Mindfulness mediates the physiological markers of stress: Systematic review and meta-analysis.
Michaela C. Pascoe, David R Thompson, Zoe M Jenkins, Chantal F Ski
Journal of Psychiatric Research August 23, 2017 DOI: 10.1016/j.jpsychires.2017.08.004 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Systematic review and meta-analysis Randomized Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Intervention | open monitoring |
| Topics | Anxiety Depression Meditation |
| Keywords | Humans Hydrocortisone Cytokines Stress, psychological Blood pressure Heart rate Inflammation Mood |
| Key findings | Across 45 randomized controlled trials, meditation reduced several physiological stress markers compared with active controls: all subtypes lowered systolic blood pressure, focused attention meditation lowered cortisol, and open monitoring meditation lowered heart rate. Pooling all forms, meditation reduced cortisol, C-reactive protein, blood pressure, heart rate, triglycerides, and tumour necrosis factor-alpha. |
Abstract
Meditation is a popular form of stress management, argued to mediate stress reactivity. However, many studies in this field commonly fail to include an active control group. Given the frequency with which people are selecting meditation as a form of self-management, it is important to validate if the practice is effective in mediating stress-reactivity using well-controlled studies. Thus, we aimed to conduct a meta-analysis investigating the neurobiological effects of meditation, including focused attention, open monitoring and automatic self-transcending subtypes, compared to an active control, on markers of stress. In the current meta-analysis and systematic review, we included randomised controlled trials comparing meditation interventions compared to an active control on physiological markers of stress. Studied outcomes include cortisol, blood pressure, heart-rate, lipids and peripheral cytokine expression. Forty-five studies were included. All meditation subtypes reduced systolic blood pressure. Focused attention meditations also reduced cortisol and open monitoring meditations also reduced heart rate. When all meditation forms were analysed together, meditation reduced cortisol, C - reactive protein, blood pressure, heart rate, triglycerides and tumour necrosis factor-alpha. Overall, meditation practice leads to decreased physiological markers of stress in a range of populations.
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
Cited by 155
- Mindfulness-based interventions: an overall review British Medical Bulletin April 21, 2021
- The Empirical Status of Mindfulness-Based Interventions: A Systematic Review of 44 Meta-Analyses of Randomized Controlled Trials Perspectives on Psychological Science February 16, 2021
- Breath of Life: The Respiratory Vagal Stimulation Model of Contemplative Activity Frontiers in Human Neuroscience October 9, 2018
- The neuroscience of meditation: classification, phenomenology, correlates, and mechanisms. Progress in Brain Research 2019
- Testing the Efficacy of a Multicomponent, Self-Guided, Smartphone-Based Meditation App: Three-Armed Randomized Controlled Trial JMIR Mental Health November 27, 2020
and 150 more in the library
Cites 37
- A default mode of brain function Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences January 16, 2001
- Mindfulness‐based approaches: are they all the same? Journal of Clinical Psychology January 19, 2011
- Effects of a Randomized Controlled Trial of Transcendental Meditation on Components of the Metabolic Syndrome in Subjects With Coronary Heart Disease Archives of Internal Medicine June 12, 2006
- Impact of transcendental meditation on ambulatory blood pressure in African-American adolescents American Journal of Hypertension April 1, 2004
- Meditation-related activations are modulated by the practices needed to obtain it and by the expertise: an ALE meta-analysis study Frontiers in Human Neuroscience 2013
and 32 more in the library