Loving-kindness meditation's effects on nitric oxide and perceived well-being: a pilot study in experienced and inexperienced meditators.
Kathi J Kemper, Daniel Powell, Christine Carlisle Helms, Daniel B Kim-Shapiro
Explore (New York, N.Y.) January 1, 2015 DOI: 10.1016/j.explore.2014.10.002 (opens in new tab) via PubMed
Summary
AI-generated from the abstractLoving-kindness meditation is associated with stress reduction in inexperienced meditators. Experienced meditators had higher nitrate levels, trended toward having higher nitrite levels, and had significantly lower stress levels than inexperienced meditators. In a study of 12 healthy meditators (7 inexperienced, 5 experienced), stress fell significantly with meditation in the inexperienced group (from 52 to 11 on a 100-point scale), while relaxation increased (from 55 to 89). Experienced meditators had more than twice the plasma nitrate levels and lower baseline stress (15 vs. 49) and heart rate compared to inexperienced meditators. Nitric oxide metabolism may be involved in the cardiovascular effects of persistent meditation practice.
Study at a glance
| Characteristics | Observational cohort Longitudinal Pilot study Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 12 |
| Population | Healthy meditators (7 inexperienced, 5 experienced) |
| Intervention | loving-kindness meditation |
| Duration | Single study visit with a 20-minute meditation session and measurements at baseline, after a neutral reading period, immediately after meditation, and 10 minutes post-meditation |
| Topics | Meditation |
| Keywords | Compassion Cardiovascular Nitric oxide Relaxation |
| Key finding | Loving-kindness meditation is associated with stress reduction in inexperienced meditators, and experienced meditators had higher nitrate levels and lower stress levels than inexperienced meditators. |
Abstract
Meditation is associated with lower blood pressure, but little is known about how loving-kindness meditation affects nitric oxide (NO) metabolism, a key mediator of cardiovascular physiology associated with vasodilation. We studied seven inexperienced and five experienced healthy meditators at one study visit, after they refrained from eating nitrate-rich foods for at least 12h. Participants completed questionnaires on demographics and meditation practices. We measured nitrite and nitrate and self-reported stress at baseline, after a neutral reading period (prior to meditation), immediately after, and 10 min following a standardized 20-min loving-kindness meditation. The 12 subjects had a mean age of 51 years, and two were male. Stress was significantly lower at baseline in the experienced group (15 vs. 49 on 100 point scale, P < .05) as was heart rate (HR) [68.1 ± 0.5 beats per minute (bpm) vs. 73.4 ± 0.7 bpm, P < .05]. Stress levels fell significantly with meditation (52 vs. 11, P < .05), while relaxation increased (55 vs. 89, P < .05) in the inexperienced group. Plasma nitrite levels were not significantly higher, but nitrate levels were more than twice as high (P < .05) for experienced vs. inexperienced meditators before and after loving-kindness meditation. Loving-kindness meditation is associated with stress reduction in inexperienced meditators. Experienced meditators had higher nitrate levels, trended toward having higher nitrite levels, and had significantly lower stress levels than inexperienced meditators. Nitric oxide metabolism may be involved in the cardiovascular effects of persistent meditation practice. Larger longitudinal studies would be fruitful to better understand the mechanisms involved.