Evidence-based complementary and alternative medicine : eCAM
January 1, 2024
Yuanqing Pan, Fusen Li, Haiqian Liang et al.
32 citations
A meta-analysis of 29 randomized controlled trials found that mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) helps university students by reducing anxiety, depression, and perceived stress, and by improving mindfulness, self-kindness, and physical health. No significant effects were observed for sleep quality, social function, or subjective well-being. The evidence for sleep quality and physical health was low quality. MBSR appears potentially useful for relieving emotional disorders, but more large-scale trials are needed to determine which forms of mindfulness therapy work best and to ensure lasting benefits.
Evidence-based complementary and alternative medicine : eCAM
January 1, 2014
Natalie T Y Leung, Mandy M Lo, Tatia M C Lee
Affective dysregulation—impaired control over emotions—underlies many mental health conditions such as anxiety, depression, and stress-related disorders. This dysregulation often involves weakened top-down cognitive control from the prefrontal cortex over subcortical emotional processing. Long-term meditation practice can induce neuroplastic changes in brain regions supporting cognitive control and emotional regulation, suggesting meditation may serve as a cost-effective intervention for mood disorders. The review examines concepts of affective regulation and meditation, discusses behavioral and neural evidence for meditation's clinical potential, and notes promising results from incorporating mindfulness into psychotherapy. Future research could explore integrating compassion into therapeutic approaches.
Evidence-based complementary and alternative medicine : eCAM
January 1, 2012
Brett Froeliger, Eric L Garland, Rachel V Kozink et al.
Meditation practitioners show stronger functional connectivity within the Dorsal Attention Network during rest compared to non-meditators. While meditating, practitioners increase connectivity between the Dorsal Attention Network and networks involved in self-referential processing and emotion (default mode and salience networks), while decreasing connectivity between attention regions and prefrontal and insular areas. More years of meditation experience correlate with stronger connectivity between attention networks and subcortical and parietal regions, but weaker connectivity with lateral parietal and insular areas. These findings suggest meditation strengthens attention networks and their coupling with other brain networks.
Evidence-based complementary and alternative medicine : eCAM
January 1, 2012
Brett Froeliger, Eric L Garland, F Joseph McClernon
Practicing hatha yoga—physical postures, breathing exercises, and meditation—may increase gray matter volume in brain regions involved in executive function, emotion, and memory. In a preliminary study, yoga meditation practitioners showed greater gray matter volume in frontal, limbic, temporal, occipital, and cerebellar areas compared to matched controls, who showed no such differences. The yoga group also reported fewer cognitive failures, and the size of this benefit correlated with gray matter volume in several brain regions. Longer yoga practice was associated with greater gray matter volume. These results suggest that hatha yoga may promote neuroplastic changes in executive brain systems, potentially offering therapeutic benefits that grow with continued practice.
Evidence-based complementary and alternative medicine : eCAM
January 1, 2011
Daniele Martarelli, Mario Cocchioni, Stefania Scuri et al.
Diaphragmatic breathing after exhaustive exercise increases antioxidant defenses in athletes. In a study of 16 athletes, those who performed one hour of diaphragmatic breathing after an exhaustive training session showed lower oxidative stress, lower cortisol, and higher melatonin compared to a control group that rested quietly. The findings suggest that this breathing technique may protect athletes from long-term damage caused by free radicals.
Evidence-based complementary and alternative medicine : eCAM
March 1, 2009
Chuan-Yi Liu, Ching-Chuan Wei, Pei-Chen Lo
Zen-meditation practitioners showed greater increases in blood-pressure-waveform parameters reflecting heart ejection ability, aorta compliance, arterial elasticity, and aortic valve function, along with a greater decrease in a parameter indicating peripheral resistance, compared to a control group. All changes were statistically significant. The authors infer that Zen meditation may effectively improve characteristics of the cardiovascular system.
Evidence-based complementary and alternative medicine : eCAM
March 1, 2007
Alex Hankey
The Transcendental Meditation program, a form of complementary and alternative medicine, offers a method for eliminating deep-rooted stress. Its efficacy has been demonstrated in several studies, including an application to Vietnam War Veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder where improvements were observed on all variables, and several participants were able to return to work after years of unemployment. The intervention has been studied for its impact on brain and autonomic nervous system function and has been found highly effective against other stress-related conditions such as hypertension, also improving brain coherence. It should be considered a possible new and improved mode of treatment for PTSD, warranting further study.
Evidence-based complementary and alternative medicine : eCAM
December 1, 2006
Alex Hankey
A comparison of studies on advanced Tibetan Buddhist meditators in the Himalayas and long-term Transcendental Meditation practitioners reveals parallel improvements in sensory acuity, perceptual style, and cognitive function, indicating stabilization of attentional awareness. These changes, along with increased EEG coherence and brain function, are consistent with growth toward total brain functioning and full mental potential, often accompanied by improved health parameters. A second article will discuss how these findings relate to enlightenment.