The effects of Mindfulness-Based Body Scan Technique on sleep quality of a patient with multiple sclerosis, as reported with contemporary objective and subjective assessment tools. A single-case study (Preprint)

Abstract

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a complex, chronic, inflammatory and neurodegenerative disease of the Central Nervous System (CNS). The poor quality of sleep associated to the poor Quality of Life (QoL) of these patients, is a prevalent symptom (67%) and does not appear to have linear correlation with other symptoms of MS such as anxiety, depressive symptomatology, decreased energy expenditure or pain. To treat MS symptoms that could affect sleep quality, in addition to treating symptoms such as nocturia or spasticity, natural means such as reducing stress through massage, stretching and psychotherapy have been proposed, along with making time for themselves, mindfulness techniques such mindfulness-based stress reduction and nutritional supplements.

To assess the effects of the Mindfulness-Based Body-Scan Technique (MBBST) in patients with MS regarding sleep and QoL, by using objective (Electronic Portable Device, EPD) and subjective (questionnaires) measures.

In this regard, we conducted a single-case study at an introductory level, in which a 31-year-old woman diagnosed with Relapsing-Remitting MS (RRMS) performed the technique daily before bedtime and compared the findings with a baseline time period

It was shown that the application of the MBBST intervention had beneficial impact in both the quality of sleep and life, as the biometric data showed a dissociation between daily stress levels to sleep quality during the intervention timeframe. The self-report questionnaire results showed spectacular, although biased improvement.

Whilst the research pertains to a single patient the promising findings could be the steppingstone for larger scale testing of our proposal.