance after both a well-rested and sleep-deprived night.

Conditions

Sleep; Sleep Deprivation; Cognitive Change

Keywords

sleep; sleep disorder; sleep deprivation; Meditation; Shoonya meditation

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (1)

• Error frequency Change: Go-No Go Task

  The primary outcome is the difference in number of commission and omission errors on the Go-No Go task. The difference in scores pre- and post-sleep deprivation will be analyzed between the control and intervention group.

  2 months post learning meditation

Secondary Outcomes (1)

• Reaction Time Change: Go-No Go

  2 months post learning meditation

Study Arms (3)

Nap Practitioners

This is an observational arm of regular nappers. Individuals that take naps at least two times a week will be invited to undergo all of the study procedures for one weekend of data collection.

Behavioral: Nap Practitioners

Shoonya Meditators

This is intervention arm. Participants will learn and practice the fifteen minute shoonya meditation - described as a process of conscious non-doing- and shakti chalana kriya, which is a set of breathing exercises designed as a preparatory practice to shoonya meditation. Participants will practice shoonya meditation twice a day for two months. A weekend of data collection will happen at baseline and two months after they learn the practice.

Behavioral: Shoonya Meditation

Control Meditators

Control subjects will be individuals that have learned the prerequisite meditation to Shoonya meditation. This meditation is called Shambhavi Mahamudra Kriya. Control subjects will not learn Shoonya meditation while they are participating in the study. One weekend of data collection will occur at baseline.

Interventions

Nap Practitioners BEHAVIORAL

Regular nappers will be given a 30 minute nap opportunity to nap for as long as they please.

Nap Practitioners

Shoonya Meditation BEHAVIORAL

This is a 15 minute meditation, described as a process of conscious non-doing.

Shoonya Meditators

Eligibility Criteria

• Age: 18 Years - 60 Years
• Sex: all
• Healthy Volunteers: Yes
• Age Groups: Adult (18-64)
• Sampling Method: Non-Probability Sample

Study Population

Healthy adults recruited from across the United States.

You may qualify if:

• Shoonya meditation program participants/individuals eligible to participate who are healthy adults of age 18 or older, and reside in the United States. Participants must be able and willing to travel to Boston.
• Nap Group: Healthy adults of age 18 or older that reside in the United States, nap regularly (at least 3 times a week), and do not meditate regularly.

You may not qualify if:

• History of any neurological condition (i.e. Parkinson's disease, Alzheimer's disease, Huntington's disease, brain tumors, brain surgery, or multiple sclerosis)
• History of any psychiatric disorder, within last 5 years (i.e. anxiety, psychosis, posttraumatic stress disorder, attention deficit hyperactive disorder)
• Current use of cognition enhancing medications
• Active history (within the last 5 years) of alcohol or drug abuse (\> 10 drinks per week)
• History (within the last 5 years) of stroke/aneurysm
• Recent history (\< 3 months) of seizures
• years of age or older
• History of Heart Attack and Ejection Fraction less than or equal to 30%
• Pregnancy
• Non-English speaking
• History/Diagnosis of any sleep disorder
• Consumption of 3 or more cups of coffee a day
• Previously learned shoonya meditation (for the meditator groups)

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center: lead

Study Sites (1)

Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Centre

Boston, Massachusetts, 02215, United States

RECRUITING

Related Publications (14)

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  PMID: 29073412 BACKGROUND

• Ben Simon E, Rossi A, Harvey AG, Walker MP. Overanxious and underslept. Nat Hum Behav. 2020 Jan;4(1):100-110. doi: 10.1038/s41562-019-0754-8. Epub 2019 Nov 4.

  PMID: 31685950 BACKGROUND

• Krause AJ, Simon EB, Mander BA, Greer SM, Saletin JM, Goldstein-Piekarski AN, Walker MP. The sleep-deprived human brain. Nat Rev Neurosci. 2017 Jul;18(7):404-418. doi: 10.1038/nrn.2017.55. Epub 2017 May 18.

  PMID: 28515433 BACKGROUND

• Tang YY, Holzel BK, Posner MI. The neuroscience of mindfulness meditation. Nat Rev Neurosci. 2015 Apr;16(4):213-25. doi: 10.1038/nrn3916. Epub 2015 Mar 18.

