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Meditation can produce beneficial effects to prevent cardiovascular disease
Abstract
Coronary heart disease is the major cause of global cardiovascular mortality and morbidity. Lifestyle behaviour contributes as a risk factor: unhealthy diet, sedentary lifestyle, tobacco, alcohol, hypertension, diabetes, dyslipidemia and psychosocial stress. Atherosclerosis pathologic mechanisms involving oxidative stress, dyslipidemia, inflammation and senescence are associated with arterial wall damage and plaque formation. Stress reduction was observed in several types of meditation. After meditation, hormonal orchestration modulates effects in the central nervous system and in the body. All types of meditation are associated with blood pressure control, enhancement in insulin resistance, reduction of lipid peroxidation and cellular senescence, independent of type of meditation. This review presents scientific evidence to explain how meditation can produce beneficial effects on the cardiovascular system, and particularly regarding vascular aspects.
... The progressive increase in the older adult population associated with the significant challenges of contemporary society has led to an increasing search and interest in meditative practices as an alternative to improve general well-being. These practices enable to manage physical and psychological stress and provide the subjects with a better quality of life and favor active, successful aging 1,2 . ...
... The vast majority of studies focus on cardiovascular risk factors, sleep disorders, depression, pain control, mental health and dementia [2][3][4][5] . Some of the benefits of this practice are reduced systolic and diastolic blood pressure, increased survival 3 , significant gains in depression levels and positive changes in cognitive, emotional, physical and behavioral dimensions 1 . ...
Aims: To evaluate factors associated with the practice of transcendental meditation (TM) in the elderly. Methods: Cross-sectional study, with the inclusion of 113 older adults and women, 60 of them practitioners and 53 non-MT practitioners. A semi-structured questionnaire was used as an instrument, composed of sociodemographic, health and TM practice data. Data analysis was performed using the chi-square test and binary logistic regression. Results: The average age of practitioners was lower than that of non-practitioners (63.7 ± 4.0 vs. 69.1 ± 6.6 years). Most of the sample had completed higher education (f = 45; 75%; p = 0.001) and received more than three minimum wages (f = 40; 67.8%; p = 0.001). In the group of TM practitioners there was a greater proportion of individuals with excellent / good self-perceived health (91.7% vs 77.4%; p = 0.034), and less hospitalization in the last semester (5% vs 24.5 %; p = 0.003). Older adults who denied hospitalization or the presence of diabetes mellitus (DM) presented, respectively, 5.7 (95% CI OR 1.1 - 28.9) and 4.9 (95% CI OR 1.3 - 19.2) times chance to practice MT. The practice of TM is 80% more likely to be practiced by older adults with better self-perceived health (OR 0.17; 95% CI 0.03 - 0.96). Conclusion: The practice of a holistic activity such as TM is associated with better self-perceived health than older adults of the same age, and less chance of hospitalization in the last semester and the presence of DM.
... Hypertension is considered to be a major cardiovascular risk factor worldwide, with some 35% of the adult population estimated to be affected [1]. It has also been estimated that, of the European population aged over 50 years, 45.7% have had at least one psychiatric episode in their life, 17.4% currently have a mental disorder, and anxiety prevalence is 29.4% [2]. Recent data for Spain report anxiety prevalence of 14.3% [3]. ...
... The benefits of mindfulness have not only been demonstrated for BP, but also for other conditions associated with vascular risk, such as glycaemia control in diabetes mellitus [6], cardiovascular risk reduction, improvements in memory and even as adjuvant therapy for pain control in cancer patients [2]. ...
The objective of this randomized controlled trial is to evaluate the benefits of mindfulness meditation in controlling ambulatory blood pressure (BP) and the impact of the intervention on anxiety, stress and depression levels in a Mediterranean population. Twenty-four and 18 patients [n = 42; mean age 56.5 (7.7) years; similar men and women proportions] with high-normal BP or grade I hypertension were enrolled to an intervention and a control group, respectively. For 2 h/week over 8 weeks, the intervention group received mindfulness training and the control group attended health education talks. The patients attended pre-intervention, week 4, week 8 and week 20 follow-up visits. 61.9% of the patients had anxiety, 21.4% depression, 19.0% were smokers and 14.2% were diabetic (no significant differences between the 2 groups). At baseline, the intervention group had non-significant higher clinically measured BP values, whereas both groups had similar ambulatory BP monitoring (ABPM) values. At week 8, the intervention group had statistically significant lower ABPM scores than the control group (124/77 mmHg vs 126/80 mmHg (p < 0.05) and 108/65 mmHg vs 114/69 mmHg (p < 0.05) for 24-h and night-time systolic BP (SBP), respectively) and also had lower clinically measured SBP values (130 mmHg vs 133 mmHg; p = 0.02). At week 20 (follow-up), means were lower in the intervention group (although not statistically significant). Improvements were observed in the intervention group in terms of being less judgemental, more accepting and less depressed. In conclusion, by week 8 the mindfulness group had lower clinically measured SBP, 24-h SBP, at-rest SBP and diastolic BP values.
... Recent research revealed a reduced negative correlation between age and brain gray matter in long-term meditation practitioners compared to age-matched controls . We interpreted these findings as possibly indicating that meditators' brains are less affected by aging processes Importantly, this is not an isolated observation and, over the past decade, scientific evidence suggesting that meditation may help us to hold on longer to young(er) brains, bodies, and minds has been accumulating (Epel et al., 2009;Gard et al., 2014;Koike and Cardoso, 2014;Luders, 2014;Marciniak et al., 2014;. Thus, in light of a steadily increasing life expectancy, meditation could be an effective means to better maintain brain tissue, preserve cognitive, and emotional reserves, and to diminish the risk of dementia and other age-related neurodegenerative diseases. ...
... Several studies suggest that meditation fosters adaptive emotion regulation and emotional well-being (Moynihan et al., 2013;Grecucci et al., 2015;Zeng et al., 2015), while also reducing stress and cortisol levels (Chiesa and Serretti, 2009;Koike and Cardoso, 2014;Ray et al., 2014;Sharma and Rush, 2014;Turan et al., 2015). Such effects were not only observed crosssectionally when comparing meditators with non-meditators but also longitudinally in randomized controlled trials exploring the effects of meditation. ...
Over the last decade, an increasing number of studies has reported a positive impact of meditation on cerebral aging. However, the underlying mechanisms for these seemingly brain-protecting effects are not well-understood. This may be due to the fact, at least partly, that systematic empirical meditation research has emerged only recently as a field of scientific scrutiny. Thus, on the one hand, critical questions remain largely unanswered; and on the other hand, outcomes of existing research require better integration to build a more comprehensive and holistic picture. In this article, we first review theories and mechanisms pertaining to normal (brain) aging, specifically focusing on telomeres, inflammation, stress regulation, and macroscopic brain anatomy. Then, we summarize existing research integrating the developing evidence suggesting that meditation exerts positive effects on (brain) aging, while carefully discussing possible mechanisms through which these effects may be mediated.
... Recently, meditation has become popular (Edenfield & Saeed, 2012;Sharma, 2015). With the practice of meditation can prevent various problems or diseases (Khalsa, 2015;Koike & Cardoso, 2014;Manchanda & Madan, 2014). Because with this meditation humans will be able to achieve extraordinary levels of mind control and concentration. ...
The purpose of this research is to find out how to prepare, the form of implementation in Theravada Buddhist meditation, and the most important thing about this research is to find out the psychological condition of Theravada Buddhists who have practiced meditation regularly and correctly. This study uses a qualitative descriptive method, namely research that is directed to conditions and facts that occur in a systematic and accurate manner regarding research and analyzes the truth of these facts based on the data obtained. Data collection techniques in this study used observation techniques, interviews, and a literature study. The discussion is through analysis of the results of observations and interviews. Based on the analysis of the literature and interviews with several sources, Buddhism is teaching contains a lot of ways of life, especially about morality. Meditation, which is one of the teachings of Buddhism, is a path to the final attainment of releasing suffering, and meditation has many benefits for the lives of Buddhists themselves because meditation provides inner peace for those who do it. This meditation requires preparation, such as carrying out moral discipline and also self-control, so that in carrying out this meditation, a person will be able to concentrate. And in the form of practice, this meditation is done by sitting, lying down, standing, and walking. Meditation for Theravada Buddhists is something that must be done in order to attain Nibbana. Followers who regularly meditate will make themselves calm, able to face problems with a cool mind, and most importantly, meditation can also make a person calm by cleaning dirty thoughts from within, where dirty thoughts tend to be negative, and being able to place a position on the present life, not stuck in the past and not expecting a future that has not yet happened. Apart from that, meditation is not only a religious activity, but meditation is also a tool for healing various diseases, which many non-Buddhists can use because they have faith in using this meditation and using the chosen object. This way, our mind will be focused, and mind will not go wild, giving us peace of mind.
