Breathing‐Based Meditation Decreases Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Symptoms in U.S. Military Veterans: A Randomized Controlled Longitudinal Study
Emma M Seppala, Jack B. Nitschke, Dana Tudorascu, Andrea S Hayes, Michael R. Goldstein, Dong T. H. Nguyen, David M Perlman, Richard J. Davidson
Journal of Traumatic Stress August 1, 2014 DOI: 10.1002/jts.21936 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Randomized controlled trial Longitudinal Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 21 |
| Population | U.S. male veterans of the Iraq or Afghanistan war with PTSD |
| Intervention | Sudarshan Kriya yoga |
| Duration | Intervention period not specified; follow-up at 1 month and 1 year |
| Topics | Anxiety Meditation |
| Keywords | Intervention counseling Randomized controlled trial Breathing Posttraumatic stress Depression economics Clinical psychology Physical therapy |
| Citations | 180 |
| Key findings | Sudarshan Kriya yoga reduced PTSD scores, anxiety symptoms, and respiration rate in male veterans compared to a waitlist control group. |
Abstract
Given the limited success of conventional treatments for veterans with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), investigations of alternative approaches are warranted. We examined the effects of a breathing-based meditation intervention, Sudarshan Kriya yoga, on PTSD outcome variables in U.S. male veterans of the Iraq or Afghanistan war. We randomly assigned 21 veterans to an active (n = 11) or waitlist control (n = 10) group. Laboratory measures of eye-blink startle and respiration rate were obtained before and after the intervention, as were self-report symptom measures; the latter were also obtained 1 month and 1 year later. The active group showed reductions in PTSD scores, d = 1.16, 95% CI [0.20, 2.04], anxiety symptoms, and respiration rate, but the control group did not. Reductions in startle correlated with reductions in hyperarousal symptoms immediately postintervention (r = .93, p < .001) and at 1-year follow-up (r = .77, p = .025). This longitudinal intervention study suggests there may be clinical utility for Sudarshan Kriya yoga for PTSD.