Effect of 4-day Online Breath Meditation Workshop on Ballistocardiography-based Sleep and Cardiac Health Assessments among Medical Professionals of a Tertiary Care Hospital in North India during COVID-19.
Journal of Association of Physicians of India September 1, 2022 Monika Pathania, Praag Bhardwaj, Y. Bahurupi et al.
A 4-day online breath meditation workshop improved sleep and heart rate variability among 41 medical professionals at a tertiary care hospital in northern India during the COVID-19 pandemic. Total sleep duration, deep sleep, REM sleep, and light sleep all increased significantly, while heart rate decreased. Measures of heart rate variability (SDNN and RMSSD) also improved. No significant changes were observed in breath rate, total time awake, or the LF/HF spectrum of heart rate variability. The findings suggest that brief online breath meditation can help induce psychophysical relaxation and combat stress and sleep deprivation in medical professionals.