Benefits of meditation and breathing exercises in vision loss patients
Edward Tran, Mohamed Aly, Nirmit Shah, Vivian Phu, M. Malvankar-Mehta
British Journal of Visual Impairment October 15, 2023 DOI: 10.1177/02646196231201773 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Systematic review and meta-analysis Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Population | Patients with vision loss, particularly glaucoma |
| Interventions | Meditation Breathing exercises |
| Topics | Meditation |
| Key findings | Meditation and breathing exercises significantly reduced intraocular pressure (ES = -1.76), improved visual field mean deviation (ES = -0.20), and decreased cortisol (ES = -0.73) and reactive oxygen species (ES = -2.45), while increasing beta-endorphins (ES = 28.60). Changes in inflammatory markers and retinal nerve fiber thickness were non-significant. Improvements in quality of life, physical fitness, and mood were also reported. |
Abstract
Vision impairment could have debilitating effects on patients’ mental, physical, and emotional health. Our study aims to understand the role of meditation and breathing exercises in the management of vision loss and its effects on patient’s disease progression. This study is designed as a systematic review and meta-analysis. Eligible studies were retrieved from MEDLINE, EMBASE, and CINAHL databases and gray literature. Covidence software was used to conduct the systematic review. Duplicate records were removed, and two independent reviewers screened records for relevance. After the screening, a risk-of-bias assessment was carried out. Data were extracted, and a meta-analysis was performed using STATA 14.0. Fixed-effect and random-effect models were computed based on heterogeneity. Our results indicate that meditation and breathing exercises significantly reduce intraocular pressure (IOP) (ES = −1.76, 95% CI = [−2.69, −0.83]) in glaucoma patients, mean deviation of Humphrey visual field testing (ES = −0.20, 95% CI = [−0.37, −0.03]), and biomarkers such as cortisol (ES = −0.73, 95% CI = [−0.25, −2.22]) and reactive oxygen species (ES = −2.45, 95% CI = [−4.20, −0.71]). In addition, our results demonstrated significant increases in beta-endorphins (ES = 28.60, 95% CI = [25.61, 31.59]) following breathing and meditation exercises. Furthermore, our study demonstrated that these exercises were associated with non-significant decreases in inflammatory markers, such as interleukin-6 levels (ES = −1.25, 95% CI = [−2.75, −0.24]), retinal nerve layer fiber thickness (ES = −0.20, 95% CI = [−0.53, −0.14]), and non-significant increase in brain-derived neurotrophic factor (ES = 28.24, 95% CI = [−25.24, 81.71]). Our systematic review also found improvements in quality of life, physical fitness, and mood for vision loss patients. Meditation and breathing exercises offer a range of benefits to patients with vision loss, including improvements in IOP, biomarkers, quality of life, physical fitness, and mood. Further research is needed to better understand the mechanisms underlying their effects and the means to apply them in practice.
Comparable studies
Other systematic reviews and meta-analyses on meditation, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| Meditation Programs for Psychological Stress and Well-being Diverse adult clinical populations | 2014 | Meta-analysis | n = 3,515 |
| Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction for Stress Management in Healthy People: A Review and Meta-Analysis Healthy subjects | 2009 | Systematic review and meta-analysis | |
| The psychological effects of meditation: A meta-analysis. Nonclinical groups of adult meditators | 2012 | Meta-analysis | n = 163 |
| Efficacy of Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy in Prevention of Depressive Relapse Adults with recurrent depression in full or partial remission | 2016 | Meta-analysis of individual patient data from randomized controlled trials | n = 1,258 |
| Mindfulness‐Based Stress Reduction and Mindfulness‐Based Cognitive Therapy – a systematic review of randomized controlled trials | 2011 | Systematic review |
Citations in the library
Cites 11
- Meditation Programs for Psychological Stress and Well-being JAMA Internal Medicine January 6, 2014
- Meditation and psychotherapy: a rationale for the integration of dynamic psychotherapy, the relaxation response, and mindfulness meditation American Journal of Psychiatry 1985
- Impact of Prajñā yoga on cognition in adolescents with congenital and adventitious visual impairment. Explore 2022
- The benefits of meditation and mindfulness practices during times of crisis such as COVID-19 Irish Journal of Psychological Medicine May 14, 2020
- Meditation enhances brain oxygenation, upregulates BDNF and improves quality of life in patients with primary open angle glaucoma: A randomized controlled trial Restorative Neurology and Neuroscience October 29, 2018
and 6 more in the library