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Mindfulness mediates the physiological markers of stress: Systematic review and meta-analysis
Abstract
Meditation is a popular form of stress management, argued to mediate stress reactivity. However, many studies in this field commonly fail to include an active control group. Given the frequency with which people are selecting meditation as a form of self-management, it is important to validate if the practice is effective in mediating stress-reactivity using well-controlled studies. Thus, we aimed to conduct a meta-analysis investigating the neurobiological effects of meditation, including focused attention, open monitoring and automatic self-transcending subtypes, compared to an active control, on markers of stress. In the current meta-analysis and systematic review, we included randomised controlled trials comparing meditation interventions compared to an active control on physiological markers of stress. Studied outcomes include cortisol, blood pressure, heart-rate, lipids and peripheral cytokine expression. Forty-five studies were included. All meditation subtypes reduced systolic blood pressure. Focused attention meditations also reduced cortisol and open monitoring meditations also reduced heart rate. When all meditation forms were analysed together, meditation reduced cortisol, C - reactive protein, blood pressure, heart rate, triglycerides and tumour necrosis factor-alpha. Overall, meditation practice leads to decreased physiological markers of stress in a range of populations.
... Further, physiological stress, associated discomfort, and perceived exertion may contribute to negative affective associations with MVPA, (Lind et al., 2009) which have been associated with reduced MVPA participation (Cox et al., 2018). Mindfulness is associated with decreased physiological stress markers including slower respiratory rate, decreased heart rate, and decreased systolic and diastolic blood pressure (Ditto et al., 2006;Kingston et al., 2007;Delgado et al., 2010;Pascoe et al., 2017;Gamaiunova et al., 2022). Mindful awareness may enhance regulation of physiological and affective responses and lessen the reactivity to discomfort experienced during MVPA (Kabat-Zinn, 1982;Arch and Craske, 2006;Chambers et al., 2009;Schneider et al., 2019). ...
... We observed no significant differences between the PA only condition and the PAMIND condition in HR or BP. Although mindfulness training has been shown to have beneficial effects on physiological markers of stress, including HR and BP (Ditto et al., 2006;Kingston et al., 2007;Delgado et al., 2010;Pascoe et al., 2017;Gamaiunova et al., 2022) the pairing of guided mindfulness with an acute bout of MVPA did not influence immediate physiological responses. It is likely that the acute effects of MVPA for stimulating HR and BP outweighed the acute blunting effect of mindfulness on these physiological responses. ...
... Ultimately, integrating mindfulness and MVPA has potential to improve adherence to MVPA guidelines resulting in improved health outcomes and reducing disease risk. Mindfulness is growing in global popularity (Misitzis, 2020), and increased evidence of its health benefits are emerging (e.g., stress reduction, improved mental health, lowered BP, etc.) (Donald et al., 2016;Hofmann and Gómez, 2017;Pascoe et al., 2017;Gamaiunova et al., 2022). Although there are no official public health guidelines for mindfulness practice, it is possible such guidelines will be developed as research continues to support mindfulness practice as a feasible, low cost, and efficacious health behavior. ...
Background
Most adults are insufficiently active. Mindfulness training may increase moderate to vigorous physical activity (MVPA) adoption and adherence. However, physiological and psychological factors underlying these effects are not well understood. This study examined the effects of an acute bout of MVPA, mindfulness training, and combined MVPA and mindfulness training on physiological and psychological outcomes.
Methods
Healthy adults ( N = 29, M age = 28.6) completed 20-min counterbalanced conditions: (a) mindfulness training (MIND); (b) moderate intensity walking (PA), and (c) moderate intensity walking while listening to MVPA-specific guided mindfulness training (PAMIND). Heart rate (HR), Rating of Perceived Exertion (RPE), Feeling Scale (FS) and Blood Pressure (BP) were measured at rest, at regular intervals during each condition, and post-condition. Mindfulness, state anxiety, and self-efficacy were assessed pre- and post-condition.
Results
Average and peak HR, systolic BP (SBP), and RPE were significantly higher, and average and peak FS were significantly lower during the PA and PAMIND conditions compared to MIND ( p < 0.001). Average RPE was significantly higher for PA compared to PAMIND ( p < 0.001). Heart rate, feeling scale, body and mental events mindfulness, and self-efficacy for walking increased from pre to post (all p ’s < 0.001) for all conditions. Time by condition interactions were significant for change in heart rate, mental events mindfulness, and state anxiety from pre- to post-condition.
Conclusion
The physiological response to MVPA and PAMIND were similar. However, RPE was rated lower in the PAMIND condition, which could have implications for MVPA adoption and maintenance. Future work should further explore RPE combining MVPA and mindfulness training.
... The association between HRV and mindfulness has also been previously shown in those with high anxiety (Mankus et al. 2013) and noted reductions in unpleasantness from pain (Adler-Neal et al. 2020). Several studies have investigated the effects of MBIs on HRV, but the results are still inconclusive due to variability in metrics, populations, and MBI protocols (Christodoulou et al. 2020;Pascoe et al. 2017). ...
... Acute effects of mindfulness on slowed respiration rates during formal mindfulness practices has been shown in previous research (Ahani et Wielgosz et al. 2016). Yet, a recent review suggested that high frequency HRV metrics were not improved over time by mindfulness practices within their article list (Pascoe et al. 2017). However, the HRV responses may be more impacted during events, as another recent review determined that MBIs may improve HRV during relaxing tasks (such as meditation) or stressful events (Christodoulou et al. 2020). ...
The purpose was to evaluate the effects of Mindfulness in Motion (MIM), a Mindfulness Based Intervention, on respiration rate, heart rate, and heart rate variability (HRV). Healthcare providers wore chest strap electrocardiography-based (ECG) devices during MIM sessions (n = 84). Data were collected during the following mindfulness-based segments: 5-minute quiet sitting to reflect on the weekly theme that ended with a 30 second mindful breath count (Baseline-MIM), 15-minute Education video, 20-minute Discussion with peers, 15-minute Practice, and lastly a 5-minute reflection ending with a 30 second breath count (Post-MIM). Metrics from ECG included: mean heart rate, root-mean square of successive differences between R-R intervals (rMSSD), standard deviation of R-R intervals (SDNN), absolute power for low frequency (LF, 0.04–0.15 Hz), and high frequency (HF, 0.15–0.4 Hz) bands, Total Power across entire frequency range (< 0.4 Hz), LF:HF Ratio, and respiration rate. According to mixed effect models there were main effects of MIM Session Segments (p < 0.05) across all metrics. Heart rate was elevated during Practice (4.96 ± 0.91, p < 0.001, ES = 0.383), while rMSSD was not significantly different at any timepoint (p > 0.05). Compared to Baseline-MIM, respiration rates were significantly slower in Practice (1.98 ± 0.35 bpm) and Post-MIM (2.03 ± 0.35 bpm, p < 0.001), while SDNN, LF, and LF:HF were significantly increased. During practice, HF was decreased, while Total Power was increased during Post-MIM. Acute improvements in HRV, likely from acute decreases in respiration rates, occurred while healthcare providers completed a mindfulness intervention (MIM) during work hours.
... Meditative practices represent another kind of useful, moderate, and low-cost intervention that may contribute to the mitigation of long COVID symptoms. In a variety of studies, the outcome of meditation has been associated with anti-inflammatory cytokine activity [164][165][166][167][168], as has been reported in numerous systematic reviews [169,170]. Meditation has been shown to cause neural reorganization, "re-modulation, and re-regulation" of the neuroimmune responses [171,172]. These studies have also demonstrated that mindfulness meditation has been associated with a number of changes toward the inhibition of inflammatory processes and may be applied in the treatment of long COVID [173]. ...
... In a meta-analysis study [176], it has been revealed that mindfulness-based interventions generated significant positive effects on cytokine blood levels related to low-grade inflammation. Another meta-analysis study found that meditation resulted in the decrease of C-reactive protein level and the stabilization of blood pressure [170], concluding that meditation may leads to the modulation of essential physiological markers. ...
Advanced age is one of the significant risk determinants for coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19)-related mortality and for long COVID complications. The contributing factors may include the age-related dynamical remodeling of the immune system, known as immunosenescence and chronic low-grade systemic inflammation. Both of these factors may induce an inflammatory milieu in the aged brain and drive the changes in the microenvironment of neurons and microglia, which are characterized by a general condition of chronic inflammation, so-called neuroinflammation. Emerging evidence reveals that the immune privilege in the aging brain may be compromised. Resident brain cells, such as astrocytes, neurons, oligodendrocytes and microglia, but also infiltrating immune cells, such as monocytes, T cells and macrophages participate in the complex intercellular networks and multiple reciprocal interactions. Especially changes in microglia playing a regulatory role in inflammation, contribute to disturbing of the brain homeostasis and to impairments of the neuroimmune responses. Neuroinflammation may trigger structural damage, diminish regeneration, induce neuronal cell death, modulate synaptic remodeling and in this manner negatively interfere with the brain functions.
In this review article, we give insights into neuroimmune interactions in the aged brain and highlight the impact of COVID-19 on the functional systems already modulated by immunosenescence and neuroinflammation. We discuss the potential ways of these interactions with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) and review proposed neuroimmune mechanisms and biological factors that may contribute to the development of persisting long COVID conditions. We summarize the potential mechanisms responsible for long COVID, including inflammation, autoimmunity, direct virus-mediated cytotoxicity, hypercoagulation, mitochondrial failure, dysbiosis, and the reactivation of other persisting viruses, such as the Cytomegalovirus (CMV). Finally, we discuss the effects of various interventional options that can decrease the propagation of biological, physiological, and psychosocial stressors that are responsible for neuroimmune activation and which may inhibit the triggering of unbalanced inflammatory responses. We highlight the modulatory effects of bioactive nutritional compounds along with the multimodal benefits of behavioral interventions and moderate exercise, which can be applied as postinfectious interventions in order to improve brain health.
... One of the measures used to reduce stress and anxiety is mindfulness, defined as a meditation technique that allows greater awareness of emotions, allowing practitioners to respond to stressors in a more skilled manner 14,15 . It has a neuroplastic action on CNS structures related to attention (prefrontal cortex, anterior cingulate cortex and striatum), emotional regulation and self-awareness (insula, amygdala, PFC and anterior cingulate cortex) [16][17][18] , as well as a regulatory action on biochemical stress markers, such as serum cortisol, C-reactive protein (CRP) and alpha tumor necrosis factor (TNF-α) 19 . ...
... A Mindfulness program was selected to be used with university students because it is a scientifically proven intervention in reducing stress and anxiety symptoms, with improvement in biochemical markers 19 , attention, emotional regulation, as well as self-awareness [14][15][16][17][18] . In this study, the overall prevalence of stress symptoms was 67% (n=280). ...
Introduction: Stress is a state in which the body homeostasis is threatened, leading to adaptive, physiological and behavioral responses. Anxiety is an unpleasant feeling that occurs whenever a future potential threat is perceived. Whenever these states are prolonged, both lead to metabolic, cardiovascular, neuropsychiatric and immunological consequences. University students are more susceptible to stress and anxiety symptoms than the general population. Mindfulness is a technique that allows its practitioners to become more aware of their emotions, dealing with stress in a more skilled way. Objective: To; evaluate the efficacy of a modified mindfulness program in reducing stress and anxiety symptoms in medicine and dentistry undergraduate students. Methods: This was a single blinded, randomized, clinical trial. Students from the aforementioned courses enrolled in the 1st to the 8th semesters of a higher education institution, answered Lipp’s Inventory of Stress symptoms for Adults (ISSL) (n=418) and the State-Trace Anxiety Inventory (STAI) (n=369). Those who showed a positive score for symptoms of stress and/or anxiety and accepted to take part in the intervention (n=59), were randomized into one of the two groups - mindfulness (a 2-week modified program), or control. After the intervention, the students were asked to answer the STAI and ISSL tools once again. Results: The global prevalence of stress and anxiety symptoms were 67% (n=280) and 76.4% (n=282), respectively. At the end of the second week, symptoms of stress and anxiety decreased 30.8% and 22.2%, respectively. There were no statistically significant differences between the mindfulness and control groups (p>0.05). Conclusion: Symptoms of stress and anxiety are highly prevalent among the studied population. Among medicine and dentistry undergraduate students in this higher education institution, a shortened mindfulness program was unable to reduce symptoms of stress and anxiety in a statistically significant way when compared to a control group.
... In general, mindfulness-based interventions have proven both a role in stress (Pascoe et al., 2017); also in work, (Ramaci et al., 2020) and effective in reducing chronic pain (Reiner et al., 2013) while simultaneously enhancing quality of life and psychological indices among chronic pain sufferers, including those with CLPB (Cramer et al., 2013;La Cour and Petersen, 2015). Recently, it has been demonstrated that self-compassion meditation (SCM) can alter the neural response to evoked pain in CLBP people (Berry et al., 2020). ...
Objective
The present study aims to examine whether combining hatha yoga practice with self-compassion meditation could influence kinesiophobia, emotions, perceived stress, and perceived disability among individuals with chronic low back pain when compared with hatha yoga alone.
Methods
The randomized controlled study included 70 participants with chronic low back pain (CLBP) who were randomly assigned to a Hatha yoga group (HY; n = 35) or a Hatha yoga group plus self-compassion meditation (HYSCM; n = 35). Participants followed a protocol for 8 weeks, and the assessments were carried out before and after the intervention, with a follow-up evaluation conducted after one month. The participants completed the PANAS, PSS, TSK, and RMQ questionnaires. A Generalized Estimating Equation was used to explore the effect of interventions.
