0817 Complementary and Alternative Medicine Therapies in Relation to Improved Sleep Among US Adults

Abstract Introduction Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM) therapies, such as massage and meditation, are widely used to promote wellness, including sleep improvement. Potential mechanisms include reduction of stress and physical discomfort. However, little is known about which CAM modalities support or strain sleep health. Methods With 2012 National Health Interview Survey data, we used Poisson regression with robust variance to estimate adjusted prevalence ratios (aPRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for associations between sixteen CAM therapies and short sleep duration (SSD). Participants also identified their top and up to three CAM therapies used for health and reported whether each therapy resulted in “better sleep” (‘yes’ or ‘no’). SSD was defined as 7 hours versus 7-9 hours. Results Among 9,092 adults, age ± SE was 46.3 ± 0.25 years; most were non-Hispanic White (78.4%) and women (58%). Across the top three CAM therapies overall, 41.4% to 48.8% of participants perceived sleep improvement. The most prevalent therapies with reported “better sleep” included: mind-body or movement-based modalities, such as mantra/mindfulness/spiritual meditation (12.1%-18.3% vs. 3%-8.7%, p 0.001), yoga/tai chi/qi gong (16.1%-33.9% vs. 8.6%-17.6%, p 0.001), and massage (5.2%-17.7% vs. 2.3%-9.9%, p 0.001-0.006). However, herbal supplement use was more prevalent among those who did not report “better sleep” (12.5%-42.1% vs. 4.2%-14.4%, p 0.001). SSD was more prevalent among adults using vs. not using massage (aPR1stCAM=1.20, 95% CI: 1.07-1.34), herbal supplements (aPR1stCAM=1.08, 95% CI: 1.00-1.17; aPR2ndCAM=1.28, 95% CI: 1.11-1.48; aPR3rdCAM=1.25, 95% CI: 1.04-1.50), traditional healers (aPR2ndCAM=2.17, 95% CI: 1.65-2.85), and mantra/mindfulness/spiritual meditation (aPR3rdCAM=1.25, 95% CI: 1.02-1.54). Across CAM therapies, traditional healers (1st CAM), chiropractic manipulation (2nd & 3rd CAM), hypnosis (2nd CAM), yoga/tai chi/qi gong (2nd & 3rd CAM), and massage or movement/exercise techniques (3rd CAM) were associated with lower (albeit not statistically significant) SSD prevalence. Conclusion Although mind-body and movement-based therapies were more prevalent among adults reporting “better sleep,” we found – in adjusted models – massage, herbal supplements, traditional healer, and mantra/mindfulness/spiritual meditation were associated with higher SSD prevalence. Future studies should include all sleep dimensions and assess temporal ordering of and reasons for CAM use since it may reflect individuals seeking treatment for more severe sleep difficulties. Support (if any)