Meditation practice significantly reduced mental stress among Generation Z college students in Assam, India. A quasi-experimental study of 92 students aged 18–23 who participated in online meditation classes for 90 days showed a positive change in stress levels, with a t-value of 8.18 and a p-value less than 0.001, indicating strong statistical significance. The findings suggest that regular meditation can be an effective tool for alleviating stress in this population, whose stress often stems from difficulty in seeing things as they are.
Yoga, through its components of postures, breath regulation, and meditation, may reduce pain by enhancing vagal tone, promoting neuroplasticity, reducing pain sensitization, and restoring autonomic balance. The review of research from PubMed, Embase, Scopus, and Google Scholar examined mechanisms including endorphin release and regulation of central pain pathways. The authors argue that yoga fosters awareness, lowers stress, and strengthens emotional resilience, but conclude that more research is needed to establish its role in comprehensive pain management.
Mindfulness-based interventions, including meditation and yoga, consistently elevated brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) levels across diverse populations such as healthy adults and individuals with depression. These increases are linked to reduced stress and inflammation. Mental health benefits like reduced depression and anxiety were widely observed, though cognitive and functional outcomes varied, particularly in older adults where some studies noted BDNF attenuation. The narrative review of eight studies suggests meditation and mind-body practices may enhance BDNF and improve mental health, but inconsistencies in older adults and chronic pain populations highlight the need for further research.
Bhramari Pranayama, a yogic breathing technique that produces a humming sound, creates vibrations in the body that directly affect the hypothalamus, relieving tension and inducing calmness and happiness. This review of Ayurvedic texts and research publications concludes that regular practice of Bhramari Pranayama reduces Raja and Tamadosha while increasing Satvaguna, thereby aiding in the prevention of mental illness and the treatment of mental diseases such as stress, anxiety, and depression.