Results
Both HY and HYSCM groups improved kinesiophobia, perceived disability, and stress at the follow-up. However, the HYSCM group shown a more significant reduction in kinesiophobia compared to the HY group. Moreover, significant improvement in positive affect and a reduction in negative affect over time in the HYSCM group were observed.
Conclusion
Hatha yoga practice when combined with self-compassion meditation led to extra benefits by exhibiting a prolonged effect, especially on kinesiophobia positive and negative effects.
... Regarding the biological effects of MBIs, there is consistent meta-analytic evidence showing that they produce significant physiological changes in parameters like a reduction in oxygen consumption, blood pressure, and heart rate [25], which are contrary to those that occur during the stress response [26]. These changes have also been observed in three-day intensive meditation retreats [27]. ...
Introduction
The main objective of the study will be to evaluate the effects of two widely used standardized mindfulness-based programs [Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) and Compassion Cultivation Training (CCT)], on epigenetic, neurobiological, psychological, and physiological variables.
Methods
The programs will be offered in an intensive retreat format in a general population sample of healthy volunteer adults. During a 7-day retreat, participants will receive MBSR and CCT in a crossover design where participants complete both programs in random order. After finishing their first 3-day training with one of the two programs, participants will be assigned to the second 3-day training with the second program. The effects of the MBSR and CCT programs, and their combination, will be measured by epigenetic changes (i.e., DNA methylation biomarkers), neurobiological and psychophysiological measures (i.e., EEG resting state, EKG, respiration patterns, and diurnal cortisol slopes), self-report questionnaires belonging to different psychological domains (i.e., mindfulness, compassion, well-being, distress, and general functioning), and stress tasks (i.e., an Arithmetic Stress Test and the retrieval of negative autobiographical memories). These measures will be collected from both groups on the mornings of day 1 (pre-program), day 4 (after finishing the first program and before beginning the second program), and day 7 (post-second program). We will conduct a 3-month and a 12-month follow-up using only the set of self-report measures.
Discussion
This study aims to shed light on the neurobiological and psychological mechanisms linked to meditation and compassion in the general population. The protocol was registered at clinicaltrials.gov (Identifier: NCT05516355; August 23, 2022).
... An influence of the response time on the vital signs is possible and different intensities of hand movement to operate the mouse could induce movement artifacts to varying extends. Also, participants' experience with meditation routines, deep breathing, mindfulness exercises, and immersive video games was not taken into account, factors that could influence the individual stress-strain relationship [22,131,132]. Finally, it should be noted that the participants may have experienced the measurement setup as rather unusual. ...
Numerous vital signs are reported in association with stress response assessment, but their application varies widely. This work provides an overview over methods for stress induction and strain assessment, and presents a multimodal experimental study to identify the most important vital signs for effective assessment of the response to acute mental stress. We induced acute mental stress in 65 healthy participants with the Mannheim Multicomponent Stress Test and acquired self-assessment measures (Likert scale, Self-Assessment Manikin), salivary α-amylase and cortisol concentrations as well as 60 vital signs from biosignals, such as heart rate variability parameters, QT variability parameters, skin conductance level, and breath rate. By means of statistical testing and a self-optimizing logistic regression, we identified the most important biosignal vital signs. Fifteen biosignal vital signs related to ventricular repolarization variability, blood pressure, skin conductance, and respiration showed significant results. The logistic regression converged with QT variability index, left ventricular work index, earlobe pulse arrival time, skin conductance level, rise time and number of skin conductance responses, breath rate, and breath rate variability (F1 = 0.82). Self-assessment measures indicated successful stress induction. α-amylase and cortisol showed effect sizes of -0.78 and 0.55, respectively. In summary, the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenocortical axis and sympathetic nervous system were successfully activated. Our findings facilitate a coherent and integrative understanding of the assessment of the stress response and help to align applications and future research concerning acute mental stress.
... Ezen a ponton fontos megemlíteni, hogy Schultchen, Bayer, Kühnel, Melchers és Pollatos (2019) azt találták, hogy mind a fiziológiai, mind pedig az észlelt krónikus stressz vonatkozásában fordított összefüggés mutatható ki az in teroceptív pontossággal. Mivel a metaanalízisek eredményei alapján a meditatív intervenciók csökkentik mind az észlelt (Chiesa & Serretti, 2009), mind pedig a fiziológiai stresszt (Koncz és mtsai, 2021;Pascoe, Thompson, Jenkins, & Ski, 2017; Sanada és mtsai, 2016), ezért azt várnánk, hogy így ezen intervenciók jobb interoceptív pontosságot is eredmé nyeznek mindkét esetben. Ugyanakkor ismert az, hogy a szimpatikus aktiváció a szívdobogás percepciójának javu lásával jár együtt, ami elsősorban a vérnyomás és a löket térfogat növekedésével magyarázható (Schandry, Bestler, & Montoya, 1993). ...
Elméleti háttér: Az interoceptív információknak és ezek magasabb szintű integrációjának születésünktől fogva fontos szerepe van a túlélésben és a pszichológiai működésekben is. Ennek a nagy mennyiségű információnak csak egy kis része tudatosul, amelyet három kategóriára, az interoceptív pontosságra, az interoceptív érzékenységre és az interoceptív tudatosságra bonthatunk. Cél: Jelen tanulmány célja, hogy áttekintést nyújtson az interocepció fejlődési vonatkozásairól, továbbá, hogy bemutassa az említett jelenség gyermekkori korrelátumait és fejlesztésével kapcsolatos empirikus eredményeket. Módszerek: A tanulmányban elsőként áttekintjük, hogy a különféle fejlődéselméletekben hogyan jelenik meg az interocepció, majd a szakirodalomban elérhető empirikus eredményeket foglaljuk össze, végül pedig összegezzük a fejlesztés lehetőségeit. Eredmények: A különböző elméletalkotók közül Ádám György adja a legkomplexebb megközelítést, amelynek központi eleme, hogy az egyén figyelme a születés után idővel egyre inkább a külső ingerek felé fordul. Az előbbiek ellenére azonban úgy tűnik, hogy a belső érzetek detektálása újratanulható. Egyes faktorok, mint amilyen például a szorongás és a pánikbetegség tünetei, már gyermekkorban pozitív összefüggést mutatnak az interoceptív pontossággal. Más esetekben, például elhízás vagy krónikus tik zavar során negatív összefüggést találtak, az autizmus spektrumzavar esetében pedig vegyes eredmények születtek. Az interocepció különböző aspektusainak fejleszthetőségével kapcsolatban a túlnyomórészt felnőttektől származó eredmények azt mutatják, hogy inkább az interoceptív tudatosság javítható különféle intervenciók segítségével, bár a pontosság tekintetében elképzelhető, hogy az egyes kontemplatív intervenciók és a testpásztázás fejlesztő hatással bírnak. Következtetések: Az interoceptív tudatossággal kapcsolatos nagyobb számú pozitív eredményt magyarázhatja, hogy az interoceptív pontosság felnőttkorra már stabillá válik, azonban feltételezzük, hogy gyermekkorban még lehetséges a befolyásolása.
... The results demonstrate that the Managing Stress and Basics mindfulness interventions show a stress-buffering effect compared to the other interventions, specifically by increasing PNS activity in a population afflicted with elevated levels of self-reported baseline stress. Furthermore, the results show that mindfulness can momentarily decrease stress and stress-related autonomic activity, which has also been observed in related studies, albeit in healthy populations and using salivary cortisol [93,94]. ...
Background: Stress-related mental health disorders have steadily increased and contributed to a worldwide disease burden with up to 50% experiencing a stress-related mental health disorder worldwide. Data suggest that only approximately 20%-65% of individuals receive treatment. This gap in receiving treatment may be attributed to barriers such as limited treatment access, negative stigma surrounding mental health treatment, approachability (ie, not having a usual treatment plan or provider), affordability (ie, lack of insurance coverage and high treatment cost), and availability (ie, long waits for appointments) leaving those who need treatment without necessary care. To mitigate the limited access mental health treatment, there has been a rise in the application and study of digital mental health interventions. As such, there is an urgent need and opportunity for effective digital mental health interventions to alleviate stress symptoms, potentially reducing adverse outcomes of stress-related disorders.
Objective: This study examined if app-based guided mindfulness could improve subjective levels of stress and influence physiological markers of stress reactivity in a population with elevated symptoms of stress.
Methods: The study included 163 participants who had moderate to high perceived stress as assessed by the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS-10). Participants were randomly allocated to 1 of 5 groups: a digital guided program designed to alleviate stress (Managing Stress), a digital mindfulness fundamentals course (Basics), digitally delivered breathing exercises, an active control intervention (Audiobook), and a Waitlist Control group. The 3 formats of mindfulness interventions (Managing Stress, Basics, and Breathing) all had a total duration of 300 minutes spanning 20-30 days. Primary outcome measures were perceived stress using the PSS-10, self-reported sleep quality using the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index, and trait mindfulness using the Mindful Attention Awareness Scale. To probe the effects of physiological stress, an acute stress manipulation task was included, specifically the cold pressor task (CPT). Heart rate variability was collected before, during, and after exposure to the CPT and used as a measure of physiological stress.
Results: The results showed that PSS-10 and Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index scores for the Managing Stress (all P<.001) and Basics (all P≤.002) groups were significantly reduced between preintervention and postintervention periods, while no significant differences were reported for the other groups. No significant differences among groups were reported for Mindful Attention Awareness Scale (P=.13). The physiological results revealed that the Managing Stress (P<.001) and Basics (P=.01) groups displayed reduced physiological stress reactivity between the preintervention and postintervention periods on the CPT. There were no significant differences reported for the other groups.
Conclusions: These results demonstrate efficacy of app-based mindfulness in a population with moderate to high stress on improving self-reported stress, sleep quality, and physiological measures of stress during an acute stress manipulation task.
... Additionally, IL-10 inhibits TNF-α, which affects IL-6 function in adults [55]. Previous studies have shown that IL-10 plays a role in the regeneration of bones and muscles with proper care [56,57]. In this study, musculoskeletal pain was found to possibly affect IL-6 levels, but this effect was only slight and not statistically significant. ...
Introduction
Work-related musculoskeletal disorders (WMSDs), the most common causes of work-related pain, suffering, absenteeism, and disability, are a major health concern for rubber farmers. WMSDs are persistent and frequently recur, resulting in increased health burdens for workers. Fortunately, appropriate intervention may relieve discomfort. Specified interventions have been recommended to reduce incidences of WMSD.
Objective
This study aimed to develop and evaluate the efficacy of a personalised self-care programme (PSCP) for relieving pain caused by WMSDs among rubber farmers.
Methods
Demographic data and details concerning the prevalence of pain regions were collected using a questionnaire adapted from the Nordic Musculoskeletal Questionnaire (IOC 1.00). The evidence gained from modified questionnaires and special tests was used to develop the PSCP. The PSCP was verified by three experts (IOC 1.00). Based on the questionnaires, only participants with a pain score of 3 or higher were recruited for the study. The PSCP's efficacy was evaluated by comparing the results before application and after 28 days. A numerical rating scale was employed to estimate the degree of pain. The pathogeneses of WMSDs were confirmed with a special test performed by a physical therapist. Additionally, the levels of interleukin (IL)-6 and IL-10 were measured to determine the PSCP's effect on inflammatory molecules. The efficacy of the PSCP was analysed using a paired t-test.
Results
The results showed that farmers experienced the greatest discomfort in the lower back, followed by the shoulders, legs, and neck. Therefore, this PSCP was designed to alleviate work-related musculoskeletal pain in these body regions. A reduction in pain by two degrees was observed after 28 days of the PSCP (x‾before = 5.26, SD = 1.96, x‾after = 2.40, SD = 1.64, p < 0.001). Special tests confirmed that the number of pain regions were also decreased (x‾before = 0.089, SD = 0.067, x‾after = 0.016, SD = 0.030, p < 0.001). In addition, IL-10 levels increased (p ≤ 0.001) following the PSCP, whereas IL-6 levels remained unaltered.
Conclusions
After 28 days of use, the PSCP was effective at reducing pain levels, decreasing pain regions, and promoting the production of anti-inflammatory molecules. This finding demonstrates that the PSCP could help alleviate work-related musculoskeletal pain among rubber farmers. The PSCP may be an appropriate intervention for alleviating pain.
... Relaxation is a psycho-physiological response that opposes the stress response and the arousal of the central nervous system, which is associated with changes in physiological variables including the reduction of HR, RR and GSR (Benson, 1983;Teplan et al., 2014;Park et al., 2017). Two specifically calming scenes were included in this study containing elements from relaxation techniques, mindfulness, and the display of natural environments, all of which have a strong evidence base to promote relaxation (Pascoe et al., 2017;Tsutsumi et al., 2017;Song et al., 2018;Zaccaro et al., 2018;Toussaint et al., 2021). Both exposure conditions (VR and 2D) promoted a state of relaxation, measured as i) a marked reduction in HR, RR compared to baseline levels, ii) reduction in GSR compared to the previous scene ( Figure 3C) as well as iii) self-reported ratings of relaxation ( Figure 4B). ...
Introduction: Virtual-reality (VR) technology has, over the last decade, quickly expanded from gaming into other sectors including training, education, and wellness. One of the most popular justifications for the use of VR over 2D is increased immersion and engagement. However, very little fundamental research has been produced evaluating the comparative impact of immersive VR on the user’s cognitive, physiological, and emotional state.
Methods: A within-subject cross-over study design was used to directly compare VR and 2D screen delivery of different subject matter content. Both physiological and self-report data were collected for scenes containing calming nature environments, aggressive social confrontations, and neutral content.
