Month: March 2022

Improve Education Students Psychological Well-Being with Mindfulness

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Improve Education Students Psychological Well-Being with Mindfulness

 

By John M. de Castro, Ph.D.

 

“Mindfulness practices help anchor the mind, creating space to become aware of our thoughts and feelings, and keeps us in the present moment, all of which helps reduce stress and anxiety and boosts levels of attention and concentration.” – Rebecca Enderby 

 

In the modern world education is a key for success. There is a lot of pressure on university students to excel so that they can get the best jobs after graduation. The pressure can lead to stress, anxiety, and depression which can impede the student’s mental health, well-being, and school performance. But it is, for the most part, beyond the ability of the individual to change the environment to reduce stress, so it is important that methods be found to reduce the college students’ responses to stress; to make them more resilient when high levels of stress occur. Contemplative practices including meditation, mindfulness training, exercise, Tai Chi and Qigong, and yoga practice have been shown to reduce the psychological and physiological responses to stress, relieve anxiety, and reduce depression 

 

In today’s Research News article “The Effects of a Mindfulness Program on Mental Health in Students at an Undergraduate Program for Teacher Education: A Randomized Controlled Trial in Real-Life.” (See summary below or view the full text of the study at: https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.722771/full?utm_source=F-AAE&utm_medium=EMLF&utm_campaign=MRK_1790561_a0P58000000G0YfEAK_Psycho_20211214_arts_A ) Juul and colleagues recruited teacher education college students and randomly assigned them to a wait-list control condition or to receive 8 weekly 2.5 hour sessions of the Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) program. The program consists of training in meditation, body scan, and yoga, group discussion, and daily home practice. They were measured before and after training and 3 months later for perceived stress, anxiety, depression, well-being, resilience, mindfulness, and resting state cognitive activity.

 

They found that in comparison to baseline and the wait-list control group, the group that received Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) had significantly higher well-being and significantly lower levels of perceived stress, anxiety, depression, and resting state cognitive activity of distracting thoughts, thoughts of self and comfort. In addition, they found that the effect of MBSR on perceived stress was in part mediated by resting state cognitive activity of distracting thoughts and comfort and by thoughts of self on anxiety and depression. These effects were still present at the 3-month follow-up measurement.

 

The study demonstrates that mindfulness training improves the mental health of stresses teacher education college students. It has been routinely shown in previous research with a variety of groups that mindfulness training produces reduced levels of perceived stress, anxiety, and depression and increased levels of well-being. The new finding is that these improvements in mental health produced by the mindfulness training appear to be in part mediated by changes in the students’ resting state cognitive activity. In other words, the training appears to alter the mental contents of the students which in turn improves their mental health. The mindfulness trained students appear to have fewer distracting thoughts, thoughts of self and comfort and these reductions appear to improve their psychological well-being.

 

So, improve education students psychological well-being with mindfulness.

 

“It’s no secret that college can quickly become a major stressor for many students. Balancing multiple classes on top of work, a social life, and a million other things is a lot to take on at once. Don’t let yourself become too overwhelmed with everything. Instead, try . . . mindfulness.” – Savannah Byers

 

CMCS – Center for Mindfulness and Contemplative Studies

 

This and other Contemplative Studies posts are available on Twitter @MindfulResearch

 

Study Summary

 

Juul L, Brorsen E, Gøtzsche K, Nielsen BL and Fjorback LO (2021) The Effects of a Mindfulness Program on Mental Health in Students at an Undergraduate Program for Teacher Education: A Randomized Controlled Trial in Real-Life. Front. Psychol. 12:722771. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2021.722771

 

Background: In this study, we aimed to investigate the effects of a mindfulness program including Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) on the mental health of student teachers when offered at their educational institution in a real-life context.

Methods: A parallel randomized controlled trial (RCT) was conducted among self-selected student teachers at a Danish undergraduate program for teacher education in the autumns of 2019 and 2020. Participation was not recommended in case of (1) clinical depression or a diagnosis of psychosis or schizophrenia, (2) abuse of alcohol, drugs, and/or medicine. Randomization was performed by a Statistician who was blinded to the identity of the students. Data was collected using self-reported questionnaires. The primary outcome was a change in perceived stress 3 months from baseline. Secondary outcome measures were symptoms of anxiety and depression, well-being, resilience, mindfulness, and thoughts and feelings during rest. The effects were analyzed according to the intention-to-treat principle using mixed-effect linear regression models. Mediating effects of mindfulness skills on the mental health outcomes were explored using structural equation modeling.

Results: The study group included 67 student teachers with 34 allocated to the intervention group (median age: 25 years; women: n = 24, 71%); and 33 students (median age: 25 years; women: n = 25, 76%) allocated to a waiting list control group. At baseline, mean Perceived Stress Scale (PSS) scores were 18.88 (SD: 5.75) in the intervention group and 17.91 (SD: 6.36) in the waiting list control group. A total of 56 students completed the questionnaire at a 3-month follow-up (28 in both the intervention- and the control group). Statistically significant effects of the intervention were found on perceived stress, symptoms of anxiety and depression, well-being, and on three of seven resting-state dimensions. No effects were found on resilience or mindfulness. Statistically significant mediated effects via resting-state dimensions were found.

Conclusion The findings suggested that offering a mindfulness program at an undergraduate program for teacher education could significantly improve the mental health among self-selected students within 3 months. Results of mediation analysis supported the hypothesis that some of the effects might be explained by reduced distracting thoughts.

https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.722771/full?utm_source=F-AAE&utm_medium=EMLF&utm_campaign=MRK_1790561_a0P58000000G0YfEAK_Psycho_20211214_arts_A

 

Reduce Depression with Mindfulness Training in Primary Care

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Reduce Depression with Mindfulness Training in Primary Care

 

By John M. de Castro, Ph.D.

