Meditation and Aerobic Exercise Enhance Mental Health Outcomes and Pattern Separation Learning Without Changing Heart Rate Variability in Women with HIV.
Emma M. Millon, Paul M Lehrer, Tracey J. Shors
Applied Psychophysiology and Biofeedback March 2022 DOI: 10.1007/s10484-021-09530-2 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Feasibility pilot study, non-randomized controlled trial Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 26 |
| Population | Women living with HIV and other stress-related conditions |
| Interventions | Focused-attention meditation aerobic exercise |
| Duration | 6-week intervention, 6-month follow-up |
| Measures | Behavioral Pattern Separation Task, self-report questionnaires of ruminative and trauma-related thoughts, depression, anxiety, and perceived stress, heart rate variability |
| Topics | Meditation |
| Keywords | Exercise Hiv Heart rate variability Memory Pattern separation Rumination Trauma |
| Key findings | Six weeks of combined meditation and aerobic exercise was associated with fewer ruminative and trauma-related thoughts, fewer depressive and anxiety symptoms, less perceived stress, and improved discrimination learning in women living with HIV. Reductions in ruminative thoughts and depressive symptoms persisted at 6 months. Heart rate variability did not change. |
Abstract
Mental and physical (MAP) training targets the brain and the body through a combination of focused-attention meditation and aerobic exercise. The following feasibility pilot study tested whether 6 weeks of MAP training improves mental health outcomes, while enhancing discrimination learning and heart rate variability (HRV) in a group of women living with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and other stress-related conditions. Participants were assigned to training (n = 18) or no-training control (n = 8) groups depending on their ability and willingness to participate, and if their schedule allowed. Training sessions were held once a week for 6 weeks with 30 min of meditation followed by 30 min of aerobic exercise. Before and after 6 weeks of training, participants completed the Behavioral Pattern Separation Task as a measure of discrimination learning, self-report questionnaires of ruminative and trauma-related thoughts, depression, anxiety, and perceived stress, and an assessment of HRV at rest. After training, participants reported fewer ruminative and trauma-related thoughts, fewer depressive and anxiety symptoms, and less perceived stress (p's < 0.05). The positive impact on ruminative thoughts and depressive symptoms persisted 6 months after training. They also demonstrated enhanced discrimination of similar patterns of information (p < 0.05). HRV did not change after training (p > 0.05). Combining mental and physical training is an effective program for enhancing mental health and aspects of cognition in women living with HIV, although not necessarily through variance in heart rate.
Comparable studies
Other non-randomized and open-label trials on meditation, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction in Relation to Quality of Life, Mood, Symptoms of Stress, and Immune Parameters in Breast and Prostate Cancer Outpatients Early-stage breast and prostate cancer patients | 2003 | Pre-post intervention study | n = 59 |
| Exploring self‐compassion and empathy in the context of mindfulness‐based stress reduction (MBSR) Community sample | 2010 | Pre-post intervention study | |
| Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction Lowers Psychological Distress In Medical Students Second-year medical students | 2003 | Prospective nonrandomized cohort-controlled study | n = 302 |
| Intensive meditation training, immune cell telomerase activity, and psychological mediators. Retreat participants and matched controls | 2011 | Controlled trial with wait-list control group | n = 60 |
| The Effectiveness of Mindfulness Training for Children with ADHD and Mindful Parenting for their Parents Children aged 8-12 with ADHD and their parents | 2011 | Within-group waitlist controlled trial | n = 22 |
Citations in the library
Cites 8
- Mental and physical training with meditation and aerobic exercise improved mental health and well-being in teachers during the COVID-19 pandemic Frontiers in Human Neuroscience August 23, 2022
- MAP Train My Brain: Meditation Combined with Aerobic Exercise Reduces Stress and Rumination While Enhancing Quality of Life in Medical Students The Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine April 20, 2020
- MAP Training My Brain™: Meditation Plus Aerobic Exercise Lessens Trauma of Sexual Violence More Than Either Activity Alone Frontiers in Neuroscience April 23, 2018
- Do sex differences in rumination explain sex differences in depression? Journal of Neuroscience Research January 2, 2017
- Sexual trauma and the female brain. Frontiers in neuroendocrinology April 2016
and 3 more in the library