... In addition to physical exercise and a balanced diet, behavioral tools such as cultivating positive thoughts and feelings of gratitude, practicing different forms of meditation, Yoga, Tai Chi or other practices similar can also calm the mind and reduce stress. [8][9][10] DOI: https://doi.org/10.36660/abc.20220443 ...
... Meditation is an ancient technique which promotes a sense of calm and heightened awareness and improves general physical well-being [1,2,3]. Most notably in Asian cultures, meditation is traditionally associated with achieving spiritual enhancement and higher mental states, while techniques incorporating these teachings have now become widely popular for building resilience to stressors of everyday life and illness [4]. ...
Background: Meditation based practices have been suggested to result in many biological benefits which include reduction of attrition of telomeres, the protective nucleotide-protein complexes at termini of eukaryotic chromosomes. This systematic review evaluated the effects of meditation on telomere length (TL) in healthy adults.
Methods: Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) and Case-control studies (CCS) conducted to determine the effects of meditation on TL in healthy individuals, published up to July 2020 were retrieved by searching seven electronic databases (PubMed, Scopus, PsycINFO, Embase, Cochrane Library, CINAHL and Google Scholar). The methodological quality of RCTs and CCS was assessed using the Cochrane Collaboration Risk of Bias Tool and Joanna Briggs Institute critical appraisal checklist respectively. The data was synthesized narratively and the effect estimates of telomere length in the RCTs was synthesized using alternative methods as a meta-analysis was not conducted. The certainty of evidence was classified according to the GRADE system.
Results: A total of 1751 articles were screened. Five studies comprising two RCTs and three CCS were included in the final review based on the inclusion and exclusion criteria. The combined sample consisted of 615 participants with 41.7% males. Average age of participants was 47.7 years. One CCS and one RCT reported significant beneficial effects of meditation on TL while the two remaining CCS and the RCT showed positive effects of meditation on TL which were not significant. For all CCS and one RCT, the methodological quality was high while the remaining RCT was of moderate quality. The quality of evidence for the primary outcome was moderate in RCTs.
Conclusion: The present review adds to the existing evidence showing that meditation is potentially beneficial in reducing shortening of TL in healthy adults. However, strictly designed and well-reported RCTs with larger sample sizes are required to provide evidence of higher quality.
Systematic Review Registration: The protocol of this review was registered with the International Prospective Register of Systematic Reviews (PROSPERO) database (registration number: CRD42020153977)
... Therefore, early in the morning or the evening may be better in this regard. The entire practice takes 15 to 20 minutes [11]. A review of the conducted studies suggested the positive effects of meditation on certain medical conditions such as cardiovascular disease [12], chronic pain [13], and cancer [14]. ...
... In patients with mental health issues, meditation has shown to be affective at decreasing levels of depression, anxiety, pain, psychological stress, and substance abuse [2,6]. Other benefits reported include decreased blood pressure and inflammation, improved immune function and glucose and insulin resistance, and increased telomerase activity [7][8][9]. Less information is available on the effects of meditation practices that are both shorter in overall duration and shorter in terms of individual meditation sessions, though the data thus far suggests that shorter practices may offer some of the same cognitive and functional benefits as longer, intense meditation practices [10,11]. Here we explore a range of cognitive and physiological changes associated with brief, daily mediation practice as well as the time course of these effects. ...
Meditation is an ancient practice that cultivates a calm yet focused mind; however, little is known about how short, practical meditation practices affect cognitive functioning in meditation-naïve populations. To address this question, we randomized subjects (ages of 18 to 45) who were non-experienced meditators into either a 13-minute daily guided meditation session or a 13-minute daily podcast listening session (control group) for a total duration of 8 weeks. We examined the effects of the daily meditation practice relative to podcast listening on mood, prefrontal and hippocampal functioning, baseline cortisol levels, and emotional regulation using the Trier Social Stress Test (TSST). Compared to our control group, we found that 8 but not 4 weeks of brief, daily meditation decreased negative mood state and enhanced attention, working memory, and recognition memory as well as decreased state anxiety scores on the TSST. Furthermore, we report that meditation-induced changes in emotional regulation are more strongly linked to improved affective state than improved cognition. This study not only suggests a lower limit for the duration of brief daily meditation needed to see significant benefits in non-experienced meditators, but suggests that even relatively short daily meditation practice can have similar behavioral effects as longer duration and higher-intensity mediation practices.
... The circadian double amplitude of HR was found to be higher among Hindus who prayed (11.7 beats/min) as compared to Hindus who did not pray (8.1 beats/min) (Student t = 2.137, P = 0.035). Effect of pranayama breathing patterns on naso-bronchial diseases such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and bronchial asthma revealed that nasal lavage with warm saline water and rhythmic expiratory exhalation, followed by inhalation can modulate the clinical manifestations of these respiratory diseases [46]. ...
Modern approaches: moderate physical activity, a functional food-rich diet, reduction of body weight, control of blood pressure and blood lipids by drug therapy, cessation of tobacco and alcohol use, for health promotion and prevention of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) have only partial benefit on future risk of these diseases, despite the high health budget in high-income countries. Holistic approaches to health education and holistic health may provide better health and may be more successful in the prevention of cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) and other chronic diseases. There is evidence that psychosocial stress, late night sleep and late night eating, as well as sleep deprivation, deficiency of nutrients such as omega-3 fatty acids, vitamins and flavonoids can have adverse effects on brain-body mechanisms, resulting in obesity and insulin resistance, leading to CVDs and other chronic diseases. However, active prayer, kirtan krea, verbalization, yogasan and meditation, along with Mediterranean style-functional food-rich diet as well as nutraceuticals and herbs may be protective against NCDs.
... 88 In addition, meditation reduces other VRF, 89 e.g. by improving blood pressure control, decreasing insulin resistance and reducing lipid peroxidation. 90 Intermittent hypoxic training (IHT) improves cerebrovascular function and reduces VRF Characteristics of therapeutic IHT versus adverse hypoxia paradigms ...
Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a leading cause of death and disability among older adults. Modifiable vascular risk factors for AD (VRF) include obesity, hypertension, type 2 diabetes mellitus, sleep apnea, and metabolic syndrome. Here, interactions between cerebrovascular function and development of AD are reviewed, as are interventions to improve cerebral blood flow and reduce VRF. Atherosclerosis and small vessel cerebral disease impair metabolic regulation of cerebral blood flow and, along with microvascular rarefaction and altered trans-capillary exchange, create conditions favoring AD development. Although currently there are no definitive therapies for treatment or prevention of AD, reduction of VRFs lowers the risk for cognitive decline. There is increasing evidence that brief repeated exposures to moderate hypoxia, i.e. intermittent hypoxic training (IHT), improve cerebral vascular function and reduce VRFs including systemic hypertension, cardiac arrhythmias, and mental stress. In experimental AD, IHT nearly prevented endothelial dysfunction of both cerebral and extra-cerebral blood vessels, rarefaction of the brain vascular network, and the loss of neurons in the brain cortex. Associated with these vasoprotective effects, IHT improved memory and lessened AD pathology. IHT increases endothelial production of nitric oxide (NO), thereby increasing regional cerebral blood flow and augmenting the vaso- and neuroprotective effects of endothelial NO. On the other hand, in AD excessive production of NO in microglia, astrocytes, and cortical neurons generates neurotoxic peroxynitrite. IHT enhances storage of excessive NO in the form of S-nitrosothiols and dinitrosyl iron complexes. Oxidative stress plays a pivotal role in the pathogenesis of AD, and IHT reduces oxidative stress in a number of experimental pathologies. Beneficial effects of IHT in experimental neuropathologies other than AD, including dyscirculatory encephalopathy, ischemic stroke injury, audiogenic epilepsy, spinal cord injury, and alcohol withdrawal stress have also been reported. Further research on the potential benefits of IHT in AD and other brain pathologies is warranted.
