Effects of Meditation on Mental Health and Cardiovascular Balance in Caregivers.
Lourdes Díaz-Rodríguez, Keyla Vargas-Román, Juan Carlos Sanchez-Garcia, Raquel Rodríguez-Blanque, Guillermo Arturo Cañadas-De la Fuente, Emilia I De la Fuente-Solana
International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health January 13, 2021 DOI: 10.3390/ijerph18020617 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Non-randomized repeated-measures controlled clinical trial Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Population | High-burden informal caregivers |
| Intervention | Meditation |
| Duration | Four-week, 16-hour program; outcomes assessed at 5 weeks |
| Measures | global happiness score, anxiety levels, systolic blood pressure, diastolic blood pressure, resting heart rate, HRV Index, SDNN, RMSSD, HF |
| Topics | Meditation |
| Keywords | Autonomic nervous system Vagus nerve Humans Mental health Heart rate Vagal nerve activity High-burden caregivers |
| Key findings | At five weeks, the meditation group had significantly higher global happiness and all happiness subscale scores, significantly lower anxiety, systolic and diastolic blood pressure, and resting heart rate, and significantly improved heart rate variability (HRV Index, SDNN, RMSSD, HF) compared with controls. The authors conclude that meditation may be a useful therapy for enhancing mental health and autonomic nervous system balance in informal caregivers. |
Abstract
Background: Caring for a loved one can be rewarding but is also associated with substantial caregiver burden, developing mental outcomes and affecting happiness. The aim of this study was to determine the effects of a four-week, 16-h presential meditation program on physiological and psychological parameters and vagal nerve activity in high-burden caregivers, as compared to a control group.
Methods: A non-randomized repeated-measures controlled clinical trial was conducted.
Results: According to the ANCOVA results, the global happiness score (F = 297.42, p < 0.001) and the scores for all subscales were significantly higher in the experimental group than in the control group at 5 weeks. Anxiety levels were also significantly reduced in the experimental group (F = 24.92, p < 0.001), systolic (F = 16.23, p < 0.001) and diastolic blood (F = 34.39, p < 0.001) pressures, and the resting heart rate (F = 17.90, p < 0.05). HRV results revealed significant between-group differences in the HRV Index (F = 8.40, p < 0.05), SDNN (F = 13.59, p < 0.05), and RMSSD (F = 10.72, p < 0.05) in the time domain, and HF (F = 4.82 p < 0.05)) in the frequency domain, which were all improved in the experimental group after the meditation program.
Conclusions: Meditation can be a useful therapy to enhance the mental health and autonomic nervous system balance of informal caregivers, improving symptoms of physical and mental overload.
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 10
- How Does Mindfulness Meditation Work? Proposing Mechanisms of Action From a Conceptual and Neural Perspective Perspectives on Psychological Science October 14, 2011
- Focused attention, open monitoring and loving kindness meditation: effects on attention, conflict monitoring, and creativity – A review Frontiers in Psychology September 23, 2014
- Meditation Practice Improves Short-Term Changes in Heart Rate Variability. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health March 23, 2020
- Enhanced Attentional Network by Short-Term Intensive Meditation Frontiers in Psychology February 7, 2020
- Brain Plasticity and Neurophysiological Correlates of Meditation in Long-Term Meditators: A 18Fluorodeoxyglucose Positron Emission Tomography Study Based on an Innovative Methodology The Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine December 1, 2019
and 5 more in the library