Effect of Heartfulness meditation program on perceived stress and satisfaction with life of female students.
Pradeep K Gupta, Neetu Malhotra, Preeti Goel, Jayaram Thimmapuram, Prasanna Krishna
Frontiers in Psychiatry 2023 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyt.2023.1214603 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Prospective cohort study Randomized Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 240 |
| Population | Female students in India |
| Intervention | Heartfulness meditation |
| Duration | G20: guided intervention weeks 0-12, independent practice to week 20; G14: guided intervention weeks 7-12, independent practice to week 20; outcomes measured at week 0 and week 20 |
| Measures | Perceived Stress Scale (PSS), Satisfaction With Life Scale (SWLS) |
| Topics | Meditation |
| Keywords | Heartfulness Female students Satisfaction with life Stress |
| Key findings | The authors report that female students in the longer guided Heartfulness group (G20) showed a significant reduction in perceived stress (20.79 to 18.96) and an increase in satisfaction with life (22.03 to 23.51) from baseline to week 20. They suggest that benefits require more than 6 weeks of guided intervention and recommend a larger randomized study with a no-meditation control group. |
Abstract
Though literacy levels are slowly improving in India due to the steps taken by the Government of India, it has been a challenge for female students with gender disparities in literacy levels. Stress levels are high in students, more so during their exam times. While prior literature has demonstrated the prevalence of stress during student life, there is limited evidence of any interventions to decrease stress and improve satisfaction with life, specifically for female students. Heartfulness meditation is a heart-based meditation practice that may reduce stress and improve satisfaction with life among female students. We conducted a prospective cohort analysis comparing perceived stress and satisfaction with life outcomes among female students who self-selected to participate in the Heartfulness meditation program. The first group, G20, underwent intervention from week 0 until week 12 and continued their practice independently until week 20. The second group, G14, joined the intervention from week 7 until week 12 with only a 6-week exposure to guided meditation sessions through Heartfulness Trainers. They continued their practice independently until week 20. Data on Perceived Stress (PSS) and Satisfaction with Life (SWLS) were collected at week 0 and week 20 for both groups. G20 had 127 participants, and G14 had 113 participants. Ninety-four participants from the G20 group and 93 from G14 completed the study. The G20 group showed a statistically significant reduction of PSS scores from 20.79 to 18.96, and an increase in the SWLS scores from 22.03 to 23.51 from baseline to the end of the study period. The study of the Pearson correlation coefficient indicated that there is a weak positive correlation between pre- and post-scores for both the groups for both PSS and SWLS. Our findings suggest that Heartfulness meditation practice offers significant benefits with perceived stress and satisfaction with life among female students independent of their age. Still, a prolonged guided intervention of over 6 weeks is needed. A larger, randomized study with an additional control group with no meditation intervention is recommended. ISRCTN11302156, https://doi.org/10.1186/ISRCTN11302156.
Comparable studies
Other observational and cohort studies on meditation, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| Using Self-Report Assessment Methods to Explore Facets of Mindfulness Undergraduate students | 2006 | Observational cohort | |
| Effectiveness of a meditation-based stress reduction program in the treatment of anxiety disorders Patients with generalized anxiety disorder or panic disorder with or without agoraphobia | 1992 | Observational cohort | n = 22 |
| Meditation experience is associated with increased cortical thickness Participants with extensive Insight meditation experience and matched controls | 2005 | Observational cohort | n = 20 |
| Meditation experience is associated with differences in default mode network activity and connectivity Experienced meditators and matched meditation-naive controls | 2011 | Observational cohort | |
| Long-term meditators self-induce high-amplitude gamma synchrony during mental practice Long-term Buddhist practitioners and controls | 2004 | Observational cohort |
Citations in the library
Cited by 4
- Neural Dynamics of Heartfulness Meditation: EEG Alpha Modulation Across Experience Levels. Annals of Neurosciences January 19, 2026
- Effects of heartfulness and bell meditation on brain activities and autonomic function in university students: An exploratory study. Journal of Education and Health Promotion 2026
- Aanapanasati Meditation and Stress Reduction Among Health Science University Students The Open Public Health Journal February 26, 2025
- Determining the depth of meditation through frontal alpha asymmetry. Frontiers in Human Neuroscience 2025
Cites 10
- Mindfulness training and systemic low-grade inflammation in stressed community adults: Evidence from two randomized controlled trials PLoS One July 11, 2019
- Effect of Heartfulness Meditation Among Long-Term, Short-Term and Non-meditators on Prefrontal Cortex Activity of Brain Using Machine Learning Classification: A Cross-Sectional Study Cureus February 14, 2023
- Health-Related Quality of Life Outcomes With Regular Yoga and Heartfulness Meditation Practice: Results From a Multinational, Cross-sectional Study JMIR Formative Research March 10, 2022
- Effects of Heartfulness Meditation Practices on Control of Alzheimer's Disease: A Comprehensive Review. Iranian Journal of Public Health December 1, 2021
- Using Heartfulness Meditation and Brainwave Entrainment to Improve Teenage Mental Wellbeing. Frontiers in Psychology 2021
and 5 more in the library