... In this view, integrative medicine has emerged as a new therapeutic model that is patient centered and healing oriented [169]. Such patient care emphasizes the therapeutic relationship and uses therapeutic approaches originating from both conventional medicine and alternative medicine, such as meditation [170][171][172], music listening [173,174], alimentation [175,176], or physical exercises [177,178]. All these lifestyle and behavioral aspects, counteracting the stress response, have a positive effect on our health and on our cardiovascular system [179]. ...
Beyond its hemodynamic function, the heart also acts as a neuroendocrine and immunoregulatory organ. A dynamic communication between the heart and other organs takes place constantly to maintain cardiovascular homeostasis. The current understanding highlights the importance of the endocrine, immune, and nervous factors to fine-tune the crosstalk of the cardiovascular system with the entire body. Once disrupted, this complex interorgan communication may promote the onset and the progression of cardiovascular diseases. Thus, expanding our knowledge on how these factors influence the cardiovascular system can lead to novel therapeutic strategies to improve patient care. In the present paper, we review novel concepts on the role of endocrine, immune, and nervous factors in the modulation of microvascular coronary function.
Objective—Increased peripheral vasoconstriction (ie, total peripheral resistance, or TPR) has been implicated as playing an important role in the early development of essential hypertension. Some studies have demonstrated that Transcendental Meditation (TM) reduces high blood pressure, but the hemodynamic adjustments behind these blood pressure reductions have not been elucidated. The aim of this study was to provide a preliminary investigation of the acute effects of TM on TPR. Methods—Subjects were 32 healthy adults (16 women and 16 men; 30 white and two African American; mean age, 46.4 ± 3.9 years). Subjects were divided into a TM group of long-term TM practitioners (eight white women, nine white men, and one African American man; mean years of twice-daily TM practice, 22.4 ± 6.7) and a control group (eight white women, five white men, and one African American man). Hemodynamic functioning was assessed immediately before and during three conditions: 20 minutes of rest with eyes open (all subjects), 20 minutes of TM (TM group), and 20 minutes of eyes-closed relaxation (control group). Results—During eyes-open rest, the TM group had decreases in systolic blood pressure (SBP) and TPR, compared with increases in the control group (SBP: −2.5 vs. +2.4 mm Hg, p < .01; TPR: −0.7 vs. +0.5 mm Hg/liter per minute, p < .004). During TM, there was a greater decrease in SBP due to a concomitantly greater decrease in TPR compared with the control group during eyes-closed relaxation (SBP: −3.0 vs. +2.1 mm Hg, p < .04; TPR: −1.0 vs. +0.3 mm Hg/liter per minute, p < .03). Conclusions—TPR decreased significantly during TM. Decreases in vasoconstrictive tone during TM may be the hemodynamic mechanism responsible for reduction of high blood pressure over time. The results of this study provide a preliminary contribution to the understanding of the underlying hemodynamic mechanisms responsible for the beneficial influence of TM on cardiovascular risk factors.
The main conceptual knot in meditation is the lack of an operational definition.
Usually, papers about meditation present inexact and badly defined concepts. Such anti-
scientific attitude is the first topic that would have to be better discussed within this subject.
After all, only with appropriate definitions we could create trustworthy and reproducible
research protocols. In our published protocols meditation involves, basically, five
parameters...
The relaxation response (RR) is the counterpart of the stress response. Millennia-old practices evoking the RR include meditation, yoga and repetitive prayer. Although RR elicitation is an effective therapeutic intervention that counteracts the adverse clinical effects of stress in disorders including hypertension, anxiety, insomnia and aging, the underlying molecular mechanisms that explain these clinical benefits remain undetermined. To assess rapid time-dependent (temporal) genomic changes during one session of RR practice among healthy practitioners with years of RR practice and also in novices before and after 8 weeks of RR training, we measured the transcriptome in peripheral blood prior to, immediately after, and 15 minutes after listening to an RR-eliciting or a health education CD. Both short-term and long-term practitioners evoked significant temporal gene expression changes with greater significance in the latter as compared to novices. RR practice enhanced expression of genes associated with energy metabolism, mitochondrial function, insulin secretion and telomere maintenance, and reduced expression of genes linked to inflammatory response and stress-related pathways. Interactive network analyses of RR-affected pathways identified mitochondrial ATP synthase and insulin (INS) as top upregulated critical molecules (focus hubs) and NF-κB pathway genes as top downregulated focus hubs. Our results for the first time indicate that RR elicitation, particularly after long-term practice, may evoke its downstream health benefits by improving mitochondrial energy production and utilization and thus promoting mitochondrial resiliency through upregulation of ATPase and insulin function. Mitochondrial resiliency might also be promoted by RR-induced downregulation of NF-κB-associated upstream and downstream targets that mitigates stress.
Psychological stress is suggested to accelerate the rate of biological aging. We investigated whether work-related exhaustion, an indicator of prolonged work stress, is associated with accelerated biological aging, as indicated by shorter leukocyte telomeres, that is, the DNA-protein complexes that cap chromosomal ends in cells.
We used data from a representative sample of the Finnish working-age population, the Health 2000 Study. Our sample consisted of 2911 men and women aged 30-64. Work-related exhaustion was assessed using the Maslach Burnout Inventory--General Survey. We determined relative leukocyte telomere length using a quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) -based method.
After adjustment for age and sex, individuals with severe exhaustion had leukocyte telomeres on average 0.043 relative units shorter (standard error of the mean 0.016) than those with no exhaustion (p = 0.009). The association between exhaustion and relative telomere length remained significant after additional adjustment for marital and socioeconomic status, smoking, body mass index, and morbidities (adjusted difference 0.044 relative units, standard error of the mean 0.017, p = 0.008).
These data suggest that work-related exhaustion is related to the acceleration of the rate of biological aging. This hypothesis awaits confirmation in a prospective study measuring changes in relative telomere length over time.
Higher states of consciousness in which the human mind can transcend the boundaries of logic and reason are envisioned as natural to the experience and potential growth of every human being. So far they have been mostly monitored by electrophysiological methods. In this study we were particularly interested in discovering the molecular transcriptional basis of higher states of consciousness. In addition to phenomenological reports of meditators who participated in this study the generated higher states of consciousness were also EEG recorded. We assessed the whole genome gene expression analysis of long-term meditators in four separate trials and detected significant differential gene expression in association with higher states of consciousness. The number of differently expressed genes as well as high proportion of genes themselves differed between meditators. Despite this, gene ontology enrichment analysis found significant biological and molecular processes shared among meditators' higher state of consciousness.
Background. Accumulating evidence supports leukocyte telomere length (LTL) as a biological marker of cellular aging. Poor sleep is a risk factor for age-related disease; however, the extent to which sleep accounts for variation in LTL is unknown. Methods. The present study examined associations of self-reported sleep duration, onset latency, and subjective quality with LTL in a community-dwelling sample of 245 healthy women in midlife (aged 49-66 years). Results. While sleep duration and onset latency were unrelated to LTL, women reporting poorer sleep quality displayed shorter LTL (r = 0.14, P = 0.03), independent of age, BMI, race, and income (b = 55.48, SE = 27.43, P = 0.04). When analyses were restricted to participants for whom sleep patterns were chronic, poorer sleep quality predicted shorter LTL independent of covariates and perceived psychological stress. Conclusions. This study provides the first evidence that poor sleep quality explains significant variation in LTL, a marker of cellular aging.
The rate of biological ageing is individual and represents the steady decrease in physiological and mental functions. Adverse social factors have been shown to influence this process. Self-perceived early ageing (SEA) might be a useful indicator of early biological ageing and increased mortality risk. The aim of this population-based study was to identify markers of SEA, including telomere length.
We studied 1502 subjects (744 men, 758 women) from Northern Sweden. These subjects underwent a physical examination, blood sampling (including telomere length) and completed a self-administered questionnaire about their subjective age, social situation, lifestyle, and self-rated health (SRH). Age- and SRH-adjusted statistical analyses were made comparing SEA subjects with same-sex controls.
In all, 7.9% of men and 12.1% of women reported SEA. These subjects had significantly (p<0.0001) wider waist circumference and higher body mass index than controls. SEA men showed higher fasting glucose and SEA women showed higher total cholesterol levels than controls (p=0.020 and p=0.015, respectively). In addition, SEA women more often reported infrequent physical exercise (p=0.006), mental problems (p=0.064) and worse SRH (p=0.001) than controls. In a random sub-sample, telomere length was significantly shorter in SEA subjects (n=139) than controls (n=301; p=0.02), but not after full adjustment for BMI.