 

“Mindfulness and other meditations, particularly combined with cognitive therapy, work just as well for anxiety or depression as the medications do, but they don’t have those side effects,” – Daniel Goleman

 

Clinically diagnosed depression is the most common mental illness, affecting over 6% of the population. Major depression can be quite debilitating. Depression can be difficult to treat and is usually treated with anti-depressive medication. But, of patients treated initially with drugs only about a third attained remission of the depression. After repeated and varied treatments including drugs, therapy, exercise etc. only about two thirds of patients attained remission. But drugs often have troubling side effects and can lose effectiveness over time. In addition, many patients who achieve remission have relapses and recurrences of the depression. Even after remission some symptoms of depression may still be present (residual symptoms).

 

Being depressed and not responding to treatment or relapsing is a terribly difficult situation. The patients are suffering, and nothing appears to work to relieve their intense depression. Suicide becomes a real possibility. So, it is imperative that other treatments be identified that can relieve the suffering. Mindfulness training has been shown to be an effective treatment for depression and its recurrence and even in the cases where drugs fail.

 

The most commonly used mindfulness technique for the treatment of depression is Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT).  MBCT involves mindfulness training, containing sitting and walking meditation and body scan, and cognitive therapy to alter how the patient relates to the thought processes that often underlie and exacerbate psychological symptoms. MBCT has been shown to be as effective as antidepressant drugs in relieving the symptoms of depression and preventing depression reoccurrence and relapse. In addition, it appears to be effective as either a supplement to or a replacement for these drugs. The research, however, has been performed in controlled settings. So, there is a need to determine if it’s effective in real world applications such as in primary care.

 

In today’s Research News article “The Effectiveness of Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy in Primary Care and the Role of Depression Severity and Treatment Attendance.” (See summary below or view the full text of the study at: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8628140/ ) Elices and colleagues recruited patients through primary care physicians who had participated in Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT) for mental health issues. MBCT involved 8 weekly 2.5-hour sessions and included daily home practice. The patients were measured for personality, and depression.

 

They found that after Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT) patients who were in the normal range for depression prior to therapy had small but significant reductions in depression while those who were classified as either mildly, moderately, or severely depressed prior to therapy had large and significant reductions in depression. Hence, in real world applications, .MBCT significantly reduced depression regardless of the initial state of depression.

 

Mindfulness training has been repeatedly shown to reduce depression in a wide range of ill and healthy participants. But most of the research involved systematic controlled research. The present study shows that even in the messy and uncontrolled situation of real world primary care applications, Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT) is very effective treatment for depression.

 

So, reduce depression with mindfulness training in primary care.

 

“Mindfulness-based cognitive therapy is a group program that is generally used to delay or prevent recurrence of major depression, but can also ameliorate acute depressive syndromes and symptoms.” – Zindel Segal,

 

CMCS – Center for Mindfulness and Contemplative Studies

 

This and other Contemplative Studies posts are available on Twitter @MindfulResearch

 

Study Summary

 

Elices, M., Pérez-Sola, V., Pérez-Aranda, A., Colom, F., Polo, M., Martín-López, L. M., & Gárriz, M. (2021). The Effectiveness of Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy in Primary Care and the Role of Depression Severity and Treatment Attendance. Mindfulness, 1–11. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12671-021-01794-3

 

Abstract

Objectives

Evidence suggests the efficacy of mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT) to prevent depression relapse and decrease depressive symptoms during the acute phase. However, the effectiveness of MBCT in real-world heterogeneous samples treated in clinical health settings, including primary care, has received little attention. This study had two aims: (1) to evaluate the effectiveness of MBCT delivered in primary care considering pre-treatment depression scores and (2) to explore the role of participants’ characteristics on symptom improvement.

Methods

Data were obtained from 433 individuals who received MBCT. Participants completed the Personality Inventory for ICD-11 (PiCD) pretreatment and the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI-II) pre- and post-treatment.

Results

Sixty percent presented moderate-to-severe depression according to scores on the BDI-II, 18.1% presented mild depression, and 21.7% were in the non-depressed range. The severity of pre-treatment depressive symptoms was associated with outcomes. Most individuals who lacked depressive symptoms at baseline remained in the non-clinical range after the treatment. Those in the severe group benefited the most from the intervention, since 35.6% were considered recovered. Rates of deterioration ranged from 2.1 to 2.7%, depending on the depression-baseline scores. Depression severity at the entrance, attendance, and age, but not personality traits, appear to be related to symptom improvement.

Conclusions

According to our results, MBCT can be effectively and safely delivered in primary care.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8628140/

 

Reduce Stress and Increase Well-Being in People with Schizophrenia with Mindfulness

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Reduce Stress and Increase Well-Being in People with Schizophrenia with Mindfulness

 

By John M. de Castro, Ph.D.

 

“In schizophrenic patients, mindfulness intervention leads to better psychosocial functioning, improved positive emotions, and reduced negative symptoms.” – Jia‐Ling Sheng

 

Schizophrenia is the most common form of psychosis. Its effects about 1% of the population worldwide. It appears to be highly heritable and involves changes in the brain. It is characterized by both positive and negative symptoms. Positive symptoms include hallucinations; seeing and, in some cases, feeling, smelling or tasting things that aren’t there, or delusions; unshakable beliefs that, when examined rationally, are obviously untrue. Negative symptoms include a reduced ability to function normally, neglect of personal hygiene, lack of emotion, blank facial expressions, speaking in a monotone, loss of interest in everyday activities, social withdrawal, an inability to experience pleasure, and a lack of insight into their symptoms. The symptoms of schizophrenia usually do not appear until late adolescence or early adulthood.

