The effect of mindfulness training on stress and sleep quality of postmenopausal women: A systematic review and meta-analysis

• Published in: Post Reproductive Health 2022-12, Vol.28 (4), p.223-236
• Main Authors: Shabani, Fatemeh, Montazeri, Maryam, Abdolalipour, Somayeh, Mirghafourvand, Mojgan
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Menopause; Meta-analysis; Mindfulness; Older people; Sleep; Systematic review; Womens health
• ISSN: 2053-3691; 2053-3705
• DOI: 10.1177/20533691221140191

Introduction Mindfulness is an effective method for empowering women to cope with menopausal changes. This study aimed to determine the effect of mindfulness training on stress and sleep quality in postmenopausal women. Materials and Methods English (PubMed, Cochrane Library, Google Scholar, Scopus, Web of Science, and CINHAL) and Persian (SID, Magiran) databases were searched until 25 June 2022, using the free and MeSH keywords included Mindfulness and Menopause. The quality of the published papers was evaluated using Cochrane Handbook for Systematic Reviews of Interventions version 5.2.0. The meta-analysis was conducted in RevMan 5.3 and the results were reported with mean difference (95% confidence interval). The quality of evidence was assessed using the GRADE approach. Results A total of 1206 records were obtained. After removing duplicate and non-eligible records, finally five articles were included in the systematic review and meta-analysis. The results indicated that sleep quality score (SMD = −1.44; 95% CI = −2.44 to −0.46; p = 0.004) and perceived stress score (MD = −4.21; 95% CI = −6.41 to −2.00; p = 0.0002) were significantly reduced in the mindfulness training group compared to control group. Conclusion Mindfulness training is associated with improving sleep quality and perceived stress (with a low quality of evidence) in postmenopausal women. Mental health and quality of life in postmenopausal women impressively affect the community health. Given the low quality of evidence of the studies in this field, randomized controlled trials with better methodologies are suggested.