  PMID: 25783612 BACKGROUND

• Braboszcz C, Cahn BR, Levy J, Fernandez M, Delorme A. Increased Gamma Brainwave Amplitude Compared to Control in Three Different Meditation Traditions. PLoS One. 2017 Jan 24;12(1):e0170647. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0170647. eCollection 2017.

  PMID: 28118405 BACKGROUND

• Kaul P, Passafiume J, Sargent CR, O'Hara BF. Meditation acutely improves psychomotor vigilance, and may decrease sleep need. Behav Brain Funct. 2010 Jul 29;6:47. doi: 10.1186/1744-9081-6-47.

  PMID: 20670413 BACKGROUND

• Maruthai N, Nagendra RP, Sasidharan A, Srikumar S, Datta K, Uchida S, Kutty BM. Senior Vipassana Meditation practitioners exhibit distinct REM sleep organization from that of novice meditators and healthy controls. Int Rev Psychiatry. 2016 Jun;28(3):279-87. doi: 10.3109/09540261.2016.1159949. Epub 2016 Apr 8.

  PMID: 27055575 BACKGROUND

• Killgore WD. Effects of sleep deprivation on cognition. Prog Brain Res. 2010;185:105-29. doi: 10.1016/B978-0-444-53702-7.00007-5.

  PMID: 21075236 BACKGROUND

• Thayer JF, Lane RD. Claude Bernard and the heart-brain connection: further elaboration of a model of neurovisceral integration. Neurosci Biobehav Rev. 2009 Feb;33(2):81-8. doi: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2008.08.004. Epub 2008 Aug 13.

  PMID: 18771686 BACKGROUND

• Lischke A, Lemke D, Neubert J, Hamm AO, Lotze M. Inter-individual differences in heart rate variability are associated with inter-individual differences in mind-reading. Sci Rep. 2017 Sep 14;7(1):11557. doi: 10.1038/s41598-017-11290-1.

  PMID: 28912591 BACKGROUND

• Kong SDX, Hoyos CM, Phillips CL, McKinnon AC, Lin P, Duffy SL, Mowszowski L, LaMonica HM, Grunstein RR, Naismith SL, Gordon CJ. Altered heart rate variability during sleep in mild cognitive impairment. Sleep. 2021 Apr 9;44(4):zsaa232. doi: 10.1093/sleep/zsaa232.

  PMID: 33306103 BACKGROUND

• Libby DJ, Worhunsky PD, Pilver CE, Brewer JA. Meditation-induced changes in high-frequency heart rate variability predict smoking outcomes. Front Hum Neurosci. 2012 Mar 19;6:54. doi: 10.3389/fnhum.2012.00054. eCollection 2012.

  PMID: 22457646 BACKGROUND

• Koerten HR, Watford TS, Dubow EF, O'Brien WH. Cardiovascular effects of brief mindfulness meditation among perfectionists experiencing failure. Psychophysiology. 2020 Apr;57(4):e13517. doi: 10.1111/psyp.13517. Epub 2020 Feb 4.

  PMID: 32020660 BACKGROUND

MeSH Terms

Conditions

Sleep Deprivation; Sleep Wake Disorders

Condition Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Dyssomnias; Nervous System Diseases; Neurologic Manifestations; Signs and Symptoms; Pathological Conditions, Signs and Symptoms; Mental Disorders

Study Officials

• Balachundhar Subramaniam, MD, MPH

  Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center

  PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

Central Study Contacts

Balachundhar Subramaniam, MD, MPH

CONTACT

617-667-2721; sadhgurucenter_research@bidmc.harvard.edu

Sepideh Hariri, PhD

CONTACT

617-667-2721; sadhgurucenter_research@bidmc.harvard.edu

Study Design

• Study Type: observational
• Observational Model: OTHER
• Time Perspective: OTHER
• Sponsor Type: OTHER
• Responsible Party: PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
• PI Title: Principal Investigator

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: July 19, 2021
• First Posted: August 30, 2021
• Study Start: September 12, 2022
• Primary Completion (Estimated): May 31, 2026
• Study Completion (Estimated): December 31, 2026
• Last Updated: April 22, 2026

Record last verified: 2026-04

Locations

US (1)