SynthesisFrontiers in public health2026
Effects of mindfulness-based interventions on sleep quality in university students: a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.
Synthesis in Frontiers in public health, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
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Who cites it
0 citing papers in PubMed.
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Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
5 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Background: Sleep problems are common among university students due to academic stress, lifestyle factors, and psychological distress and may adversely affect physical and mental health, academic performance, and social functioning. Mindfulness-based interventions (MBIs) have increasingly been used as a non-pharmacological approach to improve sleep health; however, previous findings remain inconsistent, and evidence specifically addressing sleep quality in university students remains limited. This study aimed to systematically evaluate the effects of MBIs on sleep quality in university students and explore factors that may account for variations in intervention effects. Methods: We searched seven databases-PubMed, Web of Science, EBSCO, the Cochrane Library, Scopus, Embase, and ScienceDirect-from inception to June 26, 2026. Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) evaluating MBIs for sleep quality in university students were included. Two reviewers independently conducted study selection, data extraction, and risk-of-bias assessment using the RoB 2 tool. Meta-analysis was conducted in Stata 17.0 using a random-effects model. Subgroup analyses, sensitivity analyses, publication bias assessment, and GRADE assessment were also performed. Results: Ten RCTs involving 638 university students were included, with 335 participants in the intervention groups and 303 in the control groups. MBIs significantly improved sleep quality [SMD = -0.97, 95% CI (-1.43, -0.51), Conclusion: MBIs may improve sleep quality in university students. However, given the substantial heterogeneity and low certainty of evidence, further high-quality RCTs are needed to confirm these findings. Systematic review registration: CRD420261458068, https://www.crd.york.ac.uk/PROSPERO/view/CRD420261458068.
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