Relaxation Techniques May Reduce Insomnia by Altering Frontal Brain Activation

By Dr. Gregg D. Jacobs

A recent study published in Psychosomatic Medicine (65:564-570, 2003) by Dr. Richard Davidson and his colleagues has important implications for how relaxation response techniques exert their therapeutic effects on stress-related problems such as insomnia. As described in a previous focus article in the Insomnia Corner, stress plays a significant role in both acute and chronic insomnia.

Furthermore, many studies have established that relaxation techniques reduce insomnia and that these techniques exert their therapeutic effects, in part, by facilitating the production of slower brain wave patterns like theta EEG during relaxation practice. However, few studies have examined whether there are chronic changes in brain activity that occur as a result of relaxation training that are apparent outside of actual relaxation practice.

Davidson and his colleagues have previously shown that individuals who have greater left frontal brain activation (as measured by EEG) have greater positive affective style. That is, these individuals are more optimistic, handle stress better, and have fewer stress-related symptoms. In the present study, Davidson measured the degree of left frontal brain activation in a group of subjects, and then randomized half the subjects to a wait-list control group and the other half to a meditation/relaxation training group.

He found that meditation/relaxation practiced over eight week period produced increased left frontal brain activation (as measured outside of actual relaxation practice) compared to the control group. This suggests that relaxation techniques produce chronic alterations in brain activity (e.g., they don't just alter brain activity during the 20 or 30 minutes that people actually practice the techniques).

The fact that relaxation/meditation techniques produced increased left brain activation suggests that these techniques are effective for insomnia because they decrease stress by heightening positive affective style. Ultimately, any technique that alters the brain's response to stress is likely to improve stress-related symptoms like insomnia. Thus, people who learn and practice relaxation techniques may not only develop a greater ability to produce slower brain wave patterns during the actual practice of the techniques but may also develop an ability to produce more permanent left frontal brain activation and positive affective style.