Effects of Natural Stress Relief Meditation on Trait Anxiety: A Pilot Study
Fabrizio Coppola
Psychological Reports August 1, 2007 DOI: 10.2466/pr0.101.1.130-134 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Within-subjects repeated measures Pilot study Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 25 |
| Population | Participants who practiced Natural Stress Relief meditation |
| Intervention | Natural Stress Relief meditation |
| Dose | 15 minutes twice a day |
| Duration | 3-week period with 2 weeks of practice |
| Measures | Spielberger's State-Trait Anxiety Inventory |
| Topics | Anxiety Meditation |
| Key points | Trait anxiety scores decreased significantly after one and two weeks of twice-daily 15-minute meditation sessions. |
Abstract
Natural Stress Relief meditation, a mental technique which is practiced for 15 minutes twice a day, aims to reduce stress and anxiety by eliciting a specific state of physiological rest along with mental alertness. The meditation is taught in a self-administered program, requiring one hour of training during the first three days, followed by the regular twice daily practice. Each 15-min. session consists in sitting quietly with closed eyes while applying a specific mental procedure. To test the effectiveness of meditation in reducing trait anxiety, Spielberger's State-Trait Anxiety Inventory was administered to 25 participants four times over a 3-wk. period: one week before starting to practice the meditation, a few hours before starting, 1 wk. after, and 2 wk. after. The difference in Trait Anxiety score between pretreatment and before starting the practice was not significant, while it was significant both after the first week of practice (Cohen d= .46) and after the first 2 wk. of practice ( d= .67).
Comparable studies
Other experimental studies on anxiety, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| A PILOT STUDY OF GROUP MINDFULNESS-BASED COGNITIVE THERAPY (MBCT) FOR COMBAT VETERANS WITH POSTTRAUMATIC STRESS DISORDER (PTSD) Veterans with chronic combat posttraumatic stress disorder seeking treatment at a VA... | 2013 | Quasi-experimental with treatment-as-usual comparison group | n = 37 |
| Being present in the face of existential threat: The role of trait mindfulness in reducing defensive responses to mortality salience. | 2010 | Experimental study | |
| Neural correlates of mindfulness meditation-related anxiety relief Healthy adults with no prior meditation experience | 2013 | Within-subjects experimental study | n = 15 |
| Intensive mindfulness training-related changes in cognitive and emotional experience Community adults | 2009 | Quasi-experimental and longitudinal | n = 69 |
| Prospective examination of synthetic 5-methoxy-N,N-dimethyltryptamine inhalation: effects on salivary IL-6, cortisol levels, affect, and non-judgment Volunteers | 2019 | Within-subjects experimental study | n = 11 |