Brief mindfulness session improves mood and increases salivary oxytocin in psychology students.
Miguel Bellosta-Batalla, María Del Carmen Blanco-Gandía, Marta Rodríguez‐arias, Ausiàs Cebolla, Josefa Pérez-Blasco, Luis Moya-Albiol
Stress and health : journal of the International Society for the Investigation of Stress October 1, 2020 DOI: 10.1002/smi.2942 (opens in new tab) via PubMed
Summary
AI-generated from the abstractA brief mindfulness session reduced negative affect and state anxiety while increasing salivary oxytocin in psychology students. The experimental group (42 students) participated in guided meditation exercises, while the control group (26 students) did an emotion recognition task with creative activities. The mindfulness group showed a significant reduction in negative affect and state anxiety, and a significant increase in salivary oxytocin compared to controls. These results suggest that guided mindfulness meditation may promote an emotional and biological state that facilitates empathy, with oxytocin activity as a possible underlying mechanism.
Study at a glance
| Characteristics | Randomized controlled trial Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 68 |
| Population | Psychology students |
| Intervention | Guided meditation exercises |
| Keywords | Body scan meditation Breathing meditation Brief mindfulness intervention Empathy Oxytocin |
| Key finding | A brief mindfulness session significantly increased salivary oxytocin and reduced negative affect and state anxiety in psychology students compared to a control activity. |
Abstract
Mindfulness-based interventions (MBI) have been shown to be effective in increasing empathy in health professionals. Yet, more research is needed to analyse the specific influence of mindfulness exercises on biological variables involved in empathy, such as the biological system of oxytocin activity. In this study, we analyse the effects of a brief mindfulness session on positive and negative affect, state anxiety and salivary oxytocin (sOXT) in psychology students (N = 68). In the experimental group (n = 42), a mindfulness session was performed that included different guided meditation exercises. In the control group (n = 26), an emotion recognition exercise was carried out, along with a series of creative activities. Results showed that the mindfulness session was effective, because there was a significant reduction in negative affect (d = -.56, p < .001) and state anxiety (d = -.54, p = .007) in the experimental group. Likewise, there was an increase in sOXT (d = .99, p < .001) in this group, compared with the control group. Guided mindfulness meditation practice could be useful to reach an emotional and biological state that facilitates empathy. In this regard, the increase in sOXT after the mindfulness session adds further evidence about the biological mechanisms underlying the benefits of MBI on empathy.