Elderly people living in old age homes who received mind-body interventions—Benson's Relaxation Technique, Guided Imagery, and mindfulness exercises—showed substantial improvements in psychological health. Stress scores dropped from an average of 23.71 to 10.86, anxiety from 27.62 to 12.71, and depression from 10.05 to 5.24, while quality of life scores rose from 37.81 to 54.24. A control group receiving routine care showed minimal changes. Physical and biochemical markers remained largely unchanged in both groups. The findings suggest that integrating these non-pharmacological techniques into nursing care can significantly enhance elderly well-being.
A 12-week mindfulness program for elderly residents of old age homes in Chennai reduced stress and depression but did not significantly lower serum cortisol levels. Among 48 participants aged 60-80, 83.33% of those in the mindfulness group reported low stress afterward, compared to 12.50% in the control group. Depression also improved: 41.67% of the mindfulness group reached expected levels, while 70.83% of controls remained moderately depressed. Serum cortisol did not change significantly. The findings suggest mindfulness can benefit mental health in institutionalized elderly, but longer interventions or other biomarkers may be needed to detect physiological changes.