Abstract
Background
Fatigue is a common problem in individuals with multiple sclerosis (MS).
Objective
The objective was to evaluate the effects on fatigue of having 4 weeks of
access to audio recordings of therapeutic hypnosis (HYP) and mindfulness meditation
(MM) practices.
Methods
A total of 333 individuals with MS and fatigue were randomly assigned to
one of the three treatment conditions for 28 weeks: (1) access to therapeutic HYP audio
recordings, (2) access to MM audio recordings, or (3) no access to recordings
(treatment as usual or TAU). Fatigue impact (primary outcome) and other outcomes
were assessed at 4, 16, and 28 weeks after random assignment.
Results
Participants assigned to the HYP and MM conditions reported significantly greater reductions in fatigue impact, sleep disturbance, and depressive symptom severity than participants assigned to the TAU condition after 4 weeks of access to audio recordings of these interventions. These improvements were maintained for 16 and 28 weeks following initial access and did not result in any serious adverse events.
Conclusion Given the ease with which audio recordings of HYP and MM could be provided to individuals with MS, the findings support the feasibility of a simple approach to have a significant beneficial impact on people with MS-related fatigue.
Publication Date
2025
Document Type
Article
Department, Program, or Center
Interactive Games and Media, School of
College
Golisano College of Computing and Information Sciences
Recommended Citation
Jensen, M. P., Robles, S., Nash, M. G., May, S., Ehde, D. M., Day, M. A., Gottlieb, O., Sugarman, L. I., & Alschuler, K. N. (2025). Hypnosis and mindfulness audio recordings for reducing fatigue in individuals with multiple sclerosis: A randomized controlled study. Multiple Sclerosis Journal, 31(7), 833–845. https://doi.org/10.1177/13524585251329820
Campus
RIT – Main Campus
Included in
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Comments
Copyright © 2025 The Authors