Volunteers Needed for MS, Sleep Study

DERBY - The Yale-Griffin Prevention Research Center and Multiple Sclerosis Treatment Center, both located at Griffin Hospital, 130 Division St., Derby, are seeking volunteers for a study on Multiple Sclerosis (MS) and insomnia.

 

This study will compare mindfulness meditation to sleep hygiene counseling in treating insomnia and improving quality of life in individuals with MS.

 

“Many people with MS suffer from chronic insomnia, and some of the medications used to treat insomnia can have adverse effects,” said Joseph B. Guarnaccia, MD, Multiple Sclerosis Treatment Center director. “Therefore, it is desirable to find alternative treatments for insomnia. The potential role of mindfulness – which is focusing full attention on the present moment without judgment - in affecting sleep has not yet been studied in people with MS.”

 

To participate, volunteers must be adults with a diagnosis of MS who suffer from chronic insomnia. They must be willing to come to Griffin Hospital for three assessments throughout the study, and to attend a weekly, two-hour training session for eight weeks and one eight-hour weekend session, and wear a Fitbit activity monitor (provided to volunteers) for several weeks to record their sleep data.

 

Volunteers will be randomly assigned to training on either mindfulness or sleep hygiene, which will be offered at either Griffin Hospital or the Yale Stress Center.  They will receive $200 for their role in the training and assessment, which will be provided free of charge. This study is funded by a grant from the State of Connecticut’s Biomedical Research Trust Fund. 

 

For information, call 203-732-1265, extension 220 for Sue, or extension 300 for Rockiy.

 

About The Yale-Griffin Prevention Research Center

The Yale-Griffin Prevention Research Center (PRC) is committed to research pertaining to the primary, secondary, & tertiary prevention of chronic disease that is responsive to the priorities of the Lower Naugatuck Valley residents, the residents of Connecticut’s major cities, and other communities throughout the state. The center is dedicated to participatory research methods, to a robust research agenda inclusive of developmental/determinant, intervention, and translational research; to community involvement in public health; to the eradication of disparities in health and health care in the communities served; and to the dissemination of effective interventions in support of the national objectives of Healthy People

 

(This is a press release from Griffin Hospital)