Brief mindfulness session improves mood and increases salivary oxytocin in psychology students.
Stress and health : journal of the International Society for the Investigation of Stress October 1, 2020 Miguel Bellosta-Batalla, María Del Carmen Blanco-Gandía, Marta Rodríguez‐arias et al.
A brief mindfulness session reduced negative affect and state anxiety while increasing salivary oxytocin in psychology students. The experimental group (42 students) participated in guided meditation exercises, while the control group (26 students) did an emotion recognition task with creative activities. The mindfulness group showed a significant reduction in negative affect and state anxiety, and a significant increase in salivary oxytocin compared to controls. These results suggest that guided mindfulness meditation may promote an emotional and biological state that facilitates empathy, with oxytocin activity as a possible underlying mechanism.