摘要
BACKGROUND Mindfulness meditation is beneficial to mitigate the negative effects of the coronavirus disease 2019(COVID-19)pandemic in the general population,but no study examined such meditation in the COVID-19 patients themselves.AIM To explore the short-term efficacy of mindfulness meditation in alleviating psychological distress and sleep disorders in patients with COVID-19.METHODS This prospective study enrolled patients with mild COVID-19 treated at Wuhan Fangcang Hospital in February 2020.The patients were voluntarily divided into either a mindfulness or a conventional intervention group.The patients were evaluated before/after the intervention using the Short Inventory of Mindfulness Capability(SMI-C),Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale(HADS),and Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index(PSQI).RESULTS Seventy-five participants were enrolled in this study,with 43 and 32 in the mindfulness and conventional groups,respectively.Before the intervention,there were no differences in SMI-C,HADS,or PSQI scores between the two groups.After the 2-wk intervention,the mindfulness level(from 30.16±5.58 to 35.23±5.95,P<0.001)and sleep quality(from 12.85±3.06 to 9.44±3.86,P<0.001)were significantly increased in the mindfulness group.There were no differences in the conventional group.After the intervention,the mindfulness level(35.23±5.95 vs 31.17±6.50,P=0.006)and sleep quality(9.44±3.86 vs 11.87±4.06,P=0.011)were significantly higher in the mindfulness group than in the conventional group.Depression decreased in the mindfulness group(from 14.15±3.21 to 12.50±4.01,P=0.038),but there was no difference between the two groups.CONCLUSION Short-term mindfulness meditation can increase the mindfulness level,improve the sleep quality,and decrease the depression of patients with COVID-19.