Results: Compared to 2D, the VR delivery resulted in a higher sense of presence, higher ratings of engagement, fun, and privacy. Confrontational scenes were rated as more tense whilst calming scenes were rated as more relaxing when presented in VR compared to 2D. Physiological data indicated that the scenes promoted overall states of arousal and relaxation in accordance with the scene subject matter (both VR and 2D). However, heart rate (HR) and galvanic skin response (GSR) were consistently higher throughout the VR delivery condition compared to 2D, including responses during scenes of neutral and calming subject matter.
Discussion: This discrepancy between emotional and physiological responses for calming and neutral content in VR suggest an elevated arousal response driven by VR immersion that is independent of the emotional and physiological responses to the subject matter itself. These findings have important implications for those looking to develop and utilize VR technology as a training and educational tool as they provide insights into the impact of immersion on the user.
... The current meta-analytic review provides a more comprehensive understanding of the association between participation in meditative interventions and enhanced immune functioning than has been available in the literature. Meta-analyses indicate that meditative interventions have the capacity to reduce stress in both clinical and nonclinical populations (Álvarez-Pérez et al., 2022;Chiesa & Serretti, 2009;Eberth & Sedlmeier, 2012;Khoury et al., 2015;Pascoe et al., 2017aPascoe et al., , 2017b. Stress is an antecedent to immune dysregulation-especially chronic inflammation (Godbout & Glaser, 2006;Gouin, 2011;Padget & Glaser, 2003). ...
Objectives
Meditative practices have grown in popularity, but the results of meditative intervention studies on immune functioning have been inconsistent. Although prior reviews have been conducted, the present meta-analysis provides a more comprehensive and updated examination.
Methods
One hundred and five eligible studies, including mindfulness-based, movement-based, and meditation-focused, meditative interventions with biological markers of immune functioning were analyzed. The current work (a) incorporates a greater number of studies available for review, (b) examines the overall magnitude of the effect of meditative interventions on immune functioning, (c) examines the effects of health on some individual level biomarkers (i.e., NF-κB, IgA, and IL-6), (d) compares different types of meditative interventions and (e) reveals the effect of various theoretical (e.g., the health of participants) and methodological (e.g., delivery of interventions) moderators.
Results
The meta-analysis indicated that meditative interventions, including formal meditation, mindfulness-based, and movement-based, have a small but significant effect on immune functioning (g = 0.181, k = 105, p < 0.001) as compared to controls (g = -0.001, p = 0.982). Furthermore, the results indicated that the effect of meditative interventions on immune functioning remained robust, regardless of the type of control condition.
Conclusions
The present meta-analysis suggests a small and significant effect of meditative interventions on immune functioning and serves to clarify inconsistent results in the literature. Further, it provides insight into both theoretical and methodological moderators for future research. Meditative interventions could be implemented in various formats and modalities, especially among those with physiological and psychological disorders.
Preregistration
The present meta-analysis was not preregistered.
... The different practices of meditation (e.g., attentional, open monitoring, loving kindness) have a variety of positive effects, including presentmoment awareness and observation of experience with openness, acceptance, and non-attachment (Dahl et al., 2015;Ricard et al., 2014;Lutz et al., 2009;Kabat-Zinn, 2003). They can also promote stress reduction, well-being, social connectedness, self-awareness, and attention and emotional regulation (Basso et al., 2019;Champion et al., 2018;Pascoe et al., 2017;Guendelman et al., 2017;Tang et al., 2015;Marchand, 2012;Ludwig and Kabat-Zinn, 2008;Valentine and Sweet, 2007). ...
Contemplative neuroscience has increasingly explored meditation using neuroimaging. However, the brain mechanisms underlying meditation remain elusive. Here, we implemented a causal mechanistic framework to explore the spatiotemporal dynamics of expert meditators during meditation and rest. We first applied a model-free approach by defining a probabilistic metastable substate (PMS) space for each state, consisting of different probabilities of occurrence from a repertoire of dynamic patterns. Different brain signatures were mainly found in the triple-network model (i.e., the executive control, salience, and default-mode networks). Moreover, we implemented a model-based approach by adjusting the PMS of the resting state to a whole-brain model, which enabled us to explore in silico perturbations to transition to the meditation state. Consequently, we assessed the sensitivity of different brain areas regarding their perturbability and their mechanistic local-global effects. Using a synchronous protocol, we successfully transitioned from the resting state to the meditative state by shifting areas mainly from the somatomotor and dorsal attention networks. Overall, our work reveals distinct whole-brain dynamics in meditation compared to rest, and how the meditation state can be induced with localized artificial perturbations. It motivates future work regarding meditation as a practice in health and as a potential therapy for brain disorders.
... Holistic Exercise and Decision Making: Holistic exercises, such as yoga, meditation, or other mind-body practices, have been shown to improve cognitive functions, emotional regulation, and stress reduction (Pascoe et al., 2017). These practices promote self-awareness, focus, and mental clarity, which can have a positive impact on decision-making processes. ...
Understanding the decision-making processes of individuals and their impact on organizational performance is crucial for business success. This research aims to delve into the influence of holistic exercise, such as yoga or other forms of mind-body practices, on decision makers' performance. While decision-making models often emphasize analytical reasoning, recent research suggests that incorporating holistic exercises into the decision-making process can lead to improved outcomes and overall well-being.
... Its positive effects on stress management have been demonstrated among populations with chronic conditions including psychiatric problems [13][14][15], cancer [16], chronic pain [17], and cardiovascular diseases [18]. A recent meta-analysis reported that mindfulness practices reduce physiological markers of stress, i.e., rebalancing the HPA axis with decreased cortisol levels, and improving inflammatory responses with reduced pro-inflammatory cytokines interleukin-6 (IL-6) and tumour necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) [19,20]. Though conceptualisations of mindfulness vary, all highlight its role in enhancing attention and awareness of thought and emotion, and all contrast mindful information processing with automatic, habitual, or heuristic information processing [21]. ...
Background
Between 40 and 50% of patients with Parkinson’s disease (PD) experience anxiety and depression, associated with impaired physical function, high care dependency and mortality. Recently, the United States National Institutes of Health has urged the implementation of mindfulness practices in chronic illness care. Most research to date has examined the effects on chronically ill patients of complex interventions using a combination of mindfulness techniques. In PD patients, however, such complex modalities appear to hinder the technique mastery. Hence, the aim of this trial is to investigate the effects and underlying mechanism of individual mindfulness techniques among PD patients, as well as exploring participants’ experience in using individual mindfulness techniques as a lifestyle intervention for stress and symptom management.
Methods
We will conduct an assessor-blind three-arm randomized waitlist-controlled trial with a descriptive qualitative evaluation. Up to 168 PD patients will be recruited from community settings and out-patient clinics, and randomized to meditation, yoga, or usual care group. Meditation and yoga sessions of 90-minute are held weekly for 8 weeks. Primary outcomes include anxiety and depression. Secondary outcomes include PD-related motor and non-motor symptoms and quality-of-life; and level of mindfulness and biomarkers of stress and inflammatory responses will be measured as mediating variables. All outcome evaluations will be assessed at baseline, 8 weeks, and 24 weeks. Following the intention-to-treat principle, generalized estimating equation models and path analysis will be used to identify the treatment effects and the mediating mechanisms. A subsample of 30 participants from each intervention group will be invited for qualitative interviews.
Discussion
The study would also generate important insights to enhance the patients’ adaptation to debilitating disease. More specifically, symptom management and stress adaptation are highly prioritized healthcare agenda in managing PD. The research evidence will further inform the development of community-based, nurse-led compassionate care models for neurodegenerative conditions, which is complementary to existing health services.
Trial registration
WHO Primary Registry – Chinese Clinical Trials Registry number: ChiCTR2100045939; registered on 2021/04/29 (https://www.chictr.org.cn/showproj.html?proj=125878).
... Specifically, mindfulness has been shown to be effective and efficacious, as well as beneficial in various healthcare settings, and hypothesized neurophysiological mechanisms for these effects seem to be uncontroversial (Zhang et al., 2021). Mindfulness has been found to mediate physiological (especially neurobiological) markers of stress and to lead to salutogenic changes in blood cortisol levels and selected immune outcomes and autonomic measures in a variety of populations (Pascoe et al., 2017). In all, hundreds of MBIs exist, mostly in clinical settings, with evidence of positive effects on human flourishing and general well-being (Allen et al., 2021), including results of rigorously designed randomized controlled trials which provide evidence in relation to numerous health, cognitive, affective, and interpersonal outcomes (Creswell, 2017). ...
This paper is a commentary on Doug Oman’s article entitled, “Mindfulness for Global Public Health: Critical Analysis and Agenda,” published in this issue. The present paper lays out the parameters of how epidemiologists may go about investigating the population-health impact of practices and states of being related to mindfulness meditation. First, it discusses conceptual issues involved in researching mindfulness; second, it summarizes the empirical literature on mindfulness and population health; third, it proposes a new field of study around the epidemiology of mindfulness; and, fourth, it offers some suggestions regarding translation of epidemiologic research findings on mindfulness to public health. To this end, a series of questions is posed in order to provide a starting point for descriptive and analytic epidemiologic research on mindfulness, and the translation or application of such findings in pastoral, clinical, and public health settings is discussed, with examples given. Conducting epidemiologic studies is a natural next step in the emergence of mindfulness and meditation as a subject for health-related research. Moreover, public health can provide a new setting for mindfulness to demonstrate its salutary effects, not just on individual patients in clinical settings but at the population level, in terms of rates of physical and psychological morbidity.
... Presence in nature (Kaplan & Kaplan 1989;, Jenkin et al., 2018Pascoe et al., 2017) or viewing a natural scene (Berto, 2005;Berman, Jonides, & Kaplan, 2008) for a few minutes to hours (Bratman, Hamilton, & Daily, 2012) has proven to have a positive physical and psychological impact. Numerous studies have focused particularly on possible improvements in individuals' attention level (Hartig, Evans, Jamner, Davis, & Garling, 2003;Lee, Park, Tsunetsugu, Kagawa, & Miyazaki, 2009). ...
1 ABSTRACT Attention Restoration Theory (ART) puts forward that being in nature has a restorative impact on direct attention level (Kaplan, 2001). Some researchers have tried to measure the perceptual implications of the four characteristics suggested by ART of a restorative environment (Korpela et al., 2010), and others have attempted to measure the cognitive consequences of immersion in a natural environment (Ohly et al., 2016). What has been examined far less is the interrelationship of perception and cognition and how they indicate the restorative impact. This research aimed to measure both perceptual and cognitive impacts of an immersive visual interaction with natural green elements. One hundred and eighty-two participants were randomly assigned to physically walk through, via VR goggles, one of two versions of a building's lobby modeled as a 3D virtual reality (VR) environment. One version was with, and the other was without natural green elements consisting of three types of indoor plants. To measure the two environments' perceptual impact, participants filled out a Perceived Restorative Scale (PRS) questionnaire (Hartig et al., 1997) after experiencing the environment. To assess possible improvement in attention level through cognitive processes, participants completed, before and after experiencing the environment, a Sustained Attention to Response Task (SART) (Jung et al., 2017). The results of this research seem to indicate that measuring one influencing factor may not be sufficient to evaluate the impact of an environment on attention level and may lead to misleading conclusions. 1.1
... Presence in nature (Kaplan & Kaplan 1989;, Jenkin et al., 2018Pascoe et al., 2017) or viewing a natural scene (Berto, 2005;Berman, Jonides, & Kaplan, 2008) for a few minutes to hours (Bratman, Hamilton, & Daily, 2012) has proven to have a positive physical and psychological impact. Numerous studies have focused particularly on possible improvements in individuals' attention level (Hartig, Evans, Jamner, Davis, & Garling, 2003;Lee, Park, Tsunetsugu, Kagawa, & Miyazaki, 2009). ...
1 ABSTRACT Attention Restoration Theory (ART) puts forward that being in nature has a restorative impact on direct attention level (Kaplan, 2001). Some researchers have tried to measure the perceptual implications of the four characteristics suggested by ART of a restorative environment (Korpela et al., 2010), and others have attempted to measure the cognitive consequences of immersion in a natural environment (Ohly et al., 2016). What has been examined far less is the interrelationship of perception and cognition and how they indicate the restorative impact. This research aimed to measure both perceptual and cognitive impacts of an immersive visual interaction with natural green elements. One hundred and eighty-two participants were randomly assigned to physically walk through, via VR goggles, one of two versions of a building's lobby modeled as a 3D virtual reality (VR) environment. One version was with, and the other was without natural green elements consisting of three types of indoor plants. To measure the two environments' perceptual impact, participants filled out a Perceived Restorative Scale (PRS) questionnaire (Hartig et al., 1997) after experiencing the environment. To assess possible improvement in attention level through cognitive processes, participants completed, before and after experiencing the environment, a Sustained Attention to Response Task (SART) (Jung et al., 2017). The results of this research seem to indicate that measuring one influencing factor may not be sufficient to evaluate the impact of an environment on attention level and may lead to misleading conclusions. 1.1
... Presence in nature (Kaplan & Kaplan 1989;, Jenkin et al., 2018Pascoe et al., 2017) or viewing a natural scene (Berto, 2005;Berman, Jonides, & Kaplan, 2008) for a few minutes to hours (Bratman, Hamilton, & Daily, 2012) has proven to have a positive physical and psychological impact. Numerous studies have focused particularly on possible improvements in individuals' attention level (Hartig, Evans, Jamner, Davis, & Garling, 2003;Lee, Park, Tsunetsugu, Kagawa, & Miyazaki, 2009). ...
