P01.46. Assessment of autonomic tone at rest and during meditation in a longitudinal study of an eight-week meditation intervention
Gaelle Desbordes, Riccardo Barbieri, Luca Citi, Sara W. Lazar, Lobsang Tenzin Negi, Charles L. Raison, Eli Schwartz
BMC Complementary and Alternative Medicine June 1, 2012 DOI: 10.1186/1472-6882-12-s1-p46 (opens in new tab) via OpenAlex
Summary
AI-generated from the abstractElectrocardiogram recordings from eight healthy adults without prior meditation experience, collected as part of a larger randomized controlled trial, showed that an eight-week mindful-attention meditation intervention increased heart rate variability (HRV) and decreased the LF/HF ratio, indicating improved autonomic function and more predominant vagal tone. These changes were not seen in the control group. A marked increase in respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA) occurred during meditation compared to rest. The authors suggest RSA may be a useful marker of the meditative state and encourage further research on HRV measures as indicators of autonomic health after meditation.
Study at a glance
| Characteristics | Randomized controlled trial Longitudinal Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 8 |
| Population | Healthy adults without prior meditation experience |
| Duration | Eight-week intervention |
| Topics | Meditation |
| Keywords | Rest music Tone literature Intervention counseling Audiology |
| Key finding | An eight-week mindful-attention meditation intervention increased HRV and decreased LF/HF ratio, consistent with improved autonomic function, in the meditation group but not in the control group. |
Abstract
We collected electrocardiogram recordings as part of a larger randomized controlled trial of the effects of an eight-week meditation training intervention on healthy adults without prior meditation experience. Here we report data from eight subjects before and after the “mindful-attention” meditation intervention and the control intervention. The recordings were performed while the subjects were lying supine, at rest (for both groups) and in a meditative state (for the meditation group only). We computed measures of HRV and RSA across a 3-minute epoch using a point-process model of heart beat dynamics. We found a longitudinal increase in HRV and a longitudinal decrease in LF/HF ratio (i.e., a more predominant vagal tone), both consistent with improved autonomic function, in the meditation group but not in the control group. We also found a marked increase in RSA during meditation compared to rest. These preliminary outcomes, although derived from a small sample, support our hypotheses. They suggest that measures of RSA might be useful markers of the meditative state, and encourage further investigation on the efficacy of HRV measures to indicate a general improvement of autonomic health after meditation interventions.