# A Pilot Study of the Impact of Personalized Digital Meditation on Improving Cognition and Sleep and Reducing Stress in MCI

> **NIH NIH R61** · UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, SAN FRANCISCO · 2024 · $524,875

## Abstract

Abstract
The overall goal of this project is to collect pilot data to determine if treatment with a novel form of
closed-loop digital meditation (MediTrain), which we have previously shown improves cognition and
reduces stress in older adults (OA), also leads to sleep benefits in both cognitively normal OA and in
those with mild cognitive impairment (MCI). MCI is a transitional stage between normal aging and
dementia and is associated with increased risk of progressing to Alzheimer’s disease and related
dementias (ADRD). We have demonstrated that a digital meditation intervention (MediTrain) improves
regulation of focused attention in healthy OA. Variability in attention is a preclinical marker of incipient
neuropathology and is elevated in MCI patients. In addition to exhibiting decreased stress reactivity
and a lengthening of telomeres, there were several anecdotal reports from OA that they felt their sleep
had improved. Because sleep disturbances are common in AD and significantly increase the risk of
conversion from MCI to dementia, understanding if this intervention led to improved sleep is critical.
The goal of this proposed research is to collect pilot data to evaluate the efficacy of MediTrain on
improving quantitative metrics of sleep and stress in patients with MCI at levels beyond those seen in
cognitively normal OA. To accomplish these aims, we will conduct a randomized controlled trial on 90
OA (45 cognitively normal and 45 with MCI) who will complete 6 weeks of our MediTrain intervention.
Outcome measures will consist of cognitive/attention tasks coupled with neuroimaging (EEG and MRI),
quantitative physiological indices of sleep and stress, and blood biomarkers of aging (telomere length).
Objective measures of insomnia (latency to sleep onset and wake after sleep onset) and amount of
NREM3 will be assessed using sleep profilers in participants’ homes throughout the intervention period.
This research will provide an important contribution toward understanding the utility of using meditation
as a therapeutic tool for bolstering cognitive reserve and increasing overall wellbeing in OA with MCI,
by showing transfer to real-world metrics of improved sleep quality and reduced stress.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10912009
- **Project number:** 5R61AG083503-02
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, SAN FRANCISCO
- **Principal Investigator:** Christine Mairead Walsh
- **Activity code:** R61 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2024
- **Award amount:** $524,875
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2023-09-01 → 2026-05-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10912009

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10912009, A Pilot Study of the Impact of Personalized Digital Meditation on Improving Cognition and Sleep and Reducing Stress in MCI (5R61AG083503-02). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-25 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10912009. Licensed CC0.

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