1 ABSTRACT Attention Restoration Theory (ART) puts forward that being in nature has a restorative impact on direct attention level (Kaplan, 2001). Some researchers have tried to measure the perceptual implications of the four characteristics suggested by ART of a restorative environment (Korpela et al., 2010), and others have attempted to measure the cognitive consequences of immersion in a natural environment (Ohly et al., 2016). What has been examined far less is the interrelationship of perception and cognition and how they indicate the restorative impact. This research aimed to measure both perceptual and cognitive impacts of an immersive visual interaction with natural green elements. One hundred and eighty-two participants were randomly assigned to physically walk through, via VR goggles, one of two versions of a building's lobby modeled as a 3D virtual reality (VR) environment. One version was with, and the other was without natural green elements consisting of three types of indoor plants. To measure the two environments' perceptual impact, participants filled out a Perceived Restorative Scale (PRS) questionnaire (Hartig et al., 1997) after experiencing the environment. To assess possible improvement in attention level through cognitive processes, participants completed, before and after experiencing the environment, a Sustained Attention to Response Task (SART) (Jung et al., 2017). The results of this research seem to indicate that measuring one influencing factor may not be sufficient to evaluate the impact of an environment on attention level and may lead to misleading conclusions. 1.1
... Presence in nature (Kaplan & Kaplan 1989;, Jenkin et al., 2018Pascoe et al., 2017) or viewing a natural scene (Berto, 2005;Berman, Jonides, & Kaplan, 2008) for a few minutes to hours (Bratman, Hamilton, & Daily, 2012) has proven to have a positive physical and psychological impact. Numerous studies have focused particularly on possible improvements in individuals' attention level (Hartig, Evans, Jamner, Davis, & Garling, 2003;Lee, Park, Tsunetsugu, Kagawa, & Miyazaki, 2009). ...
1 ABSTRACT Attention Restoration Theory (ART) puts forward that being in nature has a restorative impact on direct attention level (Kaplan, 2001). Some researchers have tried to measure the perceptual implications of the four characteristics suggested by ART of a restorative environment (Korpela et al., 2010), and others have attempted to measure the cognitive consequences of immersion in a natural environment (Ohly et al., 2016). What has been examined far less is the interrelationship of perception and cognition and how they indicate the restorative impact. This research aimed to measure both perceptual and cognitive impacts of an immersive visual interaction with natural green elements. One hundred and eighty-two participants were randomly assigned to physically walk through, via VR goggles, one of two versions of a building's lobby modeled as a 3D virtual reality (VR) environment. One version was with, and the other was without natural green elements consisting of three types of indoor plants. To measure the two environments' perceptual impact, participants filled out a Perceived Restorative Scale (PRS) questionnaire (Hartig et al., 1997) after experiencing the environment. To assess possible improvement in attention level through cognitive processes, participants completed, before and after experiencing the environment, a Sustained Attention to Response Task (SART) (Jung et al., 2017). The results of this research seem to indicate that measuring one influencing factor may not be sufficient to evaluate the impact of an environment on attention level and may lead to misleading conclusions. 1.1
... Certaines d'entre elles sont reconnues comme médecines alternatives et complémentaires (MAC) par le Conseil national de l'Ordre des médecins. Il a ainsi été démontré que la pratique de la méditation conduit à une diminution des marqueurs physiologiques du stress [16]. Plus le monde dans lequel nous vivons, impose maîtrise, obligation de performance et d'organisation, plus le terme "lâcher-prise" est proposé comme moyen d'y faire face. ...
... Mindfulness is the psychological process of one's attention, moment by moment (Kabat-Zinn, 2003;Priya & Kalra, 2018). The practice of mindfulness increases parasympathetic activity and reduces sympathetic vascular tone, stress hormones, and inflammatory markers (Pascoe et al., 2017;Priya & Kalra, 2018). ...
An in-depth understanding of psychological symptoms and mindfulness of men and women with percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) may help develop sex-specific treatments and outcomes. This study aimed to examine differences in depression, anxiety, stress, and mindfulness between men and women undergoing PCI using a convenience sample of 114 participants (81 men and 33 women) with PCI at a university hospital in 2013. The Depression Anxiety Stress Scales and the Korean version of the Mindfulness Attention Awareness Scale were administered. The depression, anxiety, and stress scores of women were higher than those of men, with no significant differences in mindfulness between the two sexes. The comparison of cutoff scores for severity (normal scores vs. ≥ mild) of depression, anxiety, and stress for men versus women revealed a higher proportion of women in the ≥ mild categories for the three components. Women who received PCI showed greater psychological distress than men. Therefore, awareness of these differences may alert cardiovascular nurses to employ systematic vigilance in assessing and mitigating this distress among cardiac patients, particularly women.
... MBSR and MBAT research has demonstrated efficacy mostly for six to eight week curriculums. Both MBSR and MBAT have demonstrated efficacy for community samples, and multiple clinical and medical conditions (Beerse et al., 2020;Khoury et al., 2015;Monti et al., 2006;Pascoe et al., 2017;Peterson, 2015;Querstret et al., 2020;Wielgosz et al., 2019;Zeidan, Johnson, Gordon, et al., 2010). ...
The purpose of this study was to evaluate if a single session mindfulness-based art therapy doodle intervention may support and improve: (a) mindfulness, (b) mindful creativity, and (c) positive and negative emotional states. A general community sample of 71 adult participants engaged in the mindful doodling virtual two-hour workshops. Based on retrospective methods from participant self-reported perceptions before and after the workshop, there were statistically significant increases in ratings of mindfulness, mindful creativity, and positive emotions, as well as decreases in negative emotions (p < .05). The results suggested the potential efficacy and clinical benefit of this single session art therapy intervention for promoting mindfulness, creativity, and positivity in the community.
... Fatores associados a altos índices de estresse e ansiedade na graduação são: primeiros anos da graduação 9 , sexo feminino, baixa renda familiar, insatisfação com o curso 10 Uma das medidas utilizadas para reduzir o estresse e a ansiedade é o mindfulness, definido como uma técnica de meditação que permite maior consciência sobre as emoções, tornando os praticantes capacitados a responder de forma habilidosa a fatores estressores 14,15 . Possui ação neuroplástica em estruturas do SNC relacionadas à atenção (córtex préfrontal, córtex anterior cingulado e corpo estriado), à regulação emocional e à autoconsciência (ínsula, amígdala, córtex préfrontal e córtex anterior cingulado) [16][17][18] , bem como à ação reguladora sobre os marcadores bioquímicos do estresse, como cortisol sérico, proteína C reativa (PCR) e fator de necrose tumoral alfa (FNT-α) 19 . ...
Resumo: Introdução: O estresse é um estado no qual ocorrem ameaças à homeostase do organismo, com respostas adaptativas fisiológicas e comportamentais. A ansiedade é uma sensação desagradável advinda da percepção de uma ameaça potencial futura. Quando prolongados, ambos levam a repercussões metabólicas, cardiovasculares, imunológicas e neuropsiquiátricas. Os estudantes universitários são mais susceptíveis a sintomas de estresse e ansiedade do que a população em geral. A técnica de mindfulness permite que os seus praticantes se tornem mais conscientes de suas emoções, passando a responder de forma habilidosa ao estresse e à ansiedade Objetivo: Este estudo teve como objetivo avaliar a eficácia de um programa de mindfulness na redução de sintomas de estresse e ansiedade em estudantes de Medicina e Odontologia. Método: Trata-se de um ensaio clínico, randomizado, simples-cego. Acadêmicos regularmente matriculados do primeiro ao oitavo período desses cursos de uma instituição de ensino superior responderam ao Inventário de Sintomas de Stress para Adultos de Lipp (ISSL) (n = 418) e ao Inventário de Ansiedade Traço-Estado (IDATE) (n = 369). Os participantes que apresentaram sintomas de estresse e/ou ansiedade e aceitaram participar da intervenção (n = 59) foram randomizados em grupos mindfulness (programa modificado de duas semanas) e de controle. Ao final da intervenção, o ISSL e o IDATE foram reaplicados. Resultado: As prevalências globais de estresse e ansiedade foram de 67% (n = 280) e 76,4% (n = 282), respectivamente. Ao final da segunda semana, a redução dos sintomas de estresse e ansiedade foi de 30,8% e 22,2%, respectivamente. Não houve diferença estatisticamente significativa entre os grupos mindfulness e de controle (p > 0,05). Conclusão: Percebe-se uma alta prevalência de sintomas de estresse e ansiedade na população estudada. Um programa de mindfulness em formato reduzido não foi capaz de diminuir significativamente os sintomas de estresse e ansiedade em comparação ao grupo de controle, em acadêmicos de Medicina e Odontologia dessa instituição.
... Micropractice: Consciously taking three deep nourishing breaths every few minutes while completely relaxing the body tension has significantly reduced compassion fatigue in nurses (Sitzman & Craven, 2021;Owens et al., 2020). Focused deep breathing allows for the more profound exchange of oxygen activation of the parasympathetic system increase in oxytocin and reductions in cortisol help one to respond better to current stressful stimuli (Drigas & Mitsea, 2021;Pascoe et al., 2017;Yuliana, 2021). ...
... The results demonstrate that the Managing Stress and Basics mindfulness interventions show a stress-buffering effect compared to the other interventions, specifically by increasing PNS activity in a population afflicted with elevated levels of self-reported baseline stress. Furthermore, the results show that mindfulness can momentarily decrease stress and stress-related autonomic activity, which has also been observed in related studies, albeit in healthy populations and using salivary cortisol [93,94]. ...
BACKGROUND
Stress is accepted as a contributing factor to the onset of a range of adverse mental health disorders, including depression and anxiety. There is an urgent need for effective digital mental health interventions to address the adverse outcomes of stress-related disorders. Few studies have directly demonstrated the efficacy of app-based mindfulness interventions in populations with elevated stress levels.
OBJECTIVE
The current study examined if app-based guided mindfulness could improve subjective levels of stress and influence physiological markers of stress reactivity in a population with elevated symptoms of stress.
METHODS
The study included 163 participants who had moderate to high perceived stress (PSS-10, Perceived Stress Scale: 14-40). Participants were randomly allocated to 1 of 5 groups: a digital guided program designed to alleviate stress (Managing Stress), a digital mindfulness fundamentals course (Basics), digitally delivered breathing exercises, an active control intervention (audiobook), and a waitlist control group. The three formats of mindfulness interventions (Managing Stress, Basics, breathing) all had a total duration of 300 minutes spanning 20-30-days. Primary outcome measures were perceived stress using the PSS, self-reported sleep quality using the PSQI (Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index), and trait mindfulness using the MAAS (Mindful Attention Awareness Scale). To probe the effects of physiological stress, an acute stress manipulation task was included, specifically the cold pressor task (CPT). Heart rate variability (HRV) was collected before, during and after exposure to the CPT and used as a measure of physiological stress.
RESULTS
The results showed that PSS and PSQI scores for the Managing Stress and Basics groups were significantly reduced from pre to post while no significant differences were reported for the other groups. The physiological results revealed that the Managing Stress and Basics groups displayed reduced physiological stress reactivity from pre to post before, during, and after the CPT. There were no significant differences reported for the other groups. Subgroup analyses stratified participants in the Basics and the Managing Stress by baseline stress levels using the median PSS score into either moderate or high stress. Only the Managing Stress subgroup showed improved PSS scores among high stress participants, while there was no significant difference in PSS reduction by subgroup for the Basics group.
CONCLUSIONS
These results demonstrate efficacy of app-based mindfulness in a population with moderate to high stress on improving self-reported stress, sleep quality and physiological measures of stress during an acute stress manipulation task.
... Studies also show that the regular use of meditation, relaxation, and breathing practices contributes to many positive changes in both the emotional state of those practicing them and aspects of their physical health, such as a significant reduction in stress hormones [14] and markers of chronic inflammation [15], as well as normalization of elevated blood pressure (BP) [16][17][18][19]. ...
BACKGROUND: Patients in general hospitals often display concomitant signs of mental maladjustment: low mood, anxiety, apathy, asthenia, all of which can have a negative impact on the course of the underlying disease and the recovery process. One of the non-pharmacological approaches that has gained wider acceptance in medical practice in recent years is the use of procedures based on virtual reality.
AIM: Assess the efficacy of the new domestic, virtual reality application Flow as relates to symptoms of anxiety and asthenia in patients undergoing inpatient treatment.
METHODS: The study was open-label and had a comparison group; the patients were assigned to the experimental or control group using a randomization table. The patients were assessed using the Spielberger State Anxiety Inventory; the Fatigue Symptom Rating Scale; the Well-being, Activity, Mood questionnaire; the Depression Anxiety Stress Scale; and the Clinical Global Impression Scale. Physical parameters were measured before and after each virtual reality session. The obtained data were statistically processed.
RESULTS: The study involved 60 patients. In 40 patients, the treatment program included a course of five daily relaxation sessions in virtual reality; the control group consisted of 20 patients, who were treated in accordance with the usual practice of the institution. The addition of virtual reality sessions to the standard treatment course yielded significant advantage in terms of affective symptoms reduction in patients both after a single session and as a result of undergoing the full course, and several days after its completion. The patients in the experimental group also showed a significant decrease in blood pressure after the sessions, and this was most pronounced in individuals who initially had elevated and high blood pressure.
CONCLUSION: The use of relaxation program courses in the virtual reality application Flow is an effective and promising means of non-pharmacological care for non-psychiatric inpatients showing symptoms of anxiety, apathy, depressive mood, as well as hypertension.
... The results demonstrate that the Managing Stress and Basics mindfulness interventions show a stress-buffering effect compared to the other interventions, specifically by increasing PNS activity in a population afflicted with elevated levels of self-reported baseline stress. Furthermore, the results show that mindfulness can momentarily decrease stress and stress-related autonomic activity, which has also been observed in related studies, albeit in healthy populations and using salivary cortisol [93,94]. ...