 

Schizophrenia is very difficult to treat with psychotherapy and is usually treated with antipsychotic drugs. These drugs, however, are not always effective, sometimes lose effectiveness, and can have some difficult side effects. Mindfulness training has been shown to be beneficial for a variety of mental health problems, including psychosis. Mindfulness has also been shown to associated with lower symptom severity of schizophrenia.

 

In today’s Research News article “Effects of Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) on Stress, Heart Rate Variability, Affect, and Wellbeing among People with Schizophrenia.” (See summary below or view the full text of the study at: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8617870/ ) Kim and colleagues recruited patients who had been diagnosed with schizophrenia at two centers. The participants from one center constituted the no-treatment control condition while those from the other received 8-weekly 60 minute sessions of the Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) program. The participants were measured before and after the treatment and 6 weeks later for perceived stress, positive and negative emotions, well-being, and heart rate variability.

 

They found that in comparison to baseline and the control group, the group that received Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) had significantly lower perceived stress and negative emotions and significantly higher heart rate variability. Increases in heart rate variability indicates a reduction in physiological activation, an increase in parasympathetic relaxation, providing a physiological indicator of reduced stress. These changes remained significant at the 6 week follow up.

 

These findings demonstrate that mindfulness training with Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) is effective in reducing stress and negative emotions in patients diagnosed with schizophrenia. Mindfulness training has been shown, in the past with a variety of groups to reduce stress, negative emotions, and heart rate variability. The present findings demonstrate that mindfulness training also improves the psychological well-being in patients with a major mental illness. This suggests that MBSR should be incorporated into the treatment program for patients who had been diagnosed with schizophrenia.

 

So, reduce stress and increase well-being in people with schizophrenia with mindfulness.

 

“meditation is the best and successful treatment for Schizophrenia without any side-effects, caused by the very strong medications.” – Ruchi Singhal

 

CMCS – Center for Mindfulness and Contemplative Studies

 

This and other Contemplative Studies posts are available on Twitter @MindfulResearch

 

Study Summary

 

Kim, A. S., Jang, M. H., & Sun, M. J. (2021). Effects of Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) on Stress, Heart Rate Variability, Affect, and Wellbeing among People with Schizophrenia. International journal of environmental research and public health, 18(22), 11871. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph182211871

 

Abstract

Mindfulness-based stress reduction programs have been found to be effective in reducing the stress response and improving the psychological wellbeing of various populations. We aimed to confirm the effects of a mindfulness-based stress reduction program on perceived stress, heart rate variability, positive and negative affect, and subjective wellbeing of community-dwelling people with schizophrenia. The participants in this study were 26 people with schizophrenia (experimental group: 14, control group: 12) enrolled in two community mental health centers located in Gyeonggi Province in South Korea. In the experimental group, the mindfulness-based stress reduction program was applied once a week for 60 min over 8 weeks. The experimental group showed a significantly greater decrease in perceived stress and negative affect, as well as significantly greater improvement in heart rate variability than the control group. The mindfulness-based stress reduction program was an effective nursing intervention to reduce stress and negative affect in people with schizophrenia.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8617870/

 

Spirituality is Associated with Awe/Gratitude and Well-Being during the Covid-19 Pandemic

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Spirituality is Associated with Awe/Gratitude and Well-Being during the Covid-19 Pandemic

 

By John M. de Castro, Ph.D.

 

“During the COVID-19 pandemic . . . spirituality and religious practices are a protective factor connected not only with psychological and mental but also physical health.” – Ilaria Coppola

 

The COVID-19 pandemic has challenged the mental and physical health of the population. It has created intense stress for frontline workers but also for people simply isolating at home. Religion and spirituality have been promulgated as solutions to the challenges of life. There have been a number of studies of the influence of religiosity and spirituality on the physical and psychological well-being of practitioners mostly showing positive benefits, with spirituality encouraging personal growth and mental health. Perhaps, then, spirituality can be helpful in coping with the mental and physical challenges resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic.

 

In today’s Research News article “Awe/Gratitude as an Experiential Aspect of Spirituality and Its Association to Perceived Positive Changes During the COVID-19 Pandemic.” (See summary below or view the full text of the study at: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8095710/ ) Büssing and colleagues recruited adults online during the Covid-19 pandemic and had them complete online measures of awe/gratitude, perception of changes, well-being, life satisfaction, perception of burden, spirituality, and physical activities.

 

They found that Awe/Gratitude was associated with higher levels of frequency of meditation practice, female gender, life satisfaction and well-being, faith as a stronghold, and life reflection because of the pandemic and lower levels of perceived burden. Well-being was found to be significantly associated with higher life satisfaction, nature/silence/contemplation, and awe/gratitude and with lower perceived burden. A mediation analysis revealed that awe/gratitude mediated the associations between nature/silence/contemplation and well-being, between well-being and relationships, and between well-being and reflections.

 

These findings must be interpreted cautiously as they were correlational and as such causation cannot be determined. But they demonstrated that perceptions of awe followed by feelings of gratitude during the Covid-19 pandemic were higher in people who were religions, meditated frequently, and with religious backgrounds. But awe/gratitude did not moderate the negative consequences of the pandemic but rather appear to be associated with higher levels of the positive aspects of life including spirituality. Awe/gratitude itself is a component of spiritual awareness and is promoted by spiritual practices such as meditation and it appears to be associated higher levels of well-being even in the face of a pandemic.

