Heartfulness meditation alters neuroendocrine profiles: A randomized controlled trial on hormones of stress and well-being.
Medicine November 21, 2025 Sanjana T Philip, Jayaram Thimmapuram, Kapil Thakur et al.
A randomized controlled trial with a crossover design found that 30 days of guided Heartfulness meditation significantly increased oxytocin and β-endorphin levels while decreasing cortisol, indicating modulation of stress-related neuroendocrine markers. Participants also reported greater meditation depth, increased positive affect, and reduced negative affect. After the crossover, the control group showed similar improvements. Negative correlations were observed between cortisol and both oxytocin and β-endorphins. Heartfulness meditation appears to be a promising non-pharmacological intervention for improving mental health and stress resilience by enhancing happy hormones and reducing cortisol.