UNSTRUCTURED
Stress is accepted as a contributing factor to the onset of a range of adverse mental health disorders, including depression and anxiety. There is an urgent need for effective digital mental health interventions to address the adverse outcomes of stress-related disorders. Few studies have directly demonstrated the efficacy of app-based mindfulness interventions in populations with elevated stress levels. The current study examined if app-based guided mindfulness could improve subjective levels of stress and influence physiological markers of stress reactivity in a population with elevated symptoms of stress. The study included 163 participants who had moderate to high perceived stress (PSS-10, Perceived Stress Scale: 14-40). Participants were randomly allocated to 1 of 5 groups: a digital guided program designed to alleviate stress (Managing Stress), a digital mindfulness fundamentals course (Basics), digitally delivered breathing exercises, an active control intervention (audiobook), and a waitlist control group. The three formats of mindfulness interventions (Managing Stress, Basics, breathing) all had a total duration of 300 minutes spanning 20-30-days. Primary outcome measures were perceived stress using the PSS, self-reported sleep quality using the PSQI (Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index), and trait mindfulness using the MAAS (Mindful Attention Awareness Scale). To probe the effects of physiological stress, an acute stress manipulation task was included, specifically the cold pressor task (CPT). Heart rate variability (HRV) was collected before, during and after exposure to the CPT and used as a measure of physiological stress. The results showed that PSS and PSQI scores for the Managing Stress and Basics groups were significantly reduced from pre to post while no significant differences were reported for the other groups. The physiological results revealed that the Managing Stress and Basics groups displayed reduced physiological stress reactivity from pre to post before, during, and after the CPT. There were no significant differences reported for the other groups. Subgroup analyses stratified participants in the Basics and the Managing Stress by baseline stress levels using the median PSS score into either moderate or high stress. Only the Managing Stress subgroup showed improved PSS scores among high stress participants, while there was no significant difference in PSS reduction by subgroup for the Basics group. These results demonstrate efficacy of app-based mindfulness in a population with moderate to high stress on improving self-reported stress, sleep quality and physiological measures of stress during an acute stress manipulation task.
Background: It is well-known that stress and high levels of cortisol can negatively impact lactation outcomes. Mindfulness techniques are also known to be effective at reducing stress, and there has been some research into the effects of these techniques on breastfeeding. However, there has not yet been an integrative review examining the outcomes of the research carried out on this subject in the past 10 years. Objectives: The objective of this integrative review was to assess the effect of mindfulness techniques on lactation. This includes the effects on maternal stress, both perceived and physiologic, milk composition and volume, as well as the effects on the infants. Methods: The electronic databases Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature (CINAHL), PubMed, Scopus, and Cochrane were searched using the key terms "meditate, meditation, relaxation or mindfulness" and "breastfeeding or lactation." Results: Nine articles met the inclusion criteria. Six key themes were identified. Mindfulness techniques reduce perceived and physiologic maternal stress and increase infant growth, particularly in the late preterm early term infant population. Infant behavior was also impacted by maternal mindfulness techniques as well as maternal milk volume, expression, and breastfeeding/pumping frequency. However, the effectiveness of mindfulness techniques is dose dependent. Conclusions: Mindfulness techniques are a simple and practical tool for postpartum breastfeeding people that have the potential to improve both lactation and infant outcomes.
In psychodrama, body, mind and scene are understood as a unity, with the physical dimension recently receiving increasing attention. The findings of modern embodiment research, neuropsychology and psychophysiology show how bodily phenomena influence our experience and behavior and enable a more comprehensive understanding of therapeutic processes as well as new possibilities of application.
In this article of the journal Zeitschrift für Psychodrama und Soziometrie, some arguments for therapeutic work with felt experience are presented, a model for embodied self-experience by Alan Fogel (2021) is outlined, and the connection to the mindfulness approach is made. Finally, the questions of how these approaches can enrich the psychodramatic understanding of the bodily dimension of therapeutic processes and which approaches of integration are conceivable in practice will be discussed.
Psychodermatology pertains to the relationship between the skin and brain. This review aims to summarize the evidence of the mind body connection in four psychophysiological conditions: rosacea, atopic dermatitis (AD), acne vulgaris (AV), and psoriasis. A literature search was conducted using several English language databases. All four conditions share similar psychiatric co-morbidities, including but not limited to anxiety, depression, and suicidality. In rosacea, the upregulation of transient receptor potential vanilloid type 1, Toll like receptor 2, and Th17 cells releases downstream products that are simultaneously implicated in mood disorders. Stress exacerbates AV through the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) system, which alters functioning of sebocytes and Cutibacterium acnes. In AD and psoriasis, the HPA axis influences Th1, Th2, Th22, and Th1, Th17 immune mediated responses, respectively. This leads to the secretion of pro-inflammatory cytokines which are also involved in the pathogenesis of anxiety and depression. Neurotransmitters implicated in mental illness, such as gamma-aminobutyric acid and serotonin, may also play a role in the development of AD and psoriasis. The management of cutaneous disease may mitigate psychological distress, and future research may show the corollary to also be true.
Vision impairment could have debilitating effects on patients’ mental, physical, and emotional health. Our study aims to understand the role of meditation and breathing exercises in the management of vision loss and its effects on patient’s disease progression. This study is designed as a systematic review and meta-analysis. Eligible studies were retrieved from MEDLINE, EMBASE, and CINAHL databases and gray literature. Covidence software was used to conduct the systematic review. Duplicate records were removed, and two independent reviewers screened records for relevance. After the screening, a risk-of-bias assessment was carried out. Data were extracted, and a meta-analysis was performed using STATA 14.0. Fixed-effect and random-effect models were computed based on heterogeneity. Our results indicate that meditation and breathing exercises significantly reduce intraocular pressure (IOP) (ES = −1.76, 95% CI = [−2.69, −0.83]) in glaucoma patients, mean deviation of Humphrey visual field testing (ES = −0.20, 95% CI = [−0.37, −0.03]), and biomarkers such as cortisol (ES = −0.73, 95% CI = [−0.25, −2.22]) and reactive oxygen species (ES = −2.45, 95% CI = [−4.20, −0.71]). In addition, our results demonstrated significant increases in beta-endorphins (ES = 28.60, 95% CI = [25.61, 31.59]) following breathing and meditation exercises. Furthermore, our study demonstrated that these exercises were associated with non-significant decreases in inflammatory markers, such as interleukin-6 levels (ES = −1.25, 95% CI = [−2.75, −0.24]), retinal nerve layer fiber thickness (ES = −0.20, 95% CI = [−0.53, −0.14]), and non-significant increase in brain-derived neurotrophic factor (ES = 28.24, 95% CI = [−25.24, 81.71]). Our systematic review also found improvements in quality of life, physical fitness, and mood for vision loss patients. Meditation and breathing exercises offer a range of benefits to patients with vision loss, including improvements in IOP, biomarkers, quality of life, physical fitness, and mood. Further research is needed to better understand the mechanisms underlying their effects and the means to apply them in practice.
Mindfulness uygulamaları 1970’ li yıllardan beri modern tıbbın bir parçası haline gelmiş ve farklı disiplinlerin kullanımına açık bir alandır. Sağlıklı ve hasta bireylerde stres azaltıcı bir yöntem olarak, hasta bireylerde ağrıyı azaltmak ve yaşam kalitesini arttırmak için kullanılabileceğine dair çalışmalar yaygınlaşmaktadır. Kronk ağrı ve yaşam kalitesi fizyoterapi açısından önemli bir çalışma alanı olarak farklı birçok uygulama ile iyileştirilmeye çalışılan bir parametredir. Mindfulness uygulamaları bu açıdan hem hastalara hem de klinik çalışanlara destek olabilir gibi görünmektedir.
Introduction
Medical students use to deal with high levels of academic stress. Hatha yoga and meditation have been found to reduce variables associated with stress. Objective: To evaluate and compare the effect of Hatha yoga and meditation on academic stress in medical students at a private university in Cali, Colombia.
Methods and Materials
A total of 27 volunteers were randomly divided into two groups: Hatha Yoga(n=13) and Meditation (n=14). Each group undertook two weekly one-hour sessions for 14 weeks. Study outcomes were salivary cortisol and perceived academic stress. Anthropometric and clinical variables were additionally measured as characteristics of the study sample. Perceived academic stress was estimated via a structured questionnaire. An intra-group analysis was also conducted to compare the outcomes at baseline and post-intervention within the groups.
Results
At baseline demographic, clinical, and anthropometric variables were similar between the intervention groups. After the intervention, no differences were found between meditation and hatha yoga groups in salivary cortisol measures (time 0, 15, 30, 45 min, and mean of the 4 measures) and perceived academic stress. However, the intra-group analysis showed that only in Hatha yoga there was a significant increase in cortisol measures and improvement in the scale of perceived academic stress.
Conclusion
Based on the intra-group but not between-group comparisons of outcomes at baseline and post-intervention, Hatha yoga reduced perceived academic stress despite a concomitant significant increase in cortisol levels. Further trials with larger samples of medical students should be conducted to contrast our findings.
Background
Stress-related mental health disorders have steadily increased and contributed to a worldwide disease burden with up to 50% experiencing a stress-related mental health disorder worldwide. Data suggest that only approximately 20%-65% of individuals receive treatment. This gap in receiving treatment may be attributed to barriers such as limited treatment access, negative stigma surrounding mental health treatment, approachability (ie, not having a usual treatment plan or provider), affordability (ie, lack of insurance coverage and high treatment cost), and availability (ie, long waits for appointments) leaving those who need treatment without necessary care. To mitigate the limited access mental health treatment, there has been a rise in the application and study of digital mental health interventions. As such, there is an urgent need and opportunity for effective digital mental health interventions to alleviate stress symptoms, potentially reducing adverse outcomes of stress-related disorders.
Objective
This study examined if app-based guided mindfulness could improve subjective levels of stress and influence physiological markers of stress reactivity in a population with elevated symptoms of stress.
Methods
The study included 163 participants who had moderate to high perceived stress as assessed by the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS-10). Participants were randomly allocated to 1 of 5 groups: a digital guided program designed to alleviate stress (Managing Stress), a digital mindfulness fundamentals course (Basics), digitally delivered breathing exercises, an active control intervention (Audiobook), and a Waitlist Control group. The 3 formats of mindfulness interventions (Managing Stress, Basics, and Breathing) all had a total duration of 300 minutes spanning 20-30 days. Primary outcome measures were perceived stress using the PSS-10, self-reported sleep quality using the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index, and trait mindfulness using the Mindful Attention Awareness Scale. To probe the effects of physiological stress, an acute stress manipulation task was included, specifically the cold pressor task (CPT). Heart rate variability was collected before, during, and after exposure to the CPT and used as a measure of physiological stress.
Results
The results showed that PSS-10 and Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index scores for the Managing Stress (all P<.001) and Basics (all P≤.002) groups were significantly reduced between preintervention and postintervention periods, while no significant differences were reported for the other groups. No significant differences among groups were reported for Mindful Attention Awareness Scale (P=.13). The physiological results revealed that the Managing Stress (P<.001) and Basics (P=.01) groups displayed reduced physiological stress reactivity between the preintervention and postintervention periods on the CPT. There were no significant differences reported for the other groups.
Conclusions
These results demonstrate efficacy of app-based mindfulness in a population with moderate to high stress on improving self-reported stress, sleep quality, and physiological measures of stress during an acute stress manipulation task.
Trial Registration
ClinicalTrials.gov NCT05832632; https://www.clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT05832632
Spiritual practices lead to untold benefits, particularly leading to a tranquil and happy mind, besides manifesting a plethora of holistic health benefits. While neuroscience views spirituality as a functioning of the mind, is there more to it? A key focus of the chapter is on advanced imaging modalities like functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT), positron emission tomography PET), etc. These non-invasive imaging technologies are greatly furthering our understanding of the intricate mechanisms and connections linking spirituality and happiness/wellbeing. Some of the advances in neuroscience imaging, establishing the crucial link between spirituality-associated structural and functional changes in the brain (neuroplasticity), are discussed. The role of long-term meditation (focused attention, open monitoring, and automatic self-transcending) and music in enhancing the explicit functions of specific areas of the human brain and inducing neuroplasticity are also enumerated. Does being spiritual help in better stress management and a happy mind? This question has been addressed in the light of advances in neurosciences, particularly discussing the role of genetic and epigenetic factors. The spiritual belief system and its concomitant psychological and health benefits are highlighted. Strong research evidence indicates that spiritual practices can be harnessed for cognitive training of military personnel and astronauts and space-farers in future, and amid the current ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, spirituality can help build resilience and help establish a peaceful state of mind. These issues have been addressed in the light of contemporary literature. The last sections of the chapter discuss future perspectives and highlight how, with advances in machine learning and artificial intelligence, it should be possible in future to modulate artificial neural networks to enhance happiness. With the limitations of current modalities to investigate the functioning of the highly complex human brain, neuroscience research is likely to take several years to fully unravel the mysteries of spirituality and consciousness; however, nearly everyone can benefit from the contentment and true happiness that naturally comes from being spiritual!KeywordsEternal happinessNeuroscience imagingSpirituality Induces NeuroplasticityStress management
Objectives
Mindfulness-based interventions (including self-compassion interventions) are effective in improving stress management at psychological and physical levels. Mindful Self-Compassion (MSC) is a newly developed program particularly aimed at increasing self-compassion. The main objective of this study was to determine whether the psychophysiological stress response during a social-evaluative speaking task differs in inpatients participating in the MSC or the Progressive Muscle Relaxation (PMR) program at the end of their 6-week psychiatric rehabilitation stay (i.e., post-test only design).Method
Data from 50 inpatients (25 MSC, 25 PMR, 35 female) aged 19 to 76 years (M = 47.22, SD = 12.44) were analyzed in terms of psychophysiological stress response. For this purpose, heart rate variability, heart rate, and blood pressure were assessed together with several psychometric variables: positive and negative affect (PANAS), subjective stress perception (Visual Analog Scale), self-compassion (Self-Compassion Scale), cognitive reappraisal and suppression (Emotion Regulation Questionnaire), psychological distress (Brief Symptom Inventory-18), and appraisal and rumination (selected items).ResultsAfter correction for alpha inflation no differences in the psychophysiological stress response and psychometric parameters between the MSC and PMR group were found.DiscussionIn general, our results indicate that MSC is not superior to PMR training. However, more research with clinical randomized controlled trials investigating larger samples are needed to further affirm these initial findings.