 

So, spirituality is associated with awe/gratitude and well-being during the Covid-19 pandemic.

 

“One wonders if social distancing might become the new normal, so scheduling time for spiritual life-building can become part of the change of filling the void of loneliness.” – William Creech

 

CMCS – Center for Mindfulness and Contemplative Studies

 

This and other Contemplative Studies posts are available on Twitter @MindfulResearch

 

Study Summary

 

Büssing, A., Rodrigues Recchia, D., Dienberg, T., Surzykiewicz, J., & Baumann, K. (2021). Awe/Gratitude as an Experiential Aspect of Spirituality and Its Association to Perceived Positive Changes During the COVID-19 Pandemic. Frontiers in psychiatry, 12, 642716. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyt.2021.642716

 

Abstract

Background: While the COVID-19 pandemic has affected the lives of almost all people worldwide, many people observed also positive changes in their attitudes and behaviors. This can be seen in the context of posttraumatic growth. These perceived changes refer to five main categories: Nature/Silence/Contemplation, Spirituality, Relationships, Reflection on life, and Digital media usage. A previous study with persons recruited in June 2020 directly after the lockdown in Germany showed that the best predictors of these perceived changes related to the Corona pandemic were the ability to mindfully stop and pause in distinct situations, to be “spellbound at the moment” and to become “quiet and devout,” indicating moments of wondering awe, with subsequent feelings of gratitude. Now, we intended to analyze (1) by whom and how strongly awe/gratitude was experienced during the COVID-19 pandemic, and (2) how these feelings relate to perceived changes and experienced burden, and (3) whether or not feelings of awe/gratitude contribute to participants’ well-being or may buffer perceived burden in terms of a resilience factor.

Methods: Online survey with standardized questionnaires [i.e., WHO-Five Well-being Index (WHO5), Life satisfaction (BMLSS), Awe/Gratitude scale (GrAw-7), and Perceived Changes Questionnaire (PCQ)] among 2,573 participants (68% women; mean age 48.7 ± 14.2 years, 74% with a Christian affiliation) from Germany recruited between June and November 2020.

Results: Awe/Gratitude scored significantly higher particularly among women (Cohen’s d = 0.40), older persons (d = 0.88), persons who rely on their faith as a “stronghold in difficult times” (d = 0.99), those with higher well-being (d = 0.70), and lower perceptions of loneliness (d = 0.49). With respect to perceived changes during the pandemic, more intense feelings of Awe/Gratitude were particularly related to Nature/Silence/Contemplation (r = 0.41), Spirituality (r = 0.41), and Relationships (r = 0.33). Regression analyses revealed that the best predictors of Awe/Gratitude (R2 = 0.40) were the frequency of meditation, female gender, life satisfaction and well-being, faith as a stronghold, and perceived burden and also life reflection, while Nature/Silence/Contemplation and Relationships had a further, but weaker, impact on Awe/Gratitude as a dependent variable. Awe/Gratitude was moderately associated with well-being (r = 0.32) and would predict 9% of participants’ well-being variance. The best predictors of participants’ well-being were multidimensional life satisfaction and low perceived burden (related to the pandemic), and further Awe/Gratitude and Nature/Silence/Contemplation; these would explain 47% of variance in well-being scores. However, Awe/Gratitude cannot be regarded as a buffer of the negative aspects of the COVID-19 pandemic, as it is only marginally (though negatively) related to perceived burden (r = −0.15). Mediation analysis showed that Awe/Gratitude mediates 42% of the link between well-being as a predictor on Nature/Silence/Contemplation as an outcome and has a direct effect of β = 0.15 (p < 0.001) and an indirect effect of β = 0.11 (p < 0.001). Further, Awe/Gratitude mediates 38% (p < 0.001) of the link between Nature/Silence/Contemplation as a predictor on well-being as the outcome; the direct effect is β = 0.18 (p < 0.001), and the indirect effect is β = 0.11 (p < 0.001).

Conclusions: The general ability to experience Awe/Gratitude particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic may sensitize to perceive the world around (including nature and concrete persons) more intensely, probably in terms of, or similar to, posttraumatic growth. As this awareness toward specific moments and situations that deeply “touch” a person was higher in persons with more intense meditation or prayer practice, one may assume that these practices may facilitate these perceptions in terms of a training. However, the experience of Awe/Gratitude does not necessarily buffer against adverse events in life and cannot prevent perceived burden due to the corona pandemic, but it facilitates to, nevertheless, perceive positive aspects of life even within difficult times. As Awe/Gratitude is further mediating the effects of Nature/Silence/Contemplation on well-being, intervention programs could help to train these perceptions, as these self-transcendent feelings are also related to prosocial behaviors with respectful treatment of others and commitment to persons in needs, and well-being.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8095710/

 

Reduce Complications from Type-2 Diabetes with a Yoga Lifestyle

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Reduce Complications from Type-2 Diabetes with a Yoga Lifestyle

 

By John M. de Castro, Ph.D.

