Insight meditation and telomere biology: The effects of intensive retreat and the moderating role of personality.
Quinn A Conklin, Brandon G King, Anthony P Zanesco, Jue Lin, Anahita B. Hamidi, Jennifer J. Pokorny, María Jesús Álvarez-López, Marta Cosín-Tomás, Colin Huang, Perla Kaliman, Elissa S Epel, Clifford D Saron
Brain, Behavior, and Immunity May 1, 2018 DOI: 10.1016/j.bbi.2018.03.003 (opens in new tab)
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Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Controlled trial Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Population | Experienced meditators |
| Duration | 1-month residential retreat |
| Topics | Meditation |
| Keywords | Cell aging Neuroticism Personality Telomerase Telomere length |
| Registration | NCT03056105 |
| Key findings | Intensive meditation retreat was associated with increased telomere length, moderated by personality traits such as neuroticism and agreeableness. |
Abstract
A growing body of evidence suggests that meditation training may have a range of salubrious effects, including improved telomere regulation. Telomeres and the enzyme telomerase interact with a variety of molecular components to regulate cell-cycle signaling cascades, and are implicated in pathways linking psychological stress to disease. We investigated the effects of intensive meditation practice on these biomarkers by measuring changes in telomere length (TL), telomerase activity (TA), and telomere-related gene (TRG) expression during a 1-month residential Insight meditation retreat. Multilevel analyses revealed an apparent TL increase in the retreat group, compared to a group of experienced meditators, similarly comprised in age and gender, who were not on retreat. Moreover, personality traits predicted changes in TL, such that retreat participants highest in neuroticism and lowest in agreeableness demonstrated the greatest increases in TL. Changes observed in TRGs further suggest retreat-related improvements in telomere maintenance, including increases in Gar1 and HnRNPA1, which encode proteins that bind telomerase RNA and telomeric DNA. Although no group-level changes were observed in TA, retreat participants' TA levels at post-assessment were inversely related to several indices of retreat engagement and prior meditation experience. Neuroticism also predicted variation in TA across retreat. These findings suggest that meditation training in a retreat setting may have positive effects on telomere regulation, which are moderated by individual differences in personality and meditation experience. (ClinicalTrials.gov #NCT03056105).
Comparable studies
Other non-randomized and open-label trials on meditation, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction in Relation to Quality of Life, Mood, Symptoms of Stress, and Immune Parameters in Breast and Prostate Cancer Outpatients Early-stage breast and prostate cancer patients | 2003 | Pre-post intervention study | n = 59 |
| Exploring self‐compassion and empathy in the context of mindfulness‐based stress reduction (MBSR) Community sample | 2010 | Pre-post intervention study | |
| Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction Lowers Psychological Distress In Medical Students Second-year medical students | 2003 | Prospective nonrandomized cohort-controlled study | n = 302 |
| Intensive meditation training, immune cell telomerase activity, and psychological mediators. Retreat participants and matched controls | 2011 | Controlled trial with wait-list control group | n = 60 |
| The Effectiveness of Mindfulness Training for Children with ADHD and Mindful Parenting for their Parents Children aged 8-12 with ADHD and their parents | 2011 | Within-group waitlist controlled trial | n = 22 |
Citations in the library
Cited by 23
- Biological mechanism study of meditation and its application in mental disorders General Psychiatry July 13, 2020
- Impact of Heartfulness meditation practice on anxiety, perceived stress, well-being, and telomere length. Frontiers in Psychology 2023
- The Effects of Mindfulness-Based Interventions on Telomere Length and Telomerase Activity: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis Mindfulness January 25, 2023
- Three months-longitudinal changes in relative telomere length, blood chemistries, and self-report questionnaires in meditation practitioners compared to novice individuals during midlife Medicine October 14, 2022
- Epigenetic, psychological, and EEG changes after a 1-week retreat based on mindfulness and compassion for stress reduction: Study protocol of a cross-over randomized controlled trial medRxiv March 5, 2023
and 18 more in the library
Cites 17
- Meditation Programs for Psychological Stress and Well-being JAMA Internal Medicine January 6, 2014
- Investigating the phenomenological matrix of mindfulness-related practices from a neurocognitive perspective. American Psychologist October 1, 2015
- Mental balance and well-being: Building bridges between Buddhism and Western psychology. American Psychologist 2006
- Intensive meditation training, immune cell telomerase activity, and psychological mediators. Psychoneuroendocrinology June 1, 2011
- Mental Training as a Tool in the Neuroscientific Study of Brain and Cognitive Plasticity Frontiers in Human Neuroscience 2011
and 12 more in the library