Domestic violence in the U.S. and around the world is a significant problem. Studies have demonstrated that an individual`s attention level can impact the frequency and severity of violent outbursts. Theories such as attention restoration theory (ART) and other research suggest that interaction with nature can improve an individual's attention level. Research has shown that individuals in low-income urban housings have disproportionately less access to natural environment, therefore benefits from encounters with nature are limited. This research examines the possibility of utilizing natural green elements in the design of low-income residential building`s interiors to compensate for the lack of natural environments in low-income urban areas. The researchers compared the results from a Sustained Attention to Response Task (SART) for one hundred and eighty-two residents of a high-rise residential building. Participants were randomly selected to experience one of two versions of a building`s lobby modeled in a 3D virtual reality environment. One model included natural green elements and the other did not. Participants completed the SART twice. Once before experiencing the lobby and once after. The results indicate that those who interacted with natural green elements in the building lobby demonstrated significant improvement in their attention level. These results support the potential positive effect of short-term interaction with natural green elements on an individual`s attention level. Therefore, it points to the possibility that such modifications to frequently visited common areas may be able to reduce some acts of violence.
Au cours des dernières années, les pratiques méditatives et plus singulièrement la méditation dite « de pleine conscience » (« mindfulness 1 »), ont fait l’objet d’un engouement sans précédent. Elles sont aujourd’hui appliquées aux entreprises, à l’éducation et même à l’armée. Cette hype de la méditation, qui a suscité un certain nombre d’idées fausses sur le sujet, a également été suivie par une série de critiques. Cet article examine les principales critiques et propose des pistes pour y répondre. Il aborde notamment les difficultés à définir la méditation et la pleine conscience, ainsi que les problèmes méthodologiques qui affectent l’interprétation des résultats de recherche. L’article discute également de l’image erronée de la méditation comme une panacée et son utilisation pour échapper aux difficultés de la vie. Enfin, il explore les effets indésirables des pratiques méditatives et aborde les questions éthiques liées à l’instrumentalisation de la méditation et à la justice sociale.
1 ABSTRACT Theories such as attention restoration theory (ART) and other research suggest that interaction with nature can improve an individual's attention level. Research has shown that individuals in low-income urban housings have disproportionately less access to natural environment, therefore benefits from encounters with nature are limited. This research examines the possibility of utilizing natural green elements in the design of low-income residential buildings' interiors to compensate for the lack of natural environments in low-income urban areas. The researchers compared the results from a Sustained Attention to Response Task (SART) for one hundred and eighty-two residents of a high-rise residential building. During an experimental study, participants were randomly selected to experience one of two versions of a building's lobby modeled in a 3D immersive virtual reality environment. One model included natural green elements and the other did not. Participants completed the SART twice. Once before experiencing the lobby and once after. The results indicate that those who interacted with natural green elements in the building lobby for less than a minute demonstrated significant improvement in their attention level. They received higher scores in the SART post-test and demonstrated fewer cognitive errors. These results support the potential positive effect of short-term interaction with natural green elements on an individual's sustained attention level.
1 ABSTRACT Theories such as attention restoration theory (ART) and other research suggest that interaction with nature can improve an individual's attention level. Research has shown that individuals in low-income urban housings have disproportionately less access to natural environment, therefore benefits from encounters with nature are limited. This research examines the possibility of utilizing natural green elements in the design of low-income residential buildings' interiors to compensate for the lack of natural environments in low-income urban areas. The researchers compared the results from a Sustained Attention to Response Task (SART) for one hundred and eighty-two residents of a high-rise residential building. During an experimental study, participants were randomly selected to experience one of two versions of a building's lobby modeled in a 3D immersive virtual reality environment. One model included natural green elements and the other did not. Participants completed the SART twice. Once before experiencing the lobby and once after. The results indicate that those who interacted with natural green elements in the building lobby for less than a minute demonstrated significant improvement in their attention level. They received higher scores in the SART post-test and demonstrated fewer cognitive errors. These results support the potential positive effect of short-term interaction with natural green elements on an individual's sustained attention level.
Objectives:
Explore the lived experience of individuals managing and/or caregiving for someone with a chronic disease and their perceptions of developing a mindfulness program for stress reduction.
Methods:
Sixteen participants with chronic disease and/or caregivers participated. Participants completed eligibility screening, demographic questionnaires, and semi-structured interviews (30-60 min each) online or by phone. Interviews (n = 16) were audio recorded, transcribed, and analyzed using thematic analysis and NVivo® 12. Survey data were analyzed using SPSS® 28.
Results:
Four themes emerged: (a) Chronic disease management and stress-perspectives on life's stressors; (b) Stress reduction techniques/perceptions of mindfulness-knowledge and implementation of stress reduction practices and familiarity with mindfulness; (c) Mindfulness program acceptability, barriers, and facilitators-interest, barriers, and facilitators to attending; (d) Mindfulness program structure-logistics to increase access and appeal to diverse audiences.
Discussion:
Mindfulness has the potential for addressing the complexities of stress associated with disease management. Targeting mindfulness programs for populations with chronic disease management and caregiving responsibilities should include: Consideration of group formats with participation limited to this population, structuring programs to overcome barriers (i.e., culturally appropriate location), and equipping members of the community being served as instructors to ensure culturally relevant instruction.
Non-suicidal self-injury is an important public health problem, which is closely related to suicidal behavior and has attracted wide attention from researchers. This study recruited 1207 adolescents to systematically explore the relationship between cumulative risks and non-suicidal self-injuries using scales and questionnaires. It also compared the influences of various risk factors on self-injurious behaviour and researched the protective effect of personality strengths (mindfulness, hope, openness, grit, and meaning in life) as resilience factors. The results showed that the significant predictive effects of cumulative risks on adolescents’ non-suicidal self-injury and adverse childhood experiences are greater predictors of adolescents’ non-suicidal self-injury than negative life events. Mindfulness and meaning in life are two protectors co-moderating the effects of cumulative risk on adolescents’ non-suicidal self-injury. This study has important implications for a better understanding of resilience. And more intervention and prevention strategies based on personality strengths for individuals experiencing adversity and stress could be effective in improving their psychosocial functioning.
The reliability of experimental findings depends on the rigour of experimental design. Here we show limited reporting of measures to reduce the risk of bias in a random sample of life sciences publications, significantly lower reporting of randomisation in work published in journals of high impact, and very limited reporting of measures to reduce the risk of bias in publications from leading United Kingdom institutions. Ascertainment of differences between institutions might serve both as a measure of research quality and as a tool for institutional efforts to improve research quality.
Meditation is becoming increasingly practiced, especially for stress-related medical conditions. Meditation may improve cellular health; however, studies have not separated out effects of meditation from vacation-like effects in a residential randomized controlled trial. We recruited healthy women non-meditators to live at a resort for 6 days and randomized to either meditation retreat or relaxing on-site, with both groups compared with ‘regular meditators' already enrolled in the retreat. Blood drawn at baseline and post intervention was assessed for transcriptome-wide expression patterns and aging-related biomarkers. Highly significant gene expression changes were detected across all groups (the ‘vacation effect') that could accurately predict (96% accuracy) between baseline and post-intervention states and were characterized by improved regulation of stress response, immune function and amyloid beta (Aβ) metabolism. Although a smaller set of genes was affected, regular meditators showed post-intervention differences in a gene network characterized by lower regulation of protein synthesis and viral genome activity. Changes in well-being were assessed post intervention relative to baseline, as well as 1 and 10 months later. All groups showed equivalently large immediate post-intervention improvements in well-being, but novice meditators showed greater maintenance of lower distress over time compared with those in the vacation arm. Regular meditators showed a trend toward increased telomerase activity compared with randomized women, who showed increased plasma Aβ42/Aβ40 ratios and tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α) levels. This highly controlled residential study showed large salutary changes in gene expression networks due to the vacation effect, common to all groups. For those already trained in the practice of meditation, a retreat appears to provide additional benefits to cellular health beyond the vacation effect.
The practice of mindfulness has not been well-developed for cancer survivors and their partners, and its effects on relational well-being and cortisol responses are unknown. This 14-month study aimed to examine the effects of the mindfulness-incorporated couples support group on psychological individual and relational well-being, and cortisol stress responses in breast cancer survivors and their partners. The participants were randomized into two groups: 21 couples in couples support group (CSG) and 19 couples in individual support program (ISP). Outcome measures for both survivors and their partners included Medical Outcomes Study Sleeping scale (MOS), Beck Depression Inventory (BDI-II), State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI), Meaning of Life Questionnaire (MLQ), Short form-12 Health-related Quality of Life (SF-12 QOL), Experiences in close relationships-revision scale (ECR-R), and salivary cortisol. Among breast cancer survivors, the most significant effects of CSG were greater reductions of anxiety ECR-R compared with ISP. For partners, decreased levels of BDI-II, anxiety, and avoidant ECR-R, and increased levels of search and presence aspects of MLQ, physical, and mental QOL were identified in CSG compared with ISP. Moreover, CSG contributed to reduced cortisol levels at time of awakening and at 12:00 for both breast cancer survivors and their partners, cortisol levels at 30 min after awakening for survivors, and night cortisol levels at 21:00 for partners. In conclusion, mindfulness including individual and interactive breathing and meditation could guide clinical professionals to practice mindfulness themselves and become trainers to enhance the effective communication and relational well-being for cancer survivors and their partners.
Objective:
This study's objective was to evaluate the effect of two common components of meditation (mindfulness and slow breathing) on potential mechanistic pathways.
Methods:
A total of 102 combat veterans with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) were randomized to (a) the body scan mindfulness meditation (MM), (b) slow breathing (SB) with a biofeedback device, (c) mindful awareness of the breath with an intention to slow the breath (MM+SB), or (d) sitting quietly (SQ). Participants had 6 weekly one-on-one sessions with 20 minutes of daily home practice. The mechanistic pathways and measures were as follows: (a) autonomic nervous system (hyperarousal symptoms, heart rate [HR], and heart rate variability [HRV]); (b) frontal cortex activity (attentional network task [ANT] conflict effect and event-related negativity and intrusive thoughts); and (c) hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis (awakening cortisol). PTSD measures were also evaluated.
Results:
Meditation participants had significant but modest within-group improvement in PTSD and related symptoms, although there were no effects between groups. Perceived impression of PTSD symptom improvement was greater in the meditation arms compared with controls. Resting respiration decreased in the meditation arms compared with SQ. For the mechanistic pathways, (a) subjective hyperarousal symptoms improved within-group (but not between groups) for MM, MM+SB, and SQ, while HR and HRV did not; (b) intrusive thoughts decreased in MM compared with MM+SB and SB, while the ANT measures did not change; and (c) MM had lower awakening cortisol within-group (but not between groups).
Conclusion:
Treatment effects were mostly specific to self-report rather than physiological measures. Continued research is needed to further evaluate mindfulness meditation's mechanism in people with PTSD.
Meditation can be defined as a form of mental training that aims to improve an individual's core psychological capacities, such as attentional and emotional self-regulation. Meditation encompasses a family of complex practices that include mindfulness meditation, mantra meditation, yoga, tai chi and chi gong 1. Of these practices , mindfulness meditation — often described as non-judgemental attention to present-moment experiences (BOX 1) — has received most attention in neuroscience research over the past two decades 2–8. Although meditation research is in its infancy, a number of studies have investigated changes in brain activation (at rest and during specific tasks) that are associated with the practice of, or that follow, training in mindfulness meditation. These studies have reported changes in multiple aspects of mental function in beginner and advanced meditators, healthy individuals and patient populations 9–14. In this Review, we consider the current state of research on mindfulness meditation. We discuss the methodological challenges that the field faces and point to several shortcomings in existing studies. Taking into account some important theoretical considerations, we then discuss behavioural and neuroscientific findings in light of what we think are the core components of meditation practice: attention control, emotion regulation and self-awareness (BOX 1). Within this framework, we describe research that has revealed changes in behaviour, brain activity and brain structure following mindfulness meditation training. We discuss what has been learned so far from this research and suggest new research strategies for the field. We focus here on mindfulness meditation practices and have excluded studies on other types of meditation. However, it is important to note that other styles of meditation may operate via distinct neural mechanisms
Mindfulness meditation is increasingly used in health interventions and may reduce stress and blood pressure. We aimed to investigate the effectiveness of brief mindfulness meditation in reducing cardiovascular reactivity and recovery during a laboratory stressor. We randomly assigned 62 meditation-naïve participants to a mindfulness meditation group or a matched non-mindful listening exercise control group. There were no differences between groups in blood pressure, demographic, or mood variables at baseline. Mindfulness participants showed lower systolic blood pressure following the mindfulness exercise and decreased systolic and diastolic blood pressure reactivity during a speeded math stressor. Specifically, as the stressor progressed, blood pressure in the mindfulness group began to decrease, whereas in the control group, it continued to increase. There were no group differences during recovery. Overall, brief mindfulness meditation reduced cardiovascular reactivity to stress and may be an effective intervention for reducing stress-related blood pressure reactivity.
