Stress as the Missing Link Between Mindfulness, Sleep Quality, and Well-being: a Cross-sectional Study

Objectives There is ample evidence that mindfulness contributes to psychological well-being. There is also evidence that mindfulness can improve sleep, and previous research has suggested that the positive effects of mindfulness on well-being may depend on its capacity to decrease sleep disturbances. However, it is possible that a third factor that is affected by mindfulness may in turn affect both sleep quality and well-being. Given the well-known protective effects of mindfulness on stress and the influence of stress on both sleep disturbance and well-being, stress represents a strong candidate for such a mediational role. Methods We collected cross-sectional data on mindfulness, stress, sleep disturbance, and well-being in a sample of adults taken from the general population, and then we applied structural equation modeling to analyze the relationships between a set of latent variables. Results Our results confirm that mindfulness is negatively related to stress and this effect fully mediates the positive relationship between mindfulness and both sleep quality and well-being. Furthermore, our results show that if the effect of stress is taken into account, sleep quality does not mediate the influence of mindfulness on well-being and in fact does not relate to well-being at all. Conclusions Our study points to the central role of stress reduction in explaining the beneficial effects of mindfulness on both behavioral and psychological variables.