SleepRESTNCT05026541
Resilience to Sleep Deprivation and Changes in Sleep Architecture in Shoonya Meditators
An observational study of Sleep and Sleep Deprivation, run by Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center at 1 site in United States.
Trial summary
This study aims to investigate the effect of a 15-minute meditation practice on sleep architecture and high-frequency Heart Rate Variability (HF-HRV), as well as cognitive performance after both a well-rested and sleep-deprived night. Read more about this study
- Who is it for?
- Ages 18 to 60 yearsHealthy volunteers can take part
- Conditions the study is for
- Sleep, Sleep Deprivation, Cognitive Change
- What is being tested?
- Nap Practitioners and Shoonya Meditation
- Type of treatment
- Lifestyle or therapy programme
- How many people
- 72 participants
- Where
- 1 siteUnited States
- Study dates
- 12 Sep 2022to 12 Apr 2026
- Phase
- Observational
- Are there results?
- None posted in the registry
Key requirements
Who can take part, as listed by the sponsor. Only the study team can confirm whether you are eligible, so take this list to your doctor.
- Ages 18 to 60 years
- All sexes
- Healthy volunteers accepted
- Adult
Study population: Healthy adults recruited from across the United States.
Who may be able to join
- Shoonya meditation program participants/individuals eligible to participate who are healthy adults of age 18 or older, and reside in the United States. Participants must be able and willing to travel to Boston.
- Nap Group: Healthy adults of age 18 or older that reside in the United States, nap regularly (at least 3 times a week), and do not meditate regularly.
Who cannot join
- History of any neurological condition (i.e. Parkinson's disease, Alzheimer's disease, Huntington's disease, brain tumors, brain surgery, or multiple sclerosis)
- History of any psychiatric disorder, within last 5 years (i.e. anxiety, psychosis, posttraumatic stress disorder, attention deficit hyperactive disorder)
- Current use of cognition enhancing medications
- Active history (within the last 5 years) of alcohol or drug abuse (> 10 drinks per week)
- History (within the last 5 years) of stroke/aneurysm
- Recent history (< 3 months) of seizures
Show all 13Show fewer
- 60 years of age or older
- History of Heart Attack and Ejection Fraction less than or equal to 30%
- Pregnancy
- Non-English speaking
- History/Diagnosis of any sleep disorder
- Consumption of 3 or more cups of coffee a day
- Previously learned shoonya meditation (for the meditator groups)
Trial locations and contacts
1 site in 1 country.
United States1 site
Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Centre
Boston, Massachusetts, 02215
About this study
This study aims to investigate the effect of a 15-minute meditation practice on sleep architecture and high-frequency Heart Rate Variability (HF-HRV), as well as cognitive performance after both a well-rested and sleep-deprived night.
Read the detailed description
Sleep is physiologically important for memory consolidation, mood and hormonal regulation, and maintaining low levels of systemic inflammation. However, a substantial proportion of people are reported to regularly sleep less than the recommended 7-9 hours a night. Meditation may be a means to mitigate the negative effects of sleep deprivation, as many types of meditations are associated with increasing high-frequency heart rate variability (HF-HRV), which is an index of parasympathetic control of the heart. Greater parasympathetic drive may be associated with physiological buffering of the detrimental effects of sleep deprivation.
The investigators want to conduct a prospective cohort study where subjects practice a 15-minute meditation (Shoonya meditation) or continue their usual routine. Subjects will be asked to complete some cognitive tests before and after a night of sleep and a night of sleep deprivation. During the night of sleep, participants will undergo polysomnography recording for sleep architecture and quality.
The intervention group and the control group, which continues their usual routine, will only undergo one visit.
- Conditions
- Sleep, Sleep Deprivation, Cognitive Change
- Being tested
- Nap Practitioners, Shoonya Meditation
- Keywords
- sleep, sleep disorder, sleep deprivation, Meditation, Shoonya meditation
- Medical subject headings
- Sleep Deprivation, Sleep Wake Disorders
What participants receive
What participants receive. In a randomised study each person is assigned to one group by chance.
Nap PractitionersBehavioural
Regular nappers will be given a 30 minute nap opportunity to nap for as long as they please.
