Improving Sleep Continuity Through Mindfulness Training for Better Cognitive Ageing.

Poor sleep quality is a known risk factor for cognitive decline in the elderly. Hearteningly, sleep is also a prime target for behavioral modification. In this study, the investigators propose to test mindfulness-based training (MBT) as an intervention to improve sleep quality by reducing sleep fragmentation, and hypothesize that these improvements will mediate the beneficial effects of MBT on sustained and executive attention. MBT consists of a suite of techniques aimed at enhancing awareness and acceptance of one's internal (e.g., thoughts and feelings) and external experiences in the present moment. Learning these techniques has been shown to improve sleep quality in patients with primary insomnia, and in other conditions associated with sleep disturbance. There is also increasing evidence that mindfulness training enhances multiple facets of cognition, including components of attention. In this study, the investigators will recruit 120 participants in a randomized controlled design, with 60 participants receiving MBT, and 60 receiving a sleep hygiene education and exercise program (SHEEP). Each intervention will last 8 weeks. Before and after the intervention, the investigators will collect objective and subjective measures of sleep quality, resting-state and task-related functional magnetic resonance imaging scans, and performance on standard laboratory tests of attention. The investigators hypothesize that, relative to SHE, MBT will result in significantly greater improvements in sleep quality and attentional metrics. They also predict that the cognitive changes will be mediated by the changes in sleep quality. If a positive result is found, this would indicate the use of MBT as a cost-effective behavioral intervention to stabilize or even improve cognition in the elderly, thus reducing the risk of dementia in this vulnerable population.