Self-perceived early ageing is not uncommon and is associated with abdominal obesity, poor self-rated health, lower education, and shorter telomere length. This could link adverse social factors with features of the metabolic syndrome as well as with early biological ageing, of importance for targeting preventive programmes.
The anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) is part of a network implicated in the development of self-regulation and whose connectivity changes dramatically in development. In previous studies we showed that 3 h of mental training, based on traditional Chinese medicine (integrative body-mind training, IBMT), increases ACC activity and improves self-regulation. However, it is not known whether changes in white matter connectivity can result from small amounts of mental training. We here report that 11 h of IBMT increases fractional anisotropy (FA), an index indicating the integrity and efficiency of white matter in the corona radiata, an important white-matter tract connecting the ACC to other structures. Thus IBMT could provide a means for improving self-regulation and perhaps reducing or preventing various mental disorders.
Chronic psychological stress is associated with detrimental effects on physical health, and may operate in part through accelerated cell aging, as indexed by shorter telomeres at the ends of chromosomes. However, not all people under stress have distinctly short telomeres, and we examined whether exercise can serve a stress-buffering function. We predicted that chronic stress would be related to short telomere length (TL) in sedentary individuals, whereas in those who exercise, stress would not have measurable effects on telomere shortening.
63 healthy post-menopausal women underwent a fasting morning blood draw for whole blood TL analysis by a quantitative polymerase chain reaction method. Participants completed the Perceived Stress Scale (Cohen et al., 1983), and for three successive days reported daily minutes of vigorous activity. Participants were categorized into two groups-sedentary and active (those getting Centers for Disease Control-recommended daily amount of activity). The likelihood of having short versus long telomeres was calculated as a function of stress and exercise group, covarying age, BMI and education. Logistic regression analyses revealed a significant moderating effect of exercise. As predicted, among non-exercisers a one unit increase in the Perceived Stress Scale was related to a 15-fold increase in the odds of having short telomeres (p<.05), whereas in exercisers, perceived stress appears to be unrelated to TL (B = -.59, SE = .78, p = .45).
Vigorous physical activity appears to protect those experiencing high stress by buffering its relationship with TL. We propose pathways through which physical activity acts to buffer stress effects.
Our objective was to identify endocrine-related mechanisms capable of mediating preventive effects of stress reduction in hypertensive heart disease. Since beneficial effects of stress reduction accrue over time, this cross-sectional, descriptive study sought differences between healthy students not practicing a systematic technique for reducing stress (the average stress, or AS, group, n = 33) and a similar group who for 8.5 years had practiced the Transcendental Meditation (TM) technique, used widely to reduce stress (the low stress, or LS, group, n = 22). The two groups of students, matched for age and area of study, performed timed collections of urine that included (separately) the entire waking and sleeping portions of 1 day. They also completed the Profile of Mood States and the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory, self-report instruments sensitive to subjective level of stress. Urine samples were analyzed for adrenocortical steroids by radioimmunoassay, for Na+, K+, Mg2+, Ca2+, and Zn2+ by atomic absorption spectrometry, and for neurotransmitter metabolites by reverse-phase, high-performance, liquid chromatography, and spectrophotometry. The two groups differed significantly on most measures. Specifically, the LS group was lower in cortisol and aldosterone and higher in dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate (DS) and the serotonin metabolite, 5-hydroxyindoleacetic acid (5-HIAA). Excretion of sodium, calcium, zinc, and the norepinephrine metabolite, vanillylmandelic acid (VMA), was also lower in this group, as were Na+/K+ ratio, mood disturbance, and anxiety. In women practicing TM, cortisol correlated inversely and DS directly with number of months of TM practice. The results identify improvements in mood state, adrenocortical activity, and kidney function as probable factors in the preventive and treatment effects of stress reduction. Because suboptimal levels of these parameters result from chronic, subjective stress, the findings add mechanistic support to the contention that hypertensive heart disease is avoidable, even in modern industrialized societies.
Increased peripheral vasoconstriction (ie, total peripheral resistance, or TPR) has been implicated as playing an important role in the early development of essential hypertension. Some studies have demonstrated that Transcendental Meditation (TM) reduces high blood pressure, but the hemodynamic adjustments behind these blood pressure reductions have not been elucidated. The aim of this study was to provide a preliminary investigation of the acute effects of TM on TPR.
Subjects were 32 healthy adults (16 women and 16 men; 30 white and two African American; mean age, 46.4 +/- 3.9 years). Subjects were divided into a TM group of long-term TM practitioners (eight white women, nine white men, and one African American man; mean years of twice-daily TM practice, 22.4 +/- 6.7) and a control group (eight white women, five white men, and one African American man). Hemodynamic functioning was assessed immediately before and during three conditions: 20 minutes of rest with eyes open (all subjects), 20 minutes of TM (TM group), and 20 minutes of eyes-closed relaxation (control group).
During eyes-open rest, the TM group had decreases in systolic blood pressure (SBP) and TPR, compared with increases in the control group (SBP: -2.5 vs. +2.4 mm Hg, p < .01; TPR: -0.7 vs. +0.5 mm Hg/liter per minute, p < .004). During TM, there was a greater decrease in SBP due to a concomitantly greater decrease in TPR compared with the control group during eyes-closed relaxation (SBP: -3.0 vs. +2.1 mm Hg, p < .04; TPR: -1.0 vs. +0.3 mm Hg/liter per minute, p < .03).
TPR decreased significantly during TM. Decreases in vasoconstrictive tone during TM may be the hemodynamic mechanism responsible for reduction of high blood pressure over time. The results of this study provide a preliminary contribution to the understanding of the underlying hemodynamic mechanisms responsible for the beneficial influence of TM on cardiovascular risk factors.
Meditation is a conscious mental process that induces a set of integrated physiologic changes termed the relaxation response. Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) was used to identify and characterize the brain regions that are active during a simple form of meditation. Significant (p<10(-7)) signal increases were observed in the group-averaged data in the dorsolateral prefrontal and parietal cortices, hippocampus/parahippocampus, temporal lobe, pregenual anterior cingulate cortex, striatum, and pre- and post-central gyri during meditation. Global fMRI signal decreases were also noted, although these were probably secondary to cardiorespiratory changes that often accompany meditation. The results indicate that the practice of meditation activates neural structures involved in attention and control of the autonomic nervous system.
Findings from epidemiologic and autopsy studies suggest that the offspring of patients with premature coronary disease may be at increased risk for atherosclerosis. We undertook a study to determine whether changes in brachial-artery reactivity and thickness of the carotid intima and media, two markers of early atherosclerosis, are present in adolescents and young adults with a parental history of premature myocardial infarction.
We enrolled 40 healthy young people whose parents had had premature myocardial infarction (48 percent male; mean [+/-SD] age, 19.0+/-5.2 years) and 40 control subjects who were matched with the first group according to age and sex. All the subjects underwent high-resolution B-mode ultrasound examinations for the measurement of the brachial-artery vasodilatory response after arterial occlusion (i.e., reactive hyperemia) and the intima-media thickness of the distal common carotid arteries. Lipid profiles, blood pressure while at rest, body-mass index, and smoking status were also determined.
As compared with the control subjects, the offspring of patients with premature myocardial infarction had lower flow-mediated reactivity of the brachial arteries (5.7+/-5.0 percent, vs. 10.2+/-6.6 percent in the control subjects; P=0.001) and greater mean intima-media thickness of the common carotid artery (0.49+/-0.08 mm, vs. 0.44+/-0.07 mm in the control subjects, P=0.004). In the subjects with a parental history of premature myocardial infarction, an inverse association was found between brachial-artery reactivity and carotid intima-media thickness (r=-0.46, P=0.003). In a conditional logistic-regression analysis, both brachial-artery reactivity and carotid intima-media thickness were significantly and independently correlated with a parental history of premature myocardial infarction.
Structural and functional changes are present at an early age in the arteries of persons with a parental history of premature myocardial infarction.