Shoonya MeditationBehavioural
This is a 15 minute meditation, described as a process of conscious non-doing.
| Study group | Role | What they receive |
|---|---|---|
| Nap Practitioners | This is an observational arm of regular nappers. Individuals that take naps at least two times a week will be invited to undergo all of the study procedures for one weekend of data collection. Receives: Behavioral: Nap Practitioners | |
| Shoonya Meditators | This is intervention arm. Participants will learn and practice the fifteen minute shoonya meditation - described as a process of conscious non-doing- and shakti chalana kriya, which is a set of breathing exercises designed as a preparatory practice to shoonya meditation. Participants will practice shoonya meditation twice a day for two months. A weekend of data collection will happen at baseline and two months after they learn the practice. Receives: Behavioral: Shoonya Meditation | |
| Control Meditators | Control subjects will be individuals that have learned the prerequisite meditation to Shoonya meditation. This meditation is called Shambhavi Mahamudra Kriya. Control subjects will not learn Shoonya meditation while they are participating in the study. One weekend of data collection will occur at baseline. |
What is being measured
The primary outcome is the main question the study is designed to answer.
Error frequency Change: Go-No Go Task
The primary outcome is the difference in number of commission and omission errors on the Go-No Go task. The difference in scores pre- and post-sleep deprivation will be analyzed between the control and intervention group.
Measured: 2 months post learning meditation
Secondary outcomes (1)
Reaction Time Change: Go-No Go
The difference in reaction times on the Go-No Go task. The difference in scores pre- and post-sleep deprivation will compared between the control and intervention groups.
Measured: 2 months post learning meditation
Timeline
From the start of the study to its completion; the mark is today. Estimated dates are the sponsor’s plan.
- First posted30 Aug 2021
- Study start12 Sep 2022
- Primary completion12 Apr 2026
- Study completion12 Apr 2026
Resources
- Official record on ClinicalTrials.govThe registry entry this page is built from, with its full change history.
- Publications (14)Papers the sponsor has linked to this study.
- Other trials for SleepStudies of the same condition, open and under way.
- More trials run by Beth Israel Deaconess Medical CenterThe sponsor's other registered studies.
- What the trial phases meanHow a treatment moves from first tests in people to approval.
More details
For doctors and researchers: how the study is designed, who runs it, and its registry IDs.
Study design
- Study type
- Observational
- Observational model
- Other
- Time perspective
- Other
- Enrolment
- 72 participants (actual)
Sponsor and investigators
- Lead sponsor
- Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center
- Sponsor type
- University, hospital or other
- Responsible party
- Principal investigator, Balachundhar Subramaniam, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center
- Investigators
- Balachundhar Subramaniam, MD, MPH, Principal investigator, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center
IDs, dates and publications
- ClinicalTrials.gov ID
- NCT05026541
- Sponsor's protocol ID
- 2021P000544
- Acronym
- REST
- Status last verified
- May 2026
- First submitted
- 19 Jul 2021
- Last updated
- 22 May 2026
- Results posted
- No
- Data monitoring committee
- No
- FDA-regulated drug
- No
- FDA-regulated device
- No
Publications
Heyde I, Kiehn JT, Oster H. Mutual influence of sleep and circadian clocks on physiology and cognition. Free Radic Biol Med. 2018 May 1;119:8-16. doi: 10.1016/j.freeradbiomed.2017.11.003. Epub 2017 Nov 10.
PubMed 29132973Hirshkowitz M, Whiton K, Albert SM, Alessi C, Bruni O, DonCarlos L, Hazen N, Herman J, Katz ES, Kheirandish-Gozal L, Neubauer DN, O'Donnell AE, Ohayon M, Peever J, Rawding R, Sachdeva RC, Setters B, Vitiello MV, Ware JC, Adams Hillard PJ. National Sleep Foundation's sleep time duration recommendations: methodology and results summary. Sleep Health. 2015 Mar;1(1):40-43. doi: 10.1016/j.sleh.2014.12.010. Epub 2015 Jan 8.
PubMed 29073412Ben Simon E, Rossi A, Harvey AG, Walker MP. Overanxious and underslept. Nat Hum Behav. 2020 Jan;4(1):100-110. doi: 10.1038/s41562-019-0754-8. Epub 2019 Nov 4.
PubMed 31685950Krause AJ, Simon EB, Mander BA, Greer SM, Saletin JM, Goldstein-Piekarski AN, Walker MP. The sleep-deprived human brain. Nat Rev Neurosci. 2017 Jul;18(7):404-418. doi: 10.1038/nrn.2017.55. Epub 2017 May 18.
PubMed 28515433Tang YY, Holzel BK, Posner MI. The neuroscience of mindfulness meditation. Nat Rev Neurosci. 2015 Apr;16(4):213-25. doi: 10.1038/nrn3916. Epub 2015 Mar 18.
PubMed 25783612Braboszcz C, Cahn BR, Levy J, Fernandez M, Delorme A. Increased Gamma Brainwave Amplitude Compared to Control in Three Different Meditation Traditions. PLoS One. 2017 Jan 24;12(1):e0170647. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0170647. eCollection 2017.