 

“Yoga can be used as an effective therapy in reducing oxidative stress in type 2 diabetes. Yoga in addition to standard care helps reduce BMI and improve glycemic control in type 2 diabetic patients.” – Shreelaxmi V Hegde

 

Diabetes is a major health issue. It is estimated that 30 million people in the United States and nearly 600 million people worldwide have diabetes, and the numbers are growing. Type-2 Diabetes results from a resistance of tissues, especially fat tissues, to the ability of insulin to promote the uptake of glucose from the blood. As a result, blood sugar levels rise producing hyperglycemia. Diabetes is heavily associated with other diseases such as cardiovascular disease, heart attacks, stroke, blindness, kidney disease, and circulatory problems leading to amputations. As a result, diabetes doubles the risk of death of any cause compared to individuals of the same age without diabetes.

 

Type 2 diabetes is a common and increasingly prevalent illness that is largely preventable. One of the reasons for the increasing incidence of Type 2 Diabetes is its association with overweight and obesity which is becoming epidemic in the industrialized world. A leading cause of this is a sedentary lifestyle. Unlike Type I Diabetes, Type II does not require insulin injections. Instead, the treatment and prevention of Type 2 Diabetes focuses on diet, exercise, and weight control. Recently, mindfulness practices have been shown to be helpful in managing diabetes. A mindfulness practice that combines mindfulness with exercise is yoga and it has been shown to be helpful in the treatment of Type II Diabetes.

 

In today’s Research News article “A Prospective Study on Type-2 Diabetic Complications and Efficacy of Integrated Yoga: A Pan India 2017.” (See summary below or view the full text of the study at: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8558979/ ) Patil and colleagues recruited a large randomized cluster sample in India of adults with type-2 diabetes and had them complete a questionnaire regarding complications with the disease. They found that there were high incidence rates of complications including stroke, neuropathy, cardiac surgeries, kidney disease, eye diseases, claudication, and foot ulcers. The incidence of complications was generally higher in women than in men.

 

They then randomly assigned a subset of the sample to a no-treatment control condition or to yoga lifestyle intervention including the practice of yoga for an hour daily for 3 months along with dietary restrictions.  They report that in comparison to baseline and the control group the group that practiced yoga and dietary restrictions had significant reduction in all of the types of complications.

 

These results are very encouraging. But the lack of an active control condition limits the conclusions that can be reached. Placebo and attentional effects are alternate explanations for the results. In addition, the complex yoga lifestyle intervention, involving many component parts, makes it impossible to know what component or combination of components were effective. Nevertheless, previous controlled research has demonstrated the yoga practice is effective in reducing the symptoms of type-2 diabetes. So, the present findings are likely due to the ability of yoga to reduce complications from type-2 diabetes.

 

This is an important conclusion as the complications of type-2 diabetes are very serious and produce serious medical conditions that often lead to death. The reduction in these complications produced by the yoga lifestyle should result in improvements in the health, longevity, and quality of life in patients with type-2 diabetes.

 

So, reduce complications from type-2 diabetes with a yoga lifestyle.

 

“yoga-based practices may have significant beneficial effects on multiple factors important in [type 2 diabetes] management and prevention, including glycemic control, insulin resistance, lipid profiles, body composition, and blood pressure. “ – Kim Innes

 

CMCS – Center for Mindfulness and Contemplative Studies

 

This and other Contemplative Studies posts are available on Twitter @MindfulResearch

 

Study Summary

 

Patil, S. S., Raghuram, N., Singh, A., Rajesh, S. K., Ahmed, S., & Hongasandra, N. (2021). A Prospective Study on Type-2 Diabetic Complications and Efficacy of Integrated Yoga: A Pan India 2017. Annals of neurosciences, 28(1-2), 21–28. https://doi.org/10.1177/09727531211016271

 

Abstract

Background:

Type 2 diabetes (T2DM) contributes to high mortality and morbidity because of its major complications related to kidney, heart, brain, and eyes. It also poses a high risk for mortality because of COVID-19. Studies suggest the possible implications of Yoga in delaying or attenuating such complications.

Methodology:

This was a pan-India multi centered cluster-randomized (4 level) two-armed trial in the rural and urban population of all populous states of India. Data were obtained using mobile app in all adults in the household of the selected clusters.

Results:

We report the diabetes related complications in 16623 adults (48% males, 52% females) from 65 districts (1 in 10 districts, 2011 census) of 29 (out of 35) states and Union Territories of India; mean age was 48.2 ± 12.46 years. Out of this 40% lived in rural and 62% in urban locations. In high risk diabetes individuals (scored ≥ 60 points on Indian diabetes risk score key), 18.0% had self-reported history of (peripheral neuropathy, 6.1% had h/o major strokes, 5.5% had minor strokes (transient ischemic episodes), 18.1% had lower limb claudication, 20.5% leg ulcers, 4.4% had h/o cardiac surgery, 4.8% angioplasty, and 15.1% had diabetes retinopathy. Complications were higher in rural than in urban areas, higher in people with extended duration of diabetes. Integrated yoga module for three months (one hour daily) showed significantly better reduction in symptoms related to complications as compared to control group (P < .001)

Conclusion:

The alarming high prevalence of complications in diabetes population calls for urgent action, where yoga may show the benefits in reduction of symptoms of complications.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8558979/

 

Improve Gastrointestinal Health with Meditation

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Improve Gastrointestinal Health with Meditation

 

By John M. de Castro, Ph.D.

 

“Humans were never designed to be stressed out all the time, and when we learn to calm our nervous systems, our health improves dramatically. Our nervous system and the gut are inextricably linked.” – Buffy Owens

 

Stress affects gastrointestinal function. Short-term stress can produce a loss of appetite and slow digestion while long-term stress can produce heartburn, indigestion, nausea and vomiting, diarrhea, constipation and associated lower abdominal pain. Mindfulness is known to be helpful in reducing the psychological and physical responses to stress and contemplative practice has been shown to improve the symptoms of Irritable Bowel Syndrome and dyspepsia. In addition, mindfulness practices improve the intestinal bacteria that are important for digestion. So, it is likely that meditation practice would improve gastrointestinal health.