The aim of this study was to examine the efficacy of a 3 week mindfulness inspired protocol, delivered by an
Android application for smartphones, in reducing stress in the adult population. By using a controlled pragmatic trial, a self-help intervention group of meditators was compared with a typical control group listening to relaxing music and a waiting list group. The final sample included 56 Italian workers as participants, block
randomized to the three conditions. The self-reported level of perceived stress was assessed at the beginning and at the end of the protocol. Participants were also instructed to track their heart rate before and after each session.
The results did not show any significant differences between groups, but both self-help intervention groups
demonstrated an improvement in coping with stress. Nevertheless, meditators and music listeners reported a
significant decrease in average heartbeats per minute after each session. Furthermore, both groups perceived a moderate but significant change in stress reduction perceptions, even if with some peculiarities. Limitations and opportunities related to the meditation protocol supported by the mobile application to reduce stress are
discussed.
The authors hypothesized that a social and emotional learning (SEL) program involving mindfulness and caring for others, designed for elementary school students, would enhance cognitive control, reduce stress, promote well-being and prosociality, and produce positive school outcomes. To test this hypothesis, 4 classes of combined 4th and 5th graders (N = 99) were randomly assigned to receive the SEL with mindfulness program versus a regular social responsibility program. Measures assessed executive functions (EFs), stress physiology via salivary cortisol, well-being (self-reports), prosociality and peer acceptance (peer reports), and math grades. Relative to children in the social responsibility program, children who received the SEL program with mindfulness (a) improved more in their cognitive control and stress physiology; (b) reported greater empathy, perspective-taking, emotional control, optimism, school self-concept, and mindfulness, (c) showed greater decreases in self-reported symptoms of depression and peer-rated aggression, (d) were rated by peers as more prosocial, and (e) increased in peer acceptance (or sociometric popularity). The results of this investigation suggest the promise of this SEL intervention and address a lacuna in the scientific literature-identifying strategies not only to ameliorate children's problems but also to cultivate their well-being and thriving. Directions for future research are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2014 APA, all rights reserved).
Background:
Group psychosocial interventions including mindfulness-based cancer recovery (MBCR) and supportive-expressive group therapy (SET) can help breast cancer survivors decrease distress and influence cortisol levels. Although telomere length (TL) has been associated with breast cancer prognosis, the impact of these two interventions on TL has not been studied to date.
Methods:
The objective of the current study was to compare the effects of MBCR and SET with a minimal intervention control condition (a 1-day stress management seminar) on TL in distressed breast cancer survivors in a randomized controlled trial. MBCR focused on training in mindfulness meditation and gentle Hatha yoga whereas SET focused on emotional expression and group support. The primary outcome measure was relative TL, the telomere/single-copy gene ratio, assessed before and after each intervention. Secondary outcomes were self-reported mood and stress symptoms.
Results:
Eighty-eight distressed breast cancer survivors with a diagnosis of stage I to III cancer (using the American Joint Committee on Cancer (AJCC) TNM staging system) who had completed treatment at least 3 months prior participated. Using analyses of covariance on a per-protocol sample, there were no differences noted between the MBCR and SET groups with regard to the telomere/single-copy gene ratio, but a trend effect was observed between the combined intervention group and controls (F [1,84], 3.82; P = .054; η(2) = .043); TL in the intervention group was maintained whereas it was found to decrease for control participants. There were no associations noted between changes in TL and changes in mood or stress scores over time.
Conclusions:
Psychosocial interventions providing stress reduction and emotional support resulted in trends toward TL maintenance in distressed breast cancer survivors, compared with decreases in usual care.
This article describes the various forms of meditation and provides an overview of research using these techniques for children, adolescents, and their families. The most researched techniques in children and adolescents are mindfulness-based stress reduction, mindfulness-based cognitive therapy, yoga meditation, transcendental meditation, mind-body techniques (meditation, relaxation), and body-mind techniques (yoga poses, tai chi movements). Current data are suggestive of a possible value of meditation and mindfulness techniques for treating symptomatic anxiety, depression, and pain in youth. Clinicians must be properly trained before using these techniques.
Dysregulated reward processing is a hallmark feature of drug addiction; however, scant research has evaluated restructuring reward processing in the context of addiction treatment.
We examined effects of Mindfulness-Oriented Recovery Enhancement (MORE) on reward responsiveness (RR) and opioid cue-reactivity in a sample of chronic pain patients with opioid use problems. We previously reported that MORE decreased pain, opioid misuse, and craving relative to a social support control group (SG). Here, we examined whether these outcomes were linked to changes in RR in a subset of participants.
Participants were chronic pain patients (71 % women, age 46.6 ± 13.9) who received MORE (n = 20) or SG (n = 29). RR was measured before and after 8 weeks of treatment via heart rate (HR) and heart rate variability (HRV) responses during a dot probe task that included opioid-related, pain-related, and natural reward stimuli, as well as craving ratings.
The MORE group, who reported decreased opioid misuse and opioid craving during treatment, evidenced less subjective opioid cue-reactivity, greater HR decelerations, and greater increases in HRV to all cues after treatment compared to the SG; HR and HRV effects were most pronounced for natural reward cues. Within the MORE group, HR deceleration to natural reward cues was correlated with increased subjective arousal to the cues, whereas HR deceleration to opioid cues was correlated with decreased subjective arousal. Effects of MORE on craving were mediated by enhanced RR.
Results suggest that during treatment with MORE, cardiac-autonomic responsiveness to non-drug reward increases, while reactivity to opioid reward decreases. Studies are needed to discern whether changes in RR were a result or a determinant of reductions in opioid misuse and craving. RR may play a role in addiction treatment.
Background/aims:
The primary therapeutic goals in ulcerative colitis (UC) are to maintain excellent quality of life (QOL) by treating flare-ups when they occur, and preventing flare-ups. Since stress can trigger UC flare-ups, we investigated the efficacy of mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) to reduce flare-ups and improve QOL.
Methods:
Patients with moderately severe UC, in remission, were randomized to MBSR or time/attention control. Primary outcome was disease status. Secondary outcomes were changes in markers of inflammation and disease activity, markers of stress and psychological assessments.
Results:
55 subjects were randomized. Absence of flares, time to flare and severity of flare over 1 year were similar between the two groups. However, post hoc analysis showed that MBSR decreased the proportion of participants with at least one flare-up among those with top tertile urinary cortisol and baseline perceived stress (30 vs. 70%; p < 0.001). MBSR patients who flared demonstrated significantly lower stress at the last visit compared to flared patients in the control group (p = 0.04). Furthermore, MBSR prevented a drop in the Inflammatory Bowel Disease Quality of Life Questionnaire during flare (p < 0.01).
Conclusion:
MBSR did not affect the rate or severity of flare-ups in UC patients in remission. However, MBSR might be effective for those with high stress reactivity (high perceived stress and urinary cortisol) during remission. MBSR appears to improve QOL in UC patients by minimizing the negative impact of flare-ups on QOL. Further studies are needed to identify a subset of patients for whom MBSR could alter disease course.
Objectives:
The objectives of this study were to determine the effects of the novel Buddhism-based walking meditation (BWM) and the traditional walking exercise (TWE) on depression, functional fitness, and vascular reactivity.
Design:
This was a randomized exercise intervention study.
Settings/location:
The study was conducted in a university hospital setting.
Subjects:
Forty-five elderly participants aged 60-90 years with mild-to-moderate depressive symptoms were randomly allocated to the sedentary control, TWE, and BWM groups.
Interventions:
The BWM program was based on aerobic walking exercise incorporating the Buddhist meditations performed 3 times/week for 12 weeks.
Outcome measures:
Depression score, functional fitness, and endothelium-dependent vasodilation as measured by the flow-mediated dilation (FMD) were the outcome measures used.
Results:
Muscle strength, flexibility, agility, dynamic balance, and cardiorespiratory endurance increased in both exercise groups (p<0.05). Depression score decreased (p<0.05) only in the BWM group. FMD improved (p<0.05) in both exercise groups. Significant reduction in plasma cholesterol, triglyceride, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, and C-reactive protein were found in both exercise groups, whereas low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, cortisol, and interleukin-6 concentrations decreased only in the BWM group.
Conclusions:
Buddhist walking meditation was effective in reducing depression, improving functional fitness and vascular reactivity, and appears to confer greater overall improvements than the traditional walking program.
The brain network governing meditation has been studied using a variety of meditation practices and techniques practices eliciting different cognitive processes (e.g., silence, attention to own body, sense of joy, mantras, etc.). It is very possible that different practices of meditation are subserved by largely, if not entirely, disparate brain networks. This assumption was tested by conducting an activation likelihood estimation (ALE) meta-analysis of meditation neuroimaging studies, which assessed 150 activation foci from 24 experiments. Different ALE meta-analyses were carried out. One involved the subsets of studies involving meditation induced through exercising focused attention (FA). The network included clusters bilaterally in the medial gyrus, the left superior parietal lobe, the left insula and the right supramarginal gyrus (SMG). A second analysis addressed the studies involving meditation states induced by chanting or by repetition of words or phrases, known as "mantra." This type of practice elicited a cluster of activity in the right SMG, the SMA bilaterally and the left postcentral gyrus. Furthermore, the last analyses addressed the effect of meditation experience (i.e., short- vs. long-term meditators). We found that frontal activation was present for short-term, as compared with long-term experience meditators, confirming that experts are better enabled to sustain attentional focus, rather recruiting the right SMG and concentrating on aspects involving disembodiment.
This paper juxtaposes Asian spiritual narratives on meditation alongside medical and scientific narratives that emphasize meditation's efficacy in mitigating distress and increasing well-being. After proposing a working definition of meditation that enables it usefully to be distinguished from categories of similar practices such as prayer, I examine meditation's role in Mind/Body medicine in the West. Here, I survey a number of scientific studies of meditation, including the work of Dr. Herbert Benson and his colleagues who examine a meditational variant they call the Relaxation Response', to examine the breadth of efficacy claims made on behalf of the complex and multidimensional grouping of diverse practices we have come to as meditation'. Among other positive outcomes, meditation has been credited with reducing blood pressure, anxiety, addiction, and stress, while Relaxation Response has been shown to decrease sympathetic nervous system (SNS) activity, metabolism, pain, anxiety, depression, hostility, and stress. I conclude the paper by suggesting that findings from cognitive neuroscience on the subject of visual imagery can be used to elucidate genres of meditative practice that focus on internal visualization sequences, and I use practices from the Rnying ma tradition of Tibetan Buddhism to illustrate why certain integral aspects of meditation forever will remain beyond scientific grasp.
Chronic inflammation is highly prevalent in patients on hemodialysis (HD), as evidenced by increased levels of C-reactive protein (CRP). We compared CRP to high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP) to determine whether it has any clinical implications and prognostic significance in terms of mortality. CRP was measured using a standard immunoturbidometric assay on the COBAS® INTEGRA system and hs-CRP was measured using the Dade Behring on the Konelab Nephelometer in 50 patients on HD. CRP (≥6 mg/L) and hs-CRP (≥3 mg/L) levels were elevated in 30% and 54% of the patients, respectively. A significant correlation was noted between hs-CRP and CRP levels (r = 0.98, P <0.001). Deming regression analysis showed that the slope was near one (r = 0.90; 0.83-0.94) and that the intercept was small. Multivariate regression confirmed that age above 40 years (RR = 3.69, P = 0.027) and duration on HD greater than five years (RR = 3.71, P = 0.028) remained significant independent predictors of serum hs-CRP. Thirteen patients died during follow-up (26%). Multivariate Cox regression demonstrated that hs-CRP (RR = 1.062, P = 0.03) and CRP levels (RR = 1.057, P = 0.009) and age (RR = 1.078, P = 0.001) were the most powerful predictors of mortality. The CRP standard assay presents a reasonable alternative to the hs-CRP assay in patients on HD. The advantages of the CRP standard assay are its online and real-time availability as well as lower costs, particularly in developing countries.
Stress has been implicated in both somatic and mental disorders. The mechanisms by which stress leads to poor health are largely unknown. However, studies in animals suggest that chronic stress causes high basal cortisol and low cortisol response to acute stressors and that such changes may contribute to disease. Previous studies of the Transcendental Mediation® (TM) technique as a possible means of countering effects of stress have reported altered levels of several hormones both during the practice and longitudinally after regular practice of this technique. In this prospective, random assignment study, changes in baseline levels and acute responses to laboratory stressors were examined for four hormones—cortisol, growth hormone, thyroid-stimulating hormone and testosterone—before and after 4 months of either the TM technique or a stress education control condition. At pre- and post-test, blood was withdrawn continuously through an indwelling catheter, and plasma or serum samples were frozen for later analysis by radioimmunoassay. The results showed significantly different changes for the two groups, or trends toward significance, for each hormone over the 4 months. In the TM group, but not in the controls, basal cortisol level and average cortisol across the stress session decreased from pre- to post-test. Cortisol responsiveness to stressors, however, increased in the TM group compared to controls. The baselines and/or stress responsiveness for TSH and GH changed in opposite directions for the groups, as did the testosterone baseline. Overall, the cortisol and testosterone results appear to support previous data suggesting that repeated practice of the TM technique reverses effects of chronic stress significant for health. The observed group difference in the change of GH regulation may derive from the cortisol differences, while the TSH results are not related easily to earlier findings on the effects of chronic stress.
