The contribution of mindfulness practice to a multicomponent behavioral sleep intervention following substance abuse treatment in adolescents: a treatment-development study.

Abstract: Poor sleep is common in substance use disorders (SUDs) and is a risk factor for relapse. Within the
context of a multicomponent, mindfulness-based sleep intervention that included mindfulness meditation (MM) for
adolescent outpatients with SUDs (n = 55), this analysis assessed the contributions of MM practice intensity to gains in
sleep quality and self-efficacy related to SUDs. Eighteen adolescents completed a 6-session study intervention and
questionnaires on psychological distress, sleep quality, mindfulness practice, and substance use at baseline, 8, 20, and
60 weeks postentry. Program participation was associated with improvements in sleep and emotional distress, and re-
duced substance use. MM practice frequency correlated with increased sleep duration and improvement in self-
efficacy about substance use. Increased sleep duration was associated with improvements in psychological distress,
relapse resistance, and substance use-related problems. These findings suggest that sleep is an important therapeutic
target in substance abusing adolescents and that MM may be a useful component to promote improved sleep.