 

In today’s Research News article “Improvement in Gastrointestinal Quality of Life Index (GIQLI) following meditation: An open-trial pilot study in India.” (See summary below or view the full text of the study at: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8039347/ ) Kanchibhotla and colleagues recruited healthy adults and had them engage in daily 20-minute meditation for 50 days. The practice was a focused meditation on the gut region. They were measured before, at 24 days and after the intervention period for gastrointestinal quality of life divided into five domains: core symptoms, physical, psychological, social, and disease specific.

 

They found that after 24 and 50 days of meditation practice there were significant improvements with large effect sizes in gastrointestinal quality of life, including all domains. There were some indications that the effects were larger for men than women. Clearly, there were large significant improvements after meditation in gastrointestinal function.

 

It should be kept in mind that this was a pilot study that lacked a comparison (control) condition leaving open a wide variety of confounding alternative interpretations such as expectancy effects, attention (Hawthorne) effects, experimenter bias, etc. But better controlled studies have reported that mindfulness improves gastrointestinal function. So, it is likely that in the present study the meditation practice improved gastrointestinal function. But future better controlled research is needed.

 

So, improve gastrointestinal health with meditation.

 

“In calming your stress response, meditation can help prevent the slowed digestion speed, altered gene expression, intestinal permeability, and disruptive changes to gut microbes caused by stress.” – Crystal Starr

 

CMCS – Center for Mindfulness and Contemplative Studies

 

This and other Contemplative Studies posts are available on Twitter @MindfulResearch

 

Study Summary

 

Kanchibhotla, D., Sharma, P., & Subramanian, S. (2021). Improvement in Gastrointestinal Quality of Life Index (GIQLI) following meditation: An open-trial pilot study in India. Journal of Ayurveda and integrative medicine, 12(1), 107–111. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jaim.2021.01.006

 

Abstract

Background

Medical science is increasingly recognizing the role of gut health in achieving optimal wellbeing. A healthy gut improves digestion. Additionally, it has a positive impact on multiple physiological networks such as immune system, central nervous system and hepato-endocrine system, thus contributing to the overall quality of life. Functional gastrointestinal disorders: also known as disorders of gut-brain interaction, such as irritable bowel syndrome are increasing worldwide. Conditions like stress, anxiety and mental disorders are correlated with these disorders. Mind-body interventions have been shown to ameliorate stress, anxiety and related conditions that may aggravate functional gastrointestinal disorders.

Objective

The present study aims to investigate the benefits of a novel meditation technique called the Vaishvanara Agni meditation (VAM) on the gastrointestinal quality of life.

Materials and methods

54 subjects participated in the study and practiced VAM for 50 days. During the Vaishvanara Agni meditation (VAM), attention is directed to the navel region and the digestive system. The effect of the meditation was evaluated using the gastrointestinal quality of life (GI-QoL) questionnaire, which was administered to subjects at three different time points i.e. day 0, day 24 and day 50.

Results

GI-QoL was significantly improved with the practice of VAM. Additionally, significant improvements were noticed in all sub domains especially core symptoms, physical strength and the psychological domain.

Conclusion

Meditation practices that focus on improving digestion can be an effective tool for improving gut health.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8039347/

 

Improve Sleep in Resident Physicians with Meditation

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Improve Sleep in Resident Physicians with Meditation

 

By John M. de Castro, Ph.D.

 

“residents. . . are on the move, working rotations in different clinics and even different hospitals. “Life in the hospital can be very stressful for residents. They aren’t just working long hours, they’re also geographic orphans.”- Chandra Are

 

Resident physicians have long tense shifts. The resultant stress can impair sleep. Not having adequate sleep has adverse effects upon the individual’s health, well-being, and happiness. Sleep deprivation is associated with decreased alertness and a consequent reduction in performance of even simple tasks, decreased quality of life, increased difficulties with memory and problem solving, and increased likelihood of accidental injury including automobile accidents. So, it is important that methods be found to improve sleep in resident physicians. Contemplative practices have been shown to reduce the psychological and physiological responses to stress and improve well-being. Indeed, mindfulness has been shown to be helpful in treating and preventing burnout, increasing resilience, and improving sleep. So, meditation may be able to improve sleep in resident physicians.

 

In today’s Research News article “Sleep Patterns of Resident Physicians and the Effect of Heartfulness Meditation.” (See summary below or view the full text of the study at: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8558985/ ) Thimmapuram and colleagues recruited medical residents and had them record sleep for a week including objective measurement with actigraphy. They received heartfulness meditation training for 20 minutes per day for one week and practiced this meditation for 6 minutes each night before sleep. After the weeks training sleep was measured again for 1 week.

 

They found that in comparison to baseline after meditation training there was a significant reduction in self-report and actigraphy measures of mean sleep onset time and sleep fragmentation and a significant increase in sleep quality and restfulness. There were no significant changes in caffeine or alcohol intake or naps.

 

It should be kept in mind that there wasn’t a comparison (control) condition leaving open many confounding alternative explanations including expectancy (placebo) effects, attentional and Hawthorne effects, experimenter bias etc. In addition, there were no follow-up measures to determine if the effects were lasting. So, conclusions must be limited and tempered. Nevertheless, the present study provides evidence that meditation training may result in improved sleep for medical residents. This may result in reduced stress and better health and performance.

