The Response of EEG Signal on Brain Relaxation Meditation Using Different Type of Zikr
N N Abd Razak, K A Sidek, K Y D Alaa, N F Mohd Nasir
Journal of Physics, Conference Series October 1, 2021 DOI: 10.1088/1742-6596/2071/1/012050 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Experimental study Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 8 |
| Population | Healthy adults aged 20 to 30 years, four males and four females |
| Intervention | Ya Allah |
| Measures | Electroencephalogram (EEG) Alpha, Beta, and Delta waves |
| Topics | Meditation |
| Key findings | The authors report that zikr recitation produced dominant Delta-wave activity in EEG recordings and suggest that zikr tends to shift brain state toward relaxation or calm regardless of the type of zikr recited, based on comparisons of amplitude differences and p-value tests across two playlists. |
Abstract
Abstract: Depression and stress are increasingly prevalent in today’s society, owing to people’s hectic, competitive, and demanding lifestyles. These illnesses had become very common, particularly among young and middle-aged people, and suicidal ideation had been identified as one of the leading causes of death by the World Health Organization (WHO). Nature sound (sound of downpours or beach) has been linked to depression and anxiety in neurology research, and it has been shown to be an alternative to alleviate anxiety. The electroencephalogram (EEG) waveform has been discovered to possess the potential in identifying information from the brain signal as well as data from the past via Bluetooth communication. The waveform use in the study are the result of a few experiments. In this study, EEG data were collected from eight subjects, four males and four females, in between the age of 20 to 30 years old and in good health, using the BrainLink device. The participants were asked to listen to two playlists of zikr, Allah, Ya Allah, and SubhanAllah, during the experiments. To smooth the signal, the Butterworth filter was used. Later, the extracted features were Alpha, Beta, and Delta waves, which were segmented based on the filtered signal. To complete the decision-making stage, the average value of amplitude differences and the p-value test were performed in the final phase. Based on the results of the experiments, it is clear that zikr is dominant in Delta wave. In terms of data hypothesis analysis, the results of both experiment were differentiated to determine which brain signal was dominant, and p-value testing was performed. Furthermore, this research is an alternative to current methods because it suggest that zikr has the tendency to alter a person’s brain state to be either in a relaxed or calm mode regardless of the type of zikr recitation. As an outcome, the study recommends the relationship of the reaction of EEG signal on brain relaxation with different types of zikr in order to facilitate stress and anxiety patients to achieve relax or calm condition.
Comparable studies
Other experimental studies on meditation, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| The benefits of being present: Mindfulness and its role in psychological well-being. Cancer patients (clinical intervention study) | 2003 | Mixed methods: scale development, correlational, quasi-experimental, laboratory, experience-sampling, and clinical intervention study | |
| Loving-kindness meditation increases social connectedness. | 2008 | Controlled laboratory experiment | |
| Mindfulness and mind-wandering: Finding convergence through opposing constructs. | 2012 | Two studies: correlational study and experimental study | |
| Mental Training Enhances Attentional Stability: Neural and Behavioral Evidence | 2009 | Experimental study | |
| Mindfulness meditation and substance use in an incarcerated population. Incarcerated population | 2006 | Quasi-experimental with treatment-as-usual control condition |