Ghrelin is a recently identified endogenous ligand for the GH secretagogue receptor and is involved in a novel system for regulating GH release. However, little is known about its GH-releasing activity and other endocrine effects in humans. To address this issue, we studied the GH, ACTH, cortisol, PRL, LH, FSH, and TSH responses to synthetic human ghrelin. In four normal male adults (28-37 yr), iv ghrelin administration released GH in a dose-dependent manner and 0.2, 1.0, and 5.0 microg/kg ghrelin produced 43.3 +/- 6.0, 81.5 +/- 12.7, and 107.0 +/- 10.7 ng/mL of the GH peak values at 30 min, respectively. ACTH, cortisol, and PRL levels were also elevated after ghrelin injection, while the lowest dose (0.2 microg/kg) resulted in only minimum peak values of these hormones (22.8 +/- 3.0 pg/mL, 9.4 +/- 1.9 microg/dL, and 4.6 +/- 0.6 ng/mL, respectively). There were no significant changes in LH, FSH, or TSH levels. This is the first study showing evidence that ghrelin strongly stimulates GH release in humans.
An endogenous ligand for the GH secretagogue-receptor (GHS-receptor) has recently been isolated, from both the rat and the human stomach, and named ghrelin. It is a 28-amino-acid peptide showing a unique structure with an n-octanoyl ester at its third serine residue, which is essential for its potent stimulatory activity on somatotroph secretion. In fact, it has been demonstrated that ghrelin specifically stimulates GH secretion from both rat pituitary cells in culture and rats in vivo. The aim of the present study was to test the GH-releasing activity of ghrelin in humans and to compare it with that of GHRH and hexarelin (HEX), a nonnatural peptidyl GHS, which possesses strong GH-releasing activity but also significantly stimulates PRL, ACTH, and cortisol secretion. To clarify the mechanisms of action underlying the GH-releasing activity of ghrelin in humans, its interaction with GHRH and HEX was also studied. Seven normal young volunteers (7 men; 24-32 yr old; body mass index, 20-24 kg/m(2)) were studied. All subjects underwent the administration of ghrelin, HEX, and GHRH-29 (1.0 microg/kg i.v. at 0 min) as well as placebo (2 mL isotonic saline i.v. at 0 min). Six subjects also underwent the combined administration of ghrelin and GHRH or HEX. Blood samples were taken every 15 min from -15 up to +180 min. GH levels were assayed at each time point in all sessions; PRL, ACTH, cortisol, and aldosterone levels were also assayed after administration of ghrelin and/or HEX. Ghrelin administration induced a prompt and marked increase in circulating GH levels (Cmax, mean +/- SEM, 92.1 +/- 16.7 microg/L; area under the curve, 1894.9 +/- 347.8 microg/L.h). The GH response to ghrelin was clearly higher (P < 0.01) than the one recorded after GHRH (26.7 +/- 8.7 microg/L; 619.6 +/- 174.4 microg/L.h) and even significantly higher (P < 0.05) than after HEX (68.4 +/- 14.7 microg/L; 1546.9 +/- 380.0 microg/L x h). Ghrelin administration also induced an increase in PRL, ACTH, and cortisol levels; these responses were higher (P < 0.05) than those elicited by HEX. A significant increase in aldosterone levels was recorded after ghrelin but not after HEX. The endocrine responses to ghrelin were not modified by the coadministration of HEX. On the other hand, the coadministration of ghrelin and GHRH had a real synergistical effect (P < 0.05) on GH secretion (133.6 +/- 22.5 microg/L; 3374.3 +/- 617.3 microg/L x h). In conclusion, ghrelin, a natural ligand of GHS-receptor, exerts a strong stimulatory effect on GH secretion in humans, releasing more GH than GHRH and even more than a nonnatural GHS such as HEX. Ghrelin, as well as HEX, also stimulates lactotroph and corticotroph secretion. Ghrelin shows no interaction with HEX, whereas it has a synergistical effect with GHRH on GH secretion. Thus, ghrelin is a new hormone playing a major role in the control of somatotroph secretion in humans, and its effects are imitated by nonnatural GHS.
Relatively short telomere length may serve as a marker of accelerated aging, and shorter telomeres have been linked to chronic stress. Specific lifestyle behaviors that can mitigate the effects of stress might be associated with longer telomere lengths. Previous research suggests a link between behaviors that focus on the well-being of others, such as volunteering and caregiving, and overall health and longevity. We examined relative telomere length in a group of individuals experienced in Loving-Kindness Meditation (LKM), a practice derived from the Buddhist tradition which utilizes a focus on unselfish kindness and warmth towards all people, and control participants who had done no meditation. Blood was collected by venipuncture, and Genomic DNA was extracted from peripheral blood leukocytes. Quantitative real time PCR was used to measure relative telomere length (RTL) (Cawthon, 2002) in fifteen LKM practitioners and 22 control participants. There were no significant differences in age, gender, race, education, or exposure to trauma, but the control group had a higher mean body mass index (BMI) and lower rates of past depression. The LKM practitioners had longer RTL than controls at the trend level (p=.083); among women, the LKM practitioners had significantly longer RTL than controls, (p=.007), which remained significant even after controlling for BMI and past depression. Although limited by small sample size, these results offer the intriguing possibility that LKM practice, especially in women, might alter RTL, a biomarker associated with longevity.
To evaluate the efficacy of a unique healthy and happy lifestyle (HLS) program in regression of coronary atherosclerosis and reduction in cardiac events in an open trial.
One hundred and twenty three angiographically documented moderate to severe coronary artery disease (CAD) patients were administered HLS comprising of low-fat, high-fiber vegetarian diet, moderate aerobic exercise and stress-management through Rajyoga meditation. Its most salient feature was training in self-responsibility (heal+thy) and self-empowerment through inner-self consciousness (swasth; swa=innerself, sth=consciousness) approach using Rajyoga meditation. Following a seven day in-house sojourn, patients were invited for six month follow-up for reassessment and advanced training. At the end of two years, all patients were asked to undergo repeat angiography.
Three hundred and sixty coronary lesions were analysed by two independent angiographers. In CAD patients with most adherence, percent diameter stenosis regressed by 18.23 +/- 12.04 absolute percentage points. 91% patients showed a trend towards regression and 51.4% lesions regressed by more than 10 absolute percentage points. The cardiac events in coronary artery disease patients were: 11 in most adherence, and 38 in least adherence over a follow-up period of 6.48 yrs. (risk ratio; most vs least adherence: 4.32; 95% CI: 1.69-11.705; P < 0.002).
Overall healthy changes in cardiovascular, metabolic and psychological parameters, decline in absolute percent diameter coronary stenosis and cardiac events in patients of CAD were closely related to HLS adherence. However, more than 50% adherence is essential to achieve a significant change.
The aim of the present study was to assess the use of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) treatments in outpatients with cardiovascular disease and their interest in future use. The increasing popularity of CAM therapies highlights the need to explore their use among patients with cardiovascular disease. Data were collected with a prospective, point-of-care, anonymous, 17-question survey about basic medical information and previous use and interest in the future use of dietary supplements and other CAM interventions among patients undergoing outpatient cardiology evaluation at a Midwestern tertiary care center. The survey was completed by 1,055 patients (655 men, 351 women; mean age 63.5 years) of whom 98.1% were white. Of these, 36.8% had cardiac symptoms for >10 years, 48.2% had coronary artery disease, and 82.5% reported use of CAM therapies. Of these patients, 75.4% reported using dietary supplements, 31.5% chiropractic therapy, 23.9% mind-body therapies, and 19.2% massage. Only 14.4% had discussed the use of CAM treatments with their physicians. The top 4 treatments used for cardiac symptoms were relaxation techniques, stress management, meditation, and guided imagery. Also, 48.6% were interested in participating in a future clinical trial of an alternative treatment. The great majority of patients seen in current practice use CAM therapies, and a large proportion expressed an interest in participating in research with CAM therapies. In conclusion, research directed with an integrative approach to cardiovascular care might prove beneficial when designing future studies.
Background:
Blacks have disproportionately high rates of cardiovascular disease. Psychosocial stress may contribute to this disparity. Previous trials on stress reduction with the Transcendental Meditation (TM) program have reported improvements in cardiovascular disease risk factors, surrogate end points, and mortality in blacks and other populations.
Methods and results:
This was a randomized, controlled trial of 201 black men and women with coronary heart disease who were randomized to the TM program or health education. The primary end point was the composite of all-cause mortality, myocardial infarction, or stroke. Secondary end points included the composite of cardiovascular mortality, revascularizations, and cardiovascular hospitalizations; blood pressure; psychosocial stress factors; and lifestyle behaviors. During an average follow-up of 5.4 years, there was a 48% risk reduction in the primary end point in the TM group (hazard ratio, 0.52; 95% confidence interval, 0.29-0.92; P=0.025). The TM group also showed a 24% risk reduction in the secondary end point (hazard ratio, 0.76; 95% confidence interval, 0.51-0.1.13; P=0.17). There were reductions of 4.9 mmHg in systolic blood pressure (95% confidence interval -8.3 to -1.5 mmHg; P=0.01) and anger expression (P<0.05 for all scales). Adherence was associated with survival.
Conclusions:
A selected mind-body intervention, the TM program, significantly reduced risk for mortality, myocardial infarction, and stroke in coronary heart disease patients. These changes were associated with lower blood pressure and psychosocial stress factors. Therefore, this practice may be clinically useful in the secondary prevention of cardiovascular disease. Clinical Trial Registration- URL: www.clinicaltrials.gov Unique identifier: NCT01299935.
To determine whether a period of meditation could influence melatonin levels, two groups of meditators were tested in a repeated measures design for changes in plasma melatonin levels at midnight. Experienced meditators practising either TM-Sidhi or another internationally well known form of yoga showed significantly higher plasma melatonin levels in the period immediately following meditation compared with the same period at the same time on a control night. It is concluded that meditation, at least in the two forms studied here, can affect plasma melatonin levels. It remains to be determined whether this is achieved through decreased hepatic metabolism of the hormone or via a direct effect on pineal physiology. Either way, facilitation of higher physiological melatonin levels at appropriate times of day might be one avenue through which the claimed health promoting effects of meditation occur.
Background:
Telomerase activity is a predictor of long-term cellular viability, which decreases with chronic psychological distress (Epel et al., 2004). Buddhist traditions claim that meditation decreases psychological distress and promotes well-being (e.g., Dalai Lama and Cutler, 2009). Therefore, we investigated the effects of a 3-month meditation retreat on telomerase activity and two major contributors to the experience of stress: Perceived Control (associated with decreased stress) and Neuroticism (associated with increased subjective distress). We used mediation models to test whether changes in Perceived Control and Neuroticism explained meditation retreat effects on telomerase activity. In addition, we investigated whether two qualities developed by meditative practice, increased Mindfulness and Purpose in Life, accounted for retreat-related changes in the two stress-related variables and in telomerase activity.
Methods:
Retreat participants (n=30) meditated for ∼6 h daily for 3 months and were compared with a wait-list control group (n=30) matched for age, sex, body mass index, and prior meditation experience. Retreat participants received instruction in concentrative meditation techniques and complementary practices used to cultivate benevolent states of mind (Wallace, 2006). Psychological measures were assessed pre- and post-retreat. Peripheral blood mononuclear cell samples were collected post-retreat for telomerase activity. Because there were clear, a priori hypotheses, 1-tailed significance criteria were used throughout.
Results:
Telomerase activity was significantly greater in retreat participants than in controls at the end of the retreat (p<0.05). Increases in Perceived Control, decreases in Neuroticism, and increases in both Mindfulness and Purpose in Life were greater in the retreat group (p<0.01). Mediation analyses indicated that the effect of the retreat on telomerase was mediated by increased Perceived Control and decreased Neuroticism. In turn, changes in Perceived Control and Neuroticism were both partially mediated by increased Mindfulness and Purpose in Life. Additionally, increases in Purpose in Life directly mediated the telomerase group difference, whereas increases in Mindfulness did not.
Conclusions:
This is the first study to link meditation and positive psychological change with telomerase activity. Although we did not measure baseline telomerase activity, the data suggest that increases in perceived control and decreases in negative affectivity contributed to an increase in telomerase activity, with implications for telomere length and immune cell longevity. Further, Purpose in Life is influenced by meditative practice and directly affects both perceived control and negative emotionality, affecting telomerase activity directly as well as indirectly.
The underlying molecular mechanisms of the vasculoprotective effects of physical exercise are incompletely understood. Telomere erosion is a central component of aging, and telomere-associated proteins regulate cellular senescence and survival. This study examines the effects of exercising on vascular telomere biology and endothelial apoptosis in mice and the effects of long-term endurance training on telomere biology in humans.
C57/Bl6 mice were randomized to voluntary running or no running wheel conditions for 3 weeks. Exercise upregulated telomerase activity in the thoracic aorta and in circulating mononuclear cells compared with sedentary controls, increased vascular expression of telomere repeat-binding factor 2 and Ku70, and reduced the expression of vascular apoptosis regulators such as cell-cycle-checkpoint kinase 2, p16, and p53. Mice preconditioned by voluntary running exhibited a marked reduction in lipopolysaccharide-induced aortic endothelial apoptosis. Transgenic mouse studies showed that endothelial nitric oxide synthase and telomerase reverse transcriptase synergize to confer endothelial stress resistance after physical activity. To test the significance of these data in humans, telomere biology in circulating leukocytes of young and middle-aged track and field athletes was analyzed. Peripheral blood leukocytes isolated from endurance athletes showed increased telomerase activity, expression of telomere-stabilizing proteins, and downregulation of cell-cycle inhibitors compared with untrained individuals. Long-term endurance training was associated with reduced leukocyte telomere erosion compared with untrained controls.
Physical activity regulates telomere-stabilizing proteins in mice and in humans and thereby protects from stress-induced vascular apoptosis.
Coronary artery disease is an important cause of death and disability among older women. Modification in lipid profile lowers the risk of coronary artery disease. It is claimed that yoga and transcendental meditation have a cholesterol lowering effect. This study was designed to assess the effect of raja yoga meditation of Brahmakumaris which is very simple to practice, on serum lipids in normal Indian women.
49 normal female volunteers were the subjects. They were divided into pre-menopausal (n=23) and post-menopausal (n=26) groups. They were further divided into non-meditators (who had never done any kind of meditation), short-term meditators (meditating for 6 months to 5 years) and long-term meditators (meditating for more than 5 years). Lipid profile was assessed using their respective reagent sets. Serum cholesterol, triglyceride and low-density lipoprotein-cholesterol in nonmeditators were significantly more in post-menopausal women as compared to pre-menopausal women. Serum cholesterol and low density lipoprotein-cholesterol were significantly lowered in both short and long term meditators as compared to non-meditators in post-menopausal women. No significant difference was observed in lipid profile in pre-menopausal women.
Raja yoga meditation lowered serum cholesterol and low-density lipoprotein-cholesterol in post-menopausal women thus reducing the risk of coronary artery disease in them.
We studied acute plasma cortisol and testosterone concentration changes during the practice known as "transcendental meditation" (TM) and during control rest. Three groups of normal, young adult volunteers were studied: a group of controls, these same controls restudied as practitioners after 3 to 4 months of TM practice, and a group of long-term, regular TM practitioners (3 to 5 years of practice). No change was found in controls during rest. Cortisol declined, but not significantly, in restudied controls, while cortisol decreased significantly in long-term practitioners during meditation and remained somewhat low afterward. No change in testerone concentration was noted during either rest or TM. Apparently, the practice of TM becomes associated with psychophysiologic response(s) which acutely inhibit pituitary-adrenal activity.
A study of changes in blood pressure, pulse rate and respiration rate, conducted on volunteers attending a camp of Vipashyana Meditation in Varanasi, revealed the following: (i) Before attending the particular camp, subjects with previous meditation experience did not show significant changes in systolic blood pressure, pulse or respiration rate as compared to the control group of fresh students. However, diastolic blood pressure was found to be significantly lower (P<0.05) in persons with previous experience. (ii) After attending the particular camp of 10 days duration, there was a statistically significant reduction in their systolic (P<0.01) and diastolic blood pressure (P<0.01) and pulse (P<0.01) and respiration rate (P<0.001). It seems promising therefore to conduct in future properly designed extensive studies to evaluate physiological changes during meditation (by arterial cannulation), just after and long after meditation. The studies should also be extended to patients with hypertension and other psychosomatic ailments.
• The scientific research that has investigated the physiological changes associated with meditation as it is practiced by adherents of Indian Yoga, Transcendental Meditation, and Zen Buddhism has not yielded a thoroughly consistent, easily replicable pattern of responses. The majority of studies show meditation to be a wakeful state accompanied by a lowering of cortical and autonomic arousal. The investigations of Zen and Transcendental Meditation have thus far produced the most consistent findings.
Additional research into the mechanisms underlying the phenomena of meditation will require a shifting from old to new methodological perspectives that allow for adequate experimental control and the testing of theoretically relevant hypotheses.
The Abhidhamma, a classical Buddhist phenomenology of mental states, represents an Asian 'protopsychology'. In this model, 52 basic perceptual, cognitive, and affective properties arise in varying combinations to give each successive mental state its distinctive characteristics. An 'unhealthy' subset of properties is inhibited by an opposing 'healthy' subset. Buddhist meditation aims to eradicate these unhealthy properties from the psychologic economy. The operational definition of mental health is their complete absence, as in the case of the arahat, or saint. Characteristics of the arahat ideal type coincide with the elements of 'flow', an intrinsically rewarding state arising from absorption in a situation of optimal fit between one's capability and environmental demand. Empirical findings on meditation, in light of a neurophysiologic interpretation, suggest that meditation may extend the domain of flow within daily activity. Meditation may serve as a complementary adjunct to psychotherapy.
There is increasing evidence that a behavioral treatment approach might be efficacious in the treatment of the emotional aspects of infertility and may lead to increased conception rates. The first 54 women to complete a behavioral treatment program based on the elicitation of the relaxation response showed statistically significant decreases in anxiety, depression, and fatigue as well as increases in vigor. In addition, 34% of these women became pregnant within 6 months of completing the program. These findings established a role for stress reduction in the long-term treatment of infertility. They further suggest that behavioral treatment should be considered for couples with infertility before or in conjunction with reproductive technologies such as intrauterine insemination and gamete intrafallopian transfer.
Several studies suggest that behavioral techniques such as meditation and relaxation may be associated with reduced end organ adrenergic receptor sensitivity. Thus far the evidence supporting this hypothesis has been indirect. We present preliminary findings showing reduced beta-adrenergic receptor sensitivity in a group of subjects practicing Transcendental Meditation. The meditation group (N = 10), compared to controls (N = 10), had a lower percentage of functional lymphocyte beta-adrenergic receptors (p = 0.009), but showed no difference in total receptor number or plasma catecholamines. There were no differences between the groups in Type A behavior, the Type A components, exercise, or family history of hypertension. The results provide some support for studies postulating that meditation is associated with reduced sympathetic adrenergic receptor sensitivity, and provide encouragement for the efficacy of receptor measurement in psychophysiology research.
During a 5-month study, we examined the effects of the relaxation response on premenstrual syndrome in 46 women who were randomly assigned to one of three groups: a charting group, a reading group, and a relaxation response group. The relaxation response group showed significantly greater improvement than the charting and the reading groups on physical symptoms (P less than .025 for both comparisons). There was a significant group-by-severity effect for charting versus relaxation response and for reading versus relaxation response on symptoms measured daily (P less than .01 for both comparisons), on emotional symptoms measured retrospectively (P less than .001 and P less than .025, respectively), and on symptoms of social withdrawal measured retrospectively (P less than .01 and P less than .025, respectively). Women with severe symptoms in the relaxation response group showed a 58.0% improvement, compared with a 27.2% improvement for the reading group and a 17.0% improvement for the charting group. We conclude that regular elicitation of the relaxation response is an effective treatment for physical and emotional premenstrual symptoms, and is most effective in women with severe symptoms.
In the Western world today, there is a growing interest in nonpharmacological, self induced, altered states of consciousness because of their alleged benefits of better mental and physical health and improved ability to deal with tension and stress. During the experience of one of these states, individuals claim to have feelings of increased creativity, of infinity, and of immortality; they have an evangelistic sense of mission, and report that mental and physical suffering vanish. Subjective and objective data exist which support the hypothesis that an integrated central nervous system reaction, the 'relaxation response', underlies this altered state of consciousness. Physicians should be knowledgeable about the physiologic changes and possible health benefits of the relaxation response.
Considerable emphasis has been placed upon the relation of behavioural factors to the development of coronary artery disease. There is, however, the opposite potential: behavioural processes may lead to the alleviation and reversal of some of the predisposing features of this illness. This paper presents evidence that specific behaviours and thought patterns are associated with the elicitation of an innate physiological capacity termed the relaxation response. It will discuss the history of this response, its physiological basis, clinical usefulness (particularly in prevention) and some recent findings concerning the underlying mechanism of its actions.
The purpose of this study was to assess the central nervous system effects of the relaxation response (RR) in novice subjects using a controlled, within- subjects design and topographic EEG mapping as the dependent measure. Twenty subjects listened to a RR and control audiotape presented in a counterbalanced order while EEG was recorded from 14 scalp locations. The RR condition produced greater (p < .0164) reductions in frontal EEG beta activity relative to the control condition. No significant differences were observed for any other frequency band or scalp region. These findings suggest that elicitation of the RR produces significant reductions in cortical activation in anterior brain regions in novice subjects.
We have evaluated the effect of Transcendental Meditation (TM) on the hypothalamo-hypophyseal-adrenal axis diurnal rhythms through the determination of hormone levels. Blood samples were taken at 0900 hours. and at 2000 hours. These samples were taken from 18 healthy volunteers who regularly practice TM and from nine healthy non-meditators. Cortisol, beta-endorphin, and adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) were measured at both hours. TM practitioners showed no diurnal rhythm for ACTH and for beta-endorphin (ACTH, pg/mL, mean +/- SE; 13.8+/-1.2 - 12.1+/-1.5/beta-endorphin, pg/mL; 14.4+/-1.5 - 17.2+/-1.9, at 0900 hours and 2000 hours, respectively), in contrast to control subjects, who showed normal diurnal rhythm for these hormones and for cortisol (ACTH, pg/mL; 19.4+/-1.9 - 11.9+/-2.2/beta-endorphin, pg/mL; 25.4+/-1.7 - 17.7+/-1.1/Cortisol, ng/mL; 201.4+/-13.2 - 71.3+/-6.5, at 0900-2000 hours, respectively, p < 0.01 in the three cases). Practitioners of TM with similar anxiety levels to those of the control group showed a different pattern in the daytime secretion of pituitary hormones. TM thus appears to have a significant effect on the neuroendocrine axis. Because cortisol levels had a normal pattern in the TM group, these results may be due to a change in feedback sensitivity caused by this mental technique.
We report extremely prominent heart rate oscillations associated with slow breathing during specific traditional forms of Chinese Chi and Kundalini Yoga meditation techniques in healthy young adults. We applied both spectral analysis and a novel analytic technique based on the Hilbert transform to quantify these heart rate dynamics. The amplitude of these oscillations during meditation was significantly greater than in the pre-meditation control state and also in three non-meditation control groups: i) elite athletes during sleep, ii) healthy young adults during metronomic breathing, and iii) healthy young adults during spontaneous nocturnal breathing. This finding, along with the marked variability of the beat-to-beat heart rate dynamics during such profound meditative states, challenges the notion of meditation as only an autonomically quiescent state.
With the aim of evaluating the sympathetic-adrenal medulla system in subjects practicing transcendental meditation (TM), their plasma catecholamine levels were determined at two different times of day. The study group consisted of 19 subjects who regularly practice either TM or Sidhi-TM technique, with a control group made up of 16 healthy subjects who had not previously used any relaxation technique. Catecholamine plasma levels were determined by high performance liquid chromatography, at 0900 and 2000 h. Morning and evening norepinephrine (NE) levels and morning epinephrine (E) levels were significantly lower in the TM group than in the control subjects (morning NE levels, pg/ml, mean+/-S.E.: TM group 136.6+/-13.0, control 236.8+/-21.0, P=.0001; evening NE levels: TM group 119.7+/-10.8, control 175.6+/-17.4, P=.009; morning E levels, pg/ml: TM group 140.2+/-10.6, control 196.7+/-23.8, P=.019). No differences were recorded for evening E levels and dopamine (DA) levels. No significant differences were found for catecholamine levels measured at different times of day in the TM group, demonstrating a lack of daily hormonal rhythm. Anxiety levels were similar in both groups. Based on the results obtained, it can be considered that the regular practice of TM has a significant effect on the sympathetic-adrenal medulla system. A low hormonal response to daily stress caused by sympathetic tone regulation through regular TM could explain our results, as well as the physiological and other effects related to the field of health described in those who practice meditation.
The offspring of patients with premature myocardial infarction are at increased risk for atherosclerosis and its clinical sequelae. High resolution B-mode ultrasonography is considered a reliable method for measuring intima-media thickness of common carotid arteries, a valuable marker of early atherosclerosis. Few recently published studies have evaluated the relationship between familial history of coronary artery disease and carotid intima-media thickness showing that anatomical arterial changes are detectable in subjects with such a history, independently from other well established coronary artery disease risk factors. These findings suggest that carotid intima-media thickness measurement, added to evaluation of classical coronary risk factors, may be useful to better identify high risk subjects.
Eukaryotic chromosomes end with telomeres, which shorten with cellular ageing. We investigated whether atherosclerosis is associated with systemic evidence of accelerated cellular ageing. We compared mean length of terminal restriction fragments (TRF), a measure of average telomere size, in leucocyte DNA of ten patients with severe coronary artery disease (CAD) with that of 20 controls without CAD. Adjusting for age and sex, cases had mean TRF lengths of 303 (SD 90) base pairs shorter than those of controls (p=0.002)-ie, equivalent in size to individuals with no CAD who are 8.6 years older. Although this is a pilot study, the findings could be relevant to the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis.
Increased cell turnover in response to injury is considered to be important in the development of atherosclerotic plaques. Telomere shortening has been shown to be associated with cell turnover. We assessed the telomere length of human coronary endothelial cells to clarify whether there is a relationship between telomere shortening and coronary artery disease (CAD).
Coronary endothelial cells were obtained from 11 patients with CAD who underwent autopsy and 22 patients without CAD who underwent autopsy by scraping off the luminal surface of coronary arteries. DNA extracted from the endothelial cells were blotted and hybridized with telomere-specific oligonucleotide ([TTAGGG]4). The hybridization signal intensity, which represented telomeric DNA content, was standardized with centromeric DNA content (T/C ratio) to estimate telomere length. The T/C ratios were significantly smaller (P<0.0001) in CAD patients than in age-matched non-CAD patients (CAD patients, 0.462+/-0.135; non-CAD patients, 1.002+/-0.212). In 6 individual CAD patients, the T/C ratio at the atherosclerotic lesion was significantly smaller (P<0.05) than that at the non-atherosclerotic portion.
These findings suggest that focal replicative senescence and telomere shortening of endothelial cells may play a critical role in coronary atherogenesis and CAD.
Recent studies have shown that individuals with shorter telomeres present a higher prevalence of arterial lesions and higher risk of cardiovascular disease mortality. As a group, patients with high blood pressure are at an increased risk for cardiovascular diseases. However, some hypertensive patients are more prone than others to atherosclerotic lesions. The main objective of this study was to examine the relationship between telomere length, as expressed in white blood cells, and carotid artery atherosclerotic plaques in hypertensive males. Data from 163 treated hypertensive men who were volunteers for a free medical examination were analyzed. Extracranial carotid plaques were assessed with B-mode ultrasound. Telomere length was measured from DNA samples extracted from white blood cells. The results of this study show that telomere length was shorter in hypertensive men with carotid artery plaques versus hypertensive men without plaques (8.17+/-0.07 kb versus 8.46+/-0.07 kb; P<0.01). Multivariate analysis showed that in addition to age, telomere length was a significant predictor of the presence of carotid artery plaques. The findings from this study suggest that in the presence of chronic hypertension, which is a major risk factor for atherosclerotic lesions, shorter telomere length in white blood cells is associated with an increased predilection to carotid artery atherosclerosis.
Aging is a major risk factor for cardiovascular disease. Chronological aging does not always parallel biological aging, but there is no reliable biomarker for the latter. In the present study, we tested the hypothesis that telomere attrition in white blood cells is related to endothelial dysfunction and the extent of atherosclerosis, and thus may serve as a useful marker for biological aging. We evaluated telomere lengths in white blood cells by measuring the mean telomere restriction fragment length (mTRFL), as well as endothelial function by flow mediated dilatation (FMD) in the brachial artery, in patients with various degrees of cardiovascular damage and in normal subjects. Cardiovascular damage was assessed by a cardiovascular damage (CVD) score, with 1 point being given for the presence of each cardiovascular risk factor (hypertension, hyperlipidemia and diabetes) and for each event (angina, myocardial infarction, cerebrovascular event and peripheral vascular disease). Subset analysis of CVD score groups revealed that mTRFL and FMD decreased in the rank order of CVD score. Although mTRFL was inversely correlated with age, telomere index, defined as the ratio of TRFL to TRFL predicted by age, also decreased with increase in CVD score. These results indicate that telomere attrition in white blood cells is more closely associated with endothelial damage and atherosclerosis than is chronological aging, supporting the hypothesis that mTRFL in white blood cells is a useful marker for biological aging of the cardiovascular system.
This study investigated the effectiveness of Qigong on blood pressure and several blood lipids, such as high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol, Apolipoprotein A1 (APO-A1), total cholesterol (TC), and triglycerides (TG) in hypertensive patients. Thirty-six patients were randomly divided into either the Qigong group, or a wait-listed control group. Blood pressures decreased significantly after eight weeks of Qigong. The levels of TC, HDL, and APO-A1 were changed significantly in the Qigong group post-treatment compared with before treatment. In summary. Qigong acts as an antihypertensive and may reduce blood pressure by the modulation of lipid metabolism.
Although more than 80% of the global burden of cardiovascular disease occurs in low-income and middle-income countries, knowledge of the importance of risk factors is largely derived from developed countries. Therefore, the effect of such factors on risk of coronary heart disease in most regions of the world is unknown.
We established a standardised case-control study of acute myocardial infarction in 52 countries, representing every inhabited continent. 15152 cases and 14820 controls were enrolled. The relation of smoking, history of hypertension or diabetes, waist/hip ratio, dietary patterns, physical activity, consumption of alcohol, blood apolipoproteins (Apo), and psychosocial factors to myocardial infarction are reported here. Odds ratios and their 99% CIs for the association of risk factors to myocardial infarction and their population attributable risks (PAR) were calculated.
Smoking (odds ratio 2.87 for current vs never, PAR 35.7% for current and former vs never), raised ApoB/ApoA1 ratio (3.25 for top vs lowest quintile, PAR 49.2% for top four quintiles vs lowest quintile), history of hypertension (1.91, PAR 17.9%), diabetes (2.37, PAR 9.9%), abdominal obesity (1.12 for top vs lowest tertile and 1.62 for middle vs lowest tertile, PAR 20.1% for top two tertiles vs lowest tertile), psychosocial factors (2.67, PAR 32.5%), daily consumption of fruits and vegetables (0.70, PAR 13.7% for lack of daily consumption), regular alcohol consumption (0.91, PAR 6.7%), and regular physical activity (0.86, PAR 12.2%), were all significantly related to acute myocardial infarction (p<0.0001 for all risk factors and p=0.03 for alcohol). These associations were noted in men and women, old and young, and in all regions of the world. Collectively, these nine risk factors accounted for 90% of the PAR in men and 94% in women.
Abnormal lipids, smoking, hypertension, diabetes, abdominal obesity, psychosocial factors, consumption of fruits, vegetables, and alcohol, and regular physical activity account for most of the risk of myocardial infarction worldwide in both sexes and at all ages in all regions. This finding suggests that approaches to prevention can be based on similar principles worldwide and have the potential to prevent most premature cases of myocardial infarction.
Endothelial nitric oxide (eNO) bioavailability is severely reduced after myocardial infarction (MI) and in heart failure. Statins enhance eNO availability by both increasing eNO production and reducing NO inactivation. We therefore studied the effect of statin treatment on eNO availability after MI and tested its role for endothelial progenitor cell mobilization, myocardial neovascularization, left ventricular (LV) dysfunction, remodeling, and survival after MI.
Wild-type (WT) and eNO synthase (eNOS)-/- mice with extensive anterior MI were randomized to treatment with vehicle (V) or atorvastatin (Ator, 50 mg/kg QD by gavage) for 4 weeks starting on day 1 after MI. Ator markedly improved endothelium-dependent, NO-mediated vasorelaxation; mobilization of endothelial progenitor cells; and myocardial neovascularization of the infarct border in WT mice after MI while having no effect in eNOS-/- mice. LV dysfunction and interstitial fibrosis were markedly attenuated by Ator in WT mice, whereas no effect was observed in eNOS-/- mice after MI. Importantly, Ator significantly increased the survival rate during 4 weeks after MI in WT mice (Ator versus V, 80% versus 46%; P<0.01, n=75) but not in eNOS-/- mice (43% versus 48%; NS, n=42).
These findings suggest that increased eNO availability is required for statin-induced improvement of endothelial progenitor cell mobilization, myocardial neovascularization, LV dysfunction, interstitial fibrosis, and survival after MI. eNO bioavailability after MI likely represents an important therapeutic target in heart failure after MI and mediates beneficial effects of statin treatment after MI.