 

So, improve sleep in resident physicians with meditation.

 

“Sleep deficiency impairs performance and patient safety, adversely affects the mental and physical health of resident physicians, and increases their risk of occupational injury and motor vehicle crashes,” – Charles Czeisler

 

CMCS – Center for Mindfulness and Contemplative Studies

 

This and other Contemplative Studies posts are available on Twitter @MindfulResearch

 

Study Summary

 

Thimmapuram, J., Pargament, R., Tredici, S. D., Bell, T., Yommer, D., Daoud, D., Powell, F., & Madhusudhan, D. K. (2021). Sleep Patterns of Resident Physicians and the Effect of Heartfulness Meditation. Annals of neurosciences, 28(1-2), 47–54. https://doi.org/10.1177/09727531211039070

 

Abstract

Background:

Medical residents are vulnerable to poor sleep quality due to intense work shifts and academic load. Studies objectively quantified with sleep quantity and quality among resident physicians are limited. Meditation techniques have been shown to improve sleep but are rarely studied in this population. The aim of the present study is to evaluate sleep patterns of internal medicine residents and the effect of a structured Heartfulness meditation program to improve sleep quality.

Methods:

A total of 36 residents participated in a pre–post cohort study from January 2019 through April 2019. Sleep was monitored during a one-week outpatient rotation with two validated assessment tools, namely consensus sleep diary and actigraphy. After four intervening weeks, when the residents returned to the same rotation, Heartfulness meditation was practiced and the same parameters were measured. At the end of the study period, an anonymous qualitative feedback survey was collected to assess the feasibility of the intervention.

Results:

All 36 residents participated in the study (mean age 31.09 years, SD 4.87); 34 residents (94.4%) had complete pre–post data. Consensus sleep diary data showed decreased sleep onset time from 21.03 to 14.84 min (P = .01); sleep quality and restfulness scores increased from 3.32 to 3.89 and 3.08 to 3.54, respectively (P < .001 for both). Actigraphy showed a change in sleep onset time from 20.9 min to 14.5 min (P = .003). Sleep efficiency improved from 83.5% to 85.6% (P = .019). Wakefulness after initial sleep onset changed from 38.8 to 39.9 min (P = .682). Sleep fragmentation index and the number of awakenings decreased from 6.16 to 5.46 (P = .004) and 41.71 to 36.37 (P = .013), respectively.

Conclusions:

Residents obtained nearly 7 h of sleep during outpatient rotation. Findings suggest a structured Heartfulness meditation practice to be a feasible program to improve subjective sleep onset time and several objective measures among resident physicians.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8558985/

 

Protect the Brain from Dementia-Related Deterioration with Meditation

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Protect the Brain from Dementia-Related Deterioration with Meditation

 

By John M. de Castro, Ph.D.

 

“the group who performed meditation and yoga at least two hours per week had less atrophy in parts of the brain and better brain connectivity than the control group.

This finding gives them hope that the practice of meditation and yoga may slow the progression of Alzheimer’s.” – Alissa Sauer

 

The aging process involves a systematic progressive decline in every system in the body, the brain included. The elderly frequently have problems with attention, thinking, and memory, known as mild cognitive impairment. An encouraging new development is that mindfulness practices such as meditation training and mindful movement practices can significantly reduce these declines in cognitive ability. In addition, it has been found that mindfulness practices reduce the deterioration of the brain that occurs with aging restraining the loss of neural tissue.

 

In today’s Research News article “Effects of Meditation on Structural Changes of the Brain in Patients With Mild Cognitive Impairment or Alzheimer’s Disease Dementia.” (See summary below or view the full text of the study at: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8633496/ ) Dwivedi and colleagues recruited patients between the ages of 45 and 70 years of age who were diagnosed with mild cognitive impairment or probable Alzheimer’s disease. They were assigned to usual care or to receive 6 months of daily 30-minutes sessions of either meditation practice or non-meditation focused task. Before and after the 6-month intervention they underwent detailed clinical and neuropsychological assessment and Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) of the brain.

 

They found that in comparison to baseline and the control groups the meditation group had significantly higher cortical thickness and gray matter volume in the left caudal and rostral middle frontal areas and significantly higher gray matter volume in left lateral occipital, right inferior parietal, and right superior frontal cortices and significantly lower cortical thickness and gray matter volume in the entorhinal cortex and posterior parts of the brain. On the subcortical level they found increased volume in the right thalamus and the hippocampus. There were no significant differences between groups in clinical and neuropsychological measures.

 

The results suggest that 6-months of meditation practice protects the brain from deterioration in patients diagnosed with mild cognitive impairment or probable Alzheimer’s disease. This suggests that meditation may help to prevent the cognitive decline that occurs with these diseases. It is unfortunate, though, that no significant differences were found in the clinical and neuropsychological measures. The scores, however, did not appear to change significantly between baseline and the follow up assessments. So, there simply may not have been enough time for cognitive decline to be detectable in the patients. Regardless, it is clear that meditation has neuroprotective effects in patients showing early signs of dementia.

 

So, protect the brain from dementia-related deterioration with meditation.