Hypertension affects a large proportion of urban African-American older adults. While there have been great strides in drug development, many older adults do not have access to such medicines or do not take them. Mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) has been shown to decrease blood pressure in some populations. This has not been tested in low-income, urban African-American older adults. Therefore, the primary purpose of this pilot study was to test the feasibility and acceptability of a mindfulness-based program for low income, minority older adults provided in residence. The secondary purpose was to learn if the mindfulness-based program produced differences in blood pressure between the intervention and control groups. Participants were at least 62 years old and residents of a low-income senior residence. All participants were African-American, and one was male. Twenty participants were randomized to the mindfulness-based intervention or a social support control group of the same duration and dose. Blood pressure was measured with the Omron automatic blood pressure machine at baseline and at the end of the 8-week intervention. A multivariate regression analysis was performed on the difference in scores between baseline and post-intervention blood pressure measurements, controlling for age, education, smoking status, and anti-hypertensive medication use. Effect sizes were calculated to quantify the magnitude of the relationship between participation in the mindfulness-based intervention and the outcome variable, blood pressure. Attendance remained >80% in all 8 weeks of both the intervention and the control groups. The average systolic blood pressure decreased for both groups post-intervention. Individuals in the intervention group exhibited a 21.92-mmHg lower systolic blood pressure compared to the social support control group post-intervention and this value was statistically significant (p = 0.020). The average diastolic blood pressure decreased in the intervention group post-intervention, but increased in the social support group. Individuals in the intervention group exhibited a 16.70-mmHg lower diastolic blood pressure compared to the social support group post-intervention, and this value was statistically significant (p = 0.003). Older adults are at a time in life when a reflective, stationary intervention, delivered in residence, could be an appealing mechanism to improve blood pressure. Given our preliminary results, larger trials in this hypertensive study population are warranted.
Improvements in attentional performance are at the core of proposed mechanisms for stress reduction in mindfulness meditation practices. However, this claim can be questioned because no previous studies have actively manipulated test effort in control groups and controlled for effects of stress reduction per se. In a blinded design, 48 young, healthy meditation novices were randomly assigned to a mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR), nonmindfulness stress reduction (NMSR), or inactive control group. At posttest, inactive controls were randomly split into nonincentive and incentive controls, the latter receiving a financial reward to improve attentional performance. Pre- and postintervention, 5 validated attention paradigms were employed along with self-report scales on mindfulness and perceived stress and saliva cortisol samples to measure physiological stress. Attentional effects of MBSR, NMSR, and the financial incentive were comparable or significantly larger in the incentive group on all reaction-time-based measures. However, selective attention in the MBSR group improved significantly more than in any other group. Similarly, only the MBSR intervention improved the threshold for conscious perception and visual working memory capacity. Furthermore, stress-reducing effects of MBSR were supported because those in the MBSR group showed significantly less perceived and physiological stress while increasing their mindfulness levels significantly. We argue that MBSR may contribute uniquely to attentional improvements but that further research focusing on non-reaction-time-based measures and outcomes less confounded by test effort is needed. Critically, our data demonstrate that previously observed improvements of attention after MBSR may be seriously confounded by test effort and nonmindfulness stress reduction.
To evaluate the effect of breathing awareness meditation (BAM), Botvin LifeSkills Training (LST), and health education control (HEC) on ambulatory blood pressure and sodium excretion in African American adolescents.
Following 3 consecutive days of systolic blood pressure (SBP) screenings, 166 eligible participants (i.e., SBP >50th-95th percentile) were randomized by school to either BAM (n = 53), LST (n = 69), or HEC (n = 44). In-school intervention sessions were administered for 3 months by health education teachers. Before and after the intervention, overnight urine samples and 24-hour ambulatory SBP, diastolic blood pressure, and heart rate were obtained.
Significant group differences were found for changes in overnight SBP and SBP, diastolic blood pressure, and heart rate over the 24-hour period and during school hours. The BAM treatment exhibited the greatest overall decreases on these measures (Bonferroni adjusted, ps < .05). For example, for school-time SBP, BAM showed a change of -3.7 mmHg compared with no change for LST and a change of -.1 mmHg for HEC. There was a nonsignificant trend for overnight urinary sodium excretion (p = .07), with the BAM group displaying a reduction of -.92 ± 1.1 mEq/hr compared with increases of .89 ± 1.2 mEq/hr for LST and .58 ± .9 mEq/hr for HEC group.
BAM appears to improve hemodynamic function and may affect sodium handling among African American adolescents who are at increased risk for development of cardiovascular disease.
The objectives of this study were to evaluate whether a mindfulness meditation intervention may be effective in caregivers of close relatives with dementia and to help refine the protocol for future larger trials.
The design was a pilot randomized trial to evaluate the effectiveness of a mindfulness meditation intervention adapted from the Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy program in relation to two comparison groups: an education class based on Powerful Tools for Caregivers serving as an active control group and a respite-only group serving as a pragmatic control.
This study was conducted at the Oregon Health & Science University, Portland, OR.
The subjects were community-dwelling caregivers aged 45-85 years of close relatives with dementia.
The two active interventions lasted 7 weeks, and consisted of one 90-minute session per week along with at-home implementation of knowledge learned. The respite-only condition provided the same duration of respite care that was needed for the active interventions.
Subjects were assessed prior to randomization and again after completing classes at 8 weeks. The primary outcome measure was a self-rated measure of caregiver stress, the Revised Memory and Behavior Problems Checklist (RMBPC). Secondary outcome measures included mood, fatigue, self-efficacy, mindfulness, salivary cortisols, cytokines, and cognitive function. We also evaluated self-rated stress in the subjects' own environment, expectancy of improvement, and credibility of the interventions.
There were 31 caregivers randomized and 28 completers. There was a significant effect on RMBPC by group covarying for baseline RMBPC, with both active interventions showing improvement compared with the respite-only group. Most of the secondary outcome measures were not significantly affected by the interventions. There was an intervention effect on the caregiver self-efficacy measure and on cognitive measures. Although mindfulness was not impacted by the intervention, there were significant correlations between mindfulness and self-rated mood and stress scores.
Both mindfulness and education interventions decreased the self-rated caregiver stress compared to the respite-only control.
This paper proposes a third meditation-category--automatic self-transcending--to extend the dichotomy of focused attention and open monitoring proposed by Lutz. Automatic self-transcending includes techniques designed to transcend their own activity. This contrasts with focused attention, which keeps attention focused on an object; and open monitoring, which keeps attention involved in the monitoring process. Each category was assigned EEG bands, based on reported brain patterns during mental tasks, and meditations were categorized based on their reported EEG. Focused attention, characterized by beta/gamma activity, included meditations from Tibetan Buddhist, Buddhist, and Chinese traditions. Open monitoring, characterized by theta activity, included meditations from Buddhist, Chinese, and Vedic traditions. Automatic self-transcending, characterized by alpha1 activity, included meditations from Vedic and Chinese traditions. Between categories, the included meditations differed in focus, subject/object relation, and procedures. These findings shed light on the common mistake of averaging meditations together to determine mechanisms or clinical effects.
Prior research had shown that an additional training session immediately after acute stress increased release of salivary secretory immunoglobin A (sIgA) in a group trained with 5-day Integrative Body-Mind Training (IBMT) in comparison to a control group given the same amount of relaxation training. However, 5 days of training did not influence the basal secretion of sIgA. The current study seeks to extend this finding and determine whether increasing amounts of IBMT will increase the basal sIgA level, suggesting further improvements in mucosal immune function.
Thirty-five (35) Chinese undergraduates were randomly assigned either to an experimental group receiving 4 weeks of IBMT or a relaxation control. Salivary sIgA levels at baseline before training and three stages (i.e., rest, stress, and additional 20-minute practice) after 2 and 4 weeks training were assessed.
The basal sIgA levels increased significantly in the experimental subjects but not in controls after 4 weeks of training. An additional IBMT practice session immediately after acute stress produced significantly higher sIgA release for the IBMT-trained group in comparison with controls at week 2 and 4. This effect was larger at week 4 than week 2.
These results indicate that the IBMT produces a change in the basal immune system and larger acute effects as the dose of training increases.
We studied publication bias in the social sciences by analyzing a known population of conducted studies—221 in total—in which there is a full accounting of what is published and unpublished. We leveraged Time-sharing Experiments in the Social Sciences (TESS), a National Science Foundation–sponsored program in which researchers propose survey-based experiments to be run on representative samples of American adults. Because TESS proposals undergo rigorous peer review, the studies in the sample all exceed a substantial quality threshold. Strong results are 40 percentage points more likely to be published than are null results and 60 percentage points more likely to be written up. We provide direct evidence of publication bias and identify the stage of research production at which publication bias occurs: Authors do not write up and submit null findings.
This study used subjective reports and eLORETA analysis to assess to what extent Transcendental Meditation (TM) might involve focused attention-voluntary control of mental content. Eighty-seven TM subjects with one month to five years TM experience participated in this study. Regression analysis of years TM practice and self-reported transcendental experiences (lack of time, space and body sense) during meditation practice was flat (r=.07). Those practicing Transcendental Meditation for 1month reported as much transcending as those with 5years of practice. The eLORETA comparison of eyes-closed rest/task and TM practice/task identified similar areas of activation: theta and alpha activation during rest and TM in the posterior cingulate and precuneus, part of the default mode network, and beta2 and beta3 activation during the task in anterior cingulate, ventral lateral and dorsolateral prefrontal cortices, part of the central executive network. In addition, eLORETA comparison of rest and TM identified higher beta temporal activation during rest and higher theta orbitofrontal activation during TM. Thus, it does not seem accurate to include TM practice with meditations in the catgory of Focused Attention, which are characterized by gamma EEG and DMN deactivation. Mixing meditations with different procedures into a single study confounds exploration of meditation effects and confounds application of meditation practices to different subject populations.
Objectives:
Fibromyalgia (FM) is a syndrome characterized by severe pain, fatigue and sleep disturbance. There is evidence of central hyper-responsiveness to sensory stimulation and impaired cardiovascular autonomic control. Laboratory investigations suggest that mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) may improve autonomic functioning in FM. However, these findings may not reflect what occurs during naturalistic conditions, and MBSR studies during real-life functioning are lacking. We conducted a randomized controlled, 3-armed study with 168 female FM patients. This report describes cardiac, respiratory, and physical activity findings.
Methods:
Eight-week MBSR was compared with wait-list and active control intervention. Ambulatory accelerometry and cardiorespiratory function were monitored over 24-h periods at 3 time points: preintervention, postintervention, and at the 8-week follow-up. Also, baseline levels were compared with an age-matched group of 33 healthy women.
Findings:
Activity heart rate, respiratory sinus arrhythmia, and ventilation were measured. Comparison with controls confirmed differences in cardiac autonomic tone and activity pattern among patients. Most measures also showed effects of time of day and point of measurement. Regarding the intervention study, there were no effects of treatment. In addition, there were no relations between patient-reported clinical improvement and objective physiological or accelerometry parameters. Intervention-related benefits in wellbeing were not associated with changes in daytime cardiorespiratory measures or pattern of physical activity.
Conclusions:
MBSR did not produce cardiac autonomic benefits or changes in daily activity in FM. Furthermore, the lack of an association between patient-experienced clinical improvement and objective physiological measures suggests that subjective changes in the wellbeing of FM patients over time are not related to alterations in the cardiorespiratory autonomic function or activity levels.
Objective:
This study aimed to develop and test a novel mindfulness-based intervention (MBI) designed to control weight after bariatric surgery.
Design:
Randomized, controlled pilot trial.
Setting:
Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Boston, MA, USA.
Interventions:
Bariatric patients 1-5 years post-surgery (n=18) were randomized to receive a 10-week MBI or a standard intervention.
Main outcome measures:
Primary outcomes were feasibility and acceptability of the MBI. Secondary outcomes included changes in weight, eating behaviors, psychosocial outcomes, and metabolic and inflammatory biomarkers. Qualitative exit interviews were conducted post-intervention. Major themes were coded and extracted.
Results:
Attendance was excellent (6 of 9 patients attended ≥7 of 10 classes). Patients reported high satisfaction and overall benefit of the MBI. The intervention was effective in reducing emotional eating at 6 months (-4.9±13.7 in mindfulness vs. 6.2±28.4 in standard, p for between-group difference=0.03) but not weight. We also observed a significant increase in HbA1C (0.34±0.38 vs. -0.06±0.31, p=0.03). Objective measures suggested trends of an increase in perceived stress and symptoms of depression, although patients reported reduced stress reactivity, improved eating behaviors, and a desire for continued mindfulness-based support in qualitative interviews.
Conclusions:
This novel mindfulness-based approach is highly acceptable to bariatric patients post-surgery and may be effective for reducing emotional eating, although it did not improve weight or glycemic control in the short term. Longer-term studies of mindfulness-based approaches may be warranted in this population.
Clinical trial registration:
ClinicalTrials.gov identifier NCT02603601.
Objective:
To investigate and compare the effects of Buddhist walking meditation and traditional walking on glycemic control and vascular function in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus.
Methods:
Twenty three patients with type 2 diabetes (50-75 years) were randomly allocated into traditional walking exercise (WE; n=11) or Buddhism-based walking meditation exercise (WM; n=12). Both groups performed a 12-week exercise program that consisted of walking on the treadmill at exercise intensity of 50-70% maximum heart rate for 30min/session, 3 times/week. In the WM training program, the participants performed walking on the treadmill while concentrated on foot stepping by voiced "Budd" and "Dha" with each foot step that contacted the floor to practice mindfulness while walking.
Results:
After 12 weeks, maximal oxygen consumption increased and fasting blood glucose level decreased significantly in both groups (p<0.05). Significant decrease in HbA1c and both systolic and diastolic blood pressure were observed only in the WM group. Flow-mediated dilatation increased significantly (p<0.05) in both exercise groups but arterial stiffness was improved only in the WM group. Blood cortisol level was reduced (p<0.05) only in the WM group.
Conclusion:
Buddhist walking meditation exercise produced a multitude of favorable effects, often superior to traditional walking program, in patients with type 2 diabetes.