PubMed 28118405Kaul P, Passafiume J, Sargent CR, O'Hara BF. Meditation acutely improves psychomotor vigilance, and may decrease sleep need. Behav Brain Funct. 2010 Jul 29;6:47. doi: 10.1186/1744-9081-6-47.
PubMed 20670413Maruthai N, Nagendra RP, Sasidharan A, Srikumar S, Datta K, Uchida S, Kutty BM. Senior Vipassana Meditation practitioners exhibit distinct REM sleep organization from that of novice meditators and healthy controls. Int Rev Psychiatry. 2016 Jun;28(3):279-87. doi: 10.3109/09540261.2016.1159949. Epub 2016 Apr 8.
PubMed 27055575Killgore WD. Effects of sleep deprivation on cognition. Prog Brain Res. 2010;185:105-29. doi: 10.1016/B978-0-444-53702-7.00007-5.
PubMed 21075236Thayer JF, Lane RD. Claude Bernard and the heart-brain connection: further elaboration of a model of neurovisceral integration. Neurosci Biobehav Rev. 2009 Feb;33(2):81-8. doi: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2008.08.004. Epub 2008 Aug 13.
PubMed 18771686Lischke A, Lemke D, Neubert J, Hamm AO, Lotze M. Inter-individual differences in heart rate variability are associated with inter-individual differences in mind-reading. Sci Rep. 2017 Sep 14;7(1):11557. doi: 10.1038/s41598-017-11290-1.
PubMed 28912591Kong SDX, Hoyos CM, Phillips CL, McKinnon AC, Lin P, Duffy SL, Mowszowski L, LaMonica HM, Grunstein RR, Naismith SL, Gordon CJ. Altered heart rate variability during sleep in mild cognitive impairment. Sleep. 2021 Apr 9;44(4):zsaa232. doi: 10.1093/sleep/zsaa232.
PubMed 33306103Libby DJ, Worhunsky PD, Pilver CE, Brewer JA. Meditation-induced changes in high-frequency heart rate variability predict smoking outcomes. Front Hum Neurosci. 2012 Mar 19;6:54. doi: 10.3389/fnhum.2012.00054. eCollection 2012.
PubMed 22457646Koerten HR, Watford TS, Dubow EF, O'Brien WH. Cardiovascular effects of brief mindfulness meditation among perfectionists experiencing failure. Psychophysiology. 2020 Apr;57(4):e13517. doi: 10.1111/psyp.13517. Epub 2020 Feb 4.
PubMed 32020660
Study at a glance
From the registry record, last updated by the sponsor on 22 May 2026. Recruitment status is as the sponsor reported it: confirm with the study team.
- Official title
- Resilience to Sleep Deprivation and Changes in Sleep Architecture in Shoonya Meditators
- ClinicalTrials.gov ID
- NCT05026541
- Acronym / sponsor ID
- REST / 2021P000544
- Conditions
- Sleep, Sleep Deprivation, Cognitive Change
- Keywords
- sleep, sleep disorder, sleep deprivation, Meditation, Shoonya meditation
- Study type
- Observational
- Recruitment status
- Completed
- Enrolment
- 72 participants (actual)
- Lead sponsor
- Beth Israel Deaconess Medical CenterUniversity, hospital or other
- Study start
- 12 Sep 2022 (actual)
- Primary completion
- 12 Apr 2026 (actual)
- Study completion
- 12 Apr 2026 (actual)
- First posted
- 30 Aug 2021 (actual)
- Results
- Not posted in the source record
Clinical summary
The research question as the sponsor registered it. This describes what the study plans to test, not what it found.
This study aims to investigate the effect of a 15-minute meditation practice on sleep architecture and high-frequency Heart Rate Variability (HF-HRV), as well as cognitive performance after both a well-rested and sleep-deprived night.
Detailed description
Sleep is physiologically important for memory consolidation, mood and hormonal regulation, and maintaining low levels of systemic inflammation. However, a substantial proportion of people are reported to regularly sleep less than the recommended 7-9 hours a night. Meditation may be a means to mitigate the negative effects of sleep deprivation, as many types of meditations are associated with increasing high-frequency heart rate variability (HF-HRV), which is an index of parasympathetic control of the heart. Greater parasympathetic drive may be associated with physiological buffering of the detrimental effects of sleep deprivation.
The investigators want to conduct a prospective cohort study where subjects practice a 15-minute meditation (Shoonya meditation) or continue their usual routine. Subjects will be asked to complete some cognitive tests before and after a night of sleep and a night of sleep deprivation. During the night of sleep, participants will undergo polysomnography recording for sleep architecture and quality.
The intervention group and the control group, which continues their usual routine, will only undergo one visit.
Study design
- Observational model
- Other
- Time perspective
- Other
- Number of arms
- 3
| Arm | Type | Receives |
|---|---|---|
| Nap Practitioners | – | Behavioral: Nap PractitionersThis is an observational arm of regular nappers. Individuals that take naps at least two times a week will be invited to undergo all of the study procedures for one weekend of data collection. |
| Shoonya Meditators | – | Behavioral: Shoonya MeditationThis is intervention arm. Participants will learn and practice the fifteen minute shoonya meditation - described as a process of conscious non-doing- and shakti chalana kriya, which is a set of breathing exercises designed as a preparatory practice to shoonya meditation. Participants will practice shoonya meditation twice a day for two months. A weekend of data collection will happen at baseline and two months after they learn the practice. |
| Control Meditators | – | –Control subjects will be individuals that have learned the prerequisite meditation to Shoonya meditation. This meditation is called Shambhavi Mahamudra Kriya. Control subjects will not learn Shoonya meditation while they are participating in the study. One weekend of data collection will occur at baseline. |
Who may qualify
- Ages
- 18 to 60 years
- Sex
- All
- Healthy volunteers
- Accepted
- Age groups
- Adult
- Study population
- Healthy adults recruited from across the United States.
Key inclusion criteria (2 listed)
- Shoonya meditation program participants/individuals eligible to participate who are healthy adults of age 18 or older, and reside in the United States. Participants must be able and willing to travel to Boston.
- Nap Group: Healthy adults of age 18 or older that reside in the United States, nap regularly (at least 3 times a week), and do not meditate regularly.
Key exclusion criteria (13 listed)
- History of any neurological condition (i.e. Parkinson's disease, Alzheimer's disease, Huntington's disease, brain tumors, brain surgery, or multiple sclerosis)
- History of any psychiatric disorder, within last 5 years (i.e. anxiety, psychosis, posttraumatic stress disorder, attention deficit hyperactive disorder)
- Current use of cognition enhancing medications
- Active history (within the last 5 years) of alcohol or drug abuse (> 10 drinks per week)
- History (within the last 5 years) of stroke/aneurysm
Eligibility is decided by the study team after screening; this overview does not establish that a patient qualifies. Full inclusion and exclusion criteria.
Interventions
| Intervention | Type | Arms |
|---|---|---|
| Nap PractitionersRegular nappers will be given a 30 minute nap opportunity to nap for as long as they please. | Behavioural | Nap Practitioners |
| Shoonya MeditationThis is a 15 minute meditation, described as a process of conscious non-doing. | Behavioural | Shoonya Meditators |
Primary outcome
Error frequency Change: Go-No Go Task
Time frame: 2 months post learning meditation
The primary outcome is the difference in number of commission and omission errors on the Go-No Go task. The difference in scores pre- and post-sleep deprivation will be analyzed between the control and intervention group.
1 secondary outcome
Reaction Time Change: Go-No Go
Time frame: 2 months post learning meditation
Results and safety
The study is completed, but results are not available in the source record. That does not mean the treatment did or did not work.
Research links
- Official record on ClinicalTrials.govLast updated by the sponsor 22 May 2026.
- Background: PubMed 29132973Heyde I, Kiehn JT, Oster H. Mutual influence of sleep and circadian clocks on physiology and cognition. Free Radic Biol Med. 2018 May 1;119:8-16. doi: 10.1016/j.freeradbiomed.2017.11.003. Epub 2017 Nov 10.
- Background: PubMed 29073412Hirshkowitz M, Whiton K, Albert SM, Alessi C, Bruni O, DonCarlos L, Hazen N, Herman J, Katz ES, Kheirandish-Gozal L, Neubauer DN, O'Donnell AE, Ohayon M, Peever J, Rawding R, Sachdeva RC, Setters B, Vitiello MV, Ware JC, Adams Hillard PJ. National Sleep Foundation's sleep time duration recommendations: methodology and results summary. Sleep Health. 2015 Mar;1(1):40-43. doi: 10.1016/j.sleh.2014.12.010. Epub 2015 Jan 8.
- Background: PubMed 31685950Ben Simon E, Rossi A, Harvey AG, Walker MP. Overanxious and underslept. Nat Hum Behav. 2020 Jan;4(1):100-110. doi: 10.1038/s41562-019-0754-8. Epub 2019 Nov 4.
- Background: PubMed 28515433Krause AJ, Simon EB, Mander BA, Greer SM, Saletin JM, Goldstein-Piekarski AN, Walker MP. The sleep-deprived human brain. Nat Rev Neurosci. 2017 Jul;18(7):404-418. doi: 10.1038/nrn.2017.55. Epub 2017 May 18.
- Background: PubMed 25783612Tang YY, Holzel BK, Posner MI. The neuroscience of mindfulness meditation. Nat Rev Neurosci. 2015 Apr;16(4):213-25. doi: 10.1038/nrn3916. Epub 2015 Mar 18.
- Background: PubMed 28118405Braboszcz C, Cahn BR, Levy J, Fernandez M, Delorme A. Increased Gamma Brainwave Amplitude Compared to Control in Three Different Meditation Traditions. PLoS One. 2017 Jan 24;12(1):e0170647. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0170647. eCollection 2017.
- Background: PubMed 20670413Kaul P, Passafiume J, Sargent CR, O'Hara BF. Meditation acutely improves psychomotor vigilance, and may decrease sleep need. Behav Brain Funct. 2010 Jul 29;6:47. doi: 10.1186/1744-9081-6-47.
- Background: PubMed 27055575Maruthai N, Nagendra RP, Sasidharan A, Srikumar S, Datta K, Uchida S, Kutty BM. Senior Vipassana Meditation practitioners exhibit distinct REM sleep organization from that of novice meditators and healthy controls. Int Rev Psychiatry. 2016 Jun;28(3):279-87. doi: 10.3109/09540261.2016.1159949. Epub 2016 Apr 8.
- Background: PubMed 21075236Killgore WD. Effects of sleep deprivation on cognition. Prog Brain Res. 2010;185:105-29. doi: 10.1016/B978-0-444-53702-7.00007-5.
- Background: PubMed 18771686Thayer JF, Lane RD. Claude Bernard and the heart-brain connection: further elaboration of a model of neurovisceral integration. Neurosci Biobehav Rev. 2009 Feb;33(2):81-8. doi: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2008.08.004. Epub 2008 Aug 13.
- Background: PubMed 28912591Lischke A, Lemke D, Neubert J, Hamm AO, Lotze M. Inter-individual differences in heart rate variability are associated with inter-individual differences in mind-reading. Sci Rep. 2017 Sep 14;7(1):11557. doi: 10.1038/s41598-017-11290-1.
- Background: PubMed 33306103Kong SDX, Hoyos CM, Phillips CL, McKinnon AC, Lin P, Duffy SL, Mowszowski L, LaMonica HM, Grunstein RR, Naismith SL, Gordon CJ. Altered heart rate variability during sleep in mild cognitive impairment. Sleep. 2021 Apr 9;44(4):zsaa232. doi: 10.1093/sleep/zsaa232.
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Healthy Adult Participants
Referral and contact
AzTrials does not enrol participants or take referrals. Contact the study team or a site listed below; they decide who can take part. This study is not recruiting at the moment.
Balachundhar Subramaniam, MD, MPH principal investigator
Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center
1 site in 1 country: see every site and its status.
Questions about this trial
What is this clinical trial studying?
An observational study of Sleep and Sleep Deprivation, run by Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center at 1 site in United States.
The full registered description is in the About this study section and the official record.
Who may be eligible to take part?
The sponsor lists 2 inclusion and 13 exclusion criteria. Eligibility is decided by the study team after screening, so read the full criteria and contact a listed site.
Is this clinical trial currently recruiting?
The record says: finished, as of the sponsor's last update on 22 May 2026. Status can change between updates, so confirm with the study contact before making plans.
Where is the study taking place?
The record lists 1 site in United States. Whether a site is taking part right now should be confirmed with that site. See every site.
What are the possible benefits and risks?
They depend on the study and the treatment, and no study can promise a benefit. The study team explains the known risks during informed consent, before anyone joins; the record itself does not list them.
Are results available for this study?
The study is completed, but results are not available in the source record. That does not mean the treatment did or did not work.
How can a doctor refer a patient or contact the research team?
The record lists no contact. The official record names the sponsor, who can be asked directly. AzTrials does not enrol participants or take referrals.
What does the primary outcome measure?
Error frequency Change: Go-No Go Task (time frame: 2 months post learning meditation). It is what the study was designed to measure, not a finding.
Where can I read the original study information?
On the ClinicalTrials.gov record for NCT05026541, which also lists 14 linked publications.
Does a listing mean the treatment is approved or proven to work?
No. A listing means the study is registered. It does not show that the treatment is safe, works, or is approved by a regulator.
How often is this information updated?
AzTrials copies changed records from ClinicalTrials.gov every night and reloads the whole registry every week. The sponsor last updated this record on 22 May 2026.