 

“ indicators of Alzheimer’s disease. Results showed that those who practiced meditation saw major changes in the biological markers that would put them at a higher risk for Alzheimer’s disease by the end of the study, with the same participants reporting improvements in cognitive function, sleep, mood, and quality of life.” – Kim Innes

 

CMCS – Center for Mindfulness and Contemplative Studies

 

This and other Contemplative Studies posts are available on Twitter @MindfulResearch

 

Study Summary

 

Dwivedi, M., Dubey, N., Pansari, A. J., Bapi, R. S., Das, M., Guha, M., Banerjee, R., Pramanick, G., Basu, J., & Ghosh, A. (2021). Effects of Meditation on Structural Changes of the Brain in Patients With Mild Cognitive Impairment or Alzheimer’s Disease Dementia. Frontiers in human neuroscience, 15, 728993. https://doi.org/10.3389/fnhum.2021.728993

 

Abstract

Previous cross-sectional studies reported positive effects of meditation on the brain areas related to attention and executive function in the healthy elderly population. Effects of long-term regular meditation in persons with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and Alzheimer’s disease dementia (AD) have rarely been studied. In this study, we explored changes in cortical thickness and gray matter volume in meditation-naïve persons with MCI or mild AD after long-term meditation intervention. MCI or mild AD patients underwent detailed clinical and neuropsychological assessment and were assigned into meditation or non-meditation groups. High resolution T1-weighted magnetic resonance images (MRI) were acquired at baseline and after 6 months. Longitudinal symmetrized percentage changes (SPC) in cortical thickness and gray matter volume were estimated. Left caudal middle frontal, left rostral middle frontal, left superior parietal, right lateral orbitofrontal, and right superior frontal cortices showed changes in both cortical thickness and gray matter volume; the left paracentral cortex showed changes in cortical thickness; the left lateral occipital, left superior frontal, left banks of the superior temporal sulcus (bankssts), and left medial orbitofrontal cortices showed changes in gray matter volume. All these areas exhibited significantly higher SPC values in meditators as compared to non-meditators. Conversely, the left lateral occipital, and right posterior cingulate cortices showed significantly lower SPC values for cortical thickness in the meditators. In hippocampal subfields analysis, we observed significantly higher SPC in gray matter volume of the left CA1, molecular layer HP, and CA3 with a trend for increased gray matter volume in most other areas. No significant changes were found for the hippocampal subfields in the right hemisphere. Analysis of the subcortical structures revealed significantly increased volume in the right thalamus in the meditation group. The results of the study point out that long-term meditation practice in persons with MCI or mild AD leads to salutary changes in cortical thickness and gray matter volumes. Most of these changes were observed in the brain areas related to executive control and memory that are prominently at risk in neurodegenerative diseases.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8633496/

 

Depth of Meditation is Associated with Different Levels of Brain Electrical Activity

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Depth of Meditation is Associated with Different Levels of Brain Electrical Activity

 

By John M. de Castro, Ph.D.

 

“Neuroscientific studies, particularly EEG, are revealing much about the neural correlates of meditation in the hopes of understanding why it has therapeutic value, and as a way to probe the nature of self and consciousness.” – Aaron Nitzkin

 

Meditation training has been shown to improve health and well-being. It has also been found to be effective for a large array of medical and psychiatric conditions, either stand-alone or in combination with more traditional therapies. There are a number of ways that meditation practices produce these benefits, including changes to the brain and physiology. One way to observe the effects of meditation on neural activity is to measure changes in the electroencephalogram (EEG), the rhythmic electrical activity that can be recorded from the scalp.

 

The recorded activity can be separated into frequency bands. Delta activity consists of oscillations in the 0.5-3 cycles per second band. Theta activity in the EEG consists of oscillations in the 4-8 cycles per second band. Alpha activity consists of oscillations in the 8-12 cycles per second band. Beta activity consists of oscillations in the 15-25 cycles per second band while Gamma activity occurs in the 35-45 cycles per second band. Changes in these brain activities can be compared during different depths of meditation.

 

In today’s Research News article “Alpha and theta oscillations are inversely related to progressive levels of meditation depth.” (See summary below or view the full text of the study at: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8633885/ ) Katyal and Goldin recruited healthy adult participants who were long-term meditators and demographically matched meditation naïve participants. They had their electroencephalogram (EEG) recorded during 4 blocks of either listening to a story, listening to music, or 2 6-minute blocks of meditation. They self-reported their depth of meditation after each block.

 

They found, not surprisingly, that in comparison to the meditation naïve participants, the experienced meditators had significantly greater depth of meditation. They also found that as the depth of meditation increased the alpha rhythm in the EEG significantly increased while the theta rhythm significantly decreased. This was true for both groups.

 

The alpha rhythm has been associated with relaxation and a suppression of mind wandering and distraction. Similarly, the greater the depth of meditation the less distraction and mind wandering. Thus, the increase in the alpha rhythm with increasing depth of meditation is reasonable and completely predictable. The theta rhythm is associated with dreaminess and sleep. That the theta rhythm is lowest with higher depths of meditation makes sense as depth is associated with alert awareness. Hence, the brain wave patterns seen during meditation are reflective of the depth of meditation.

 

So, depth of meditation is associated with different levels of brain electrical activity

 

“neurocognitive mechanisms that are present during both self-generated thought and controlled cognitive processes (i.e. the integration between the memory and executive components of cognition via alpha:theta cross-frequency coupling) are minimized during meditative practices.” – Julio Rodriguez-Larios

 

CMCS – Center for Mindfulness and Contemplative Studies

 

This and other Contemplative Studies posts are available on Twitter @MindfulResearch

 

Study Summary

 

Katyal, S., & Goldin, P. (2021). Alpha and theta oscillations are inversely related to progressive levels of meditation depth. Neuroscience of consciousness, 2021(1), niab042. https://doi.org/10.1093/nc/niab042

 

Highlights

  • Our study reveals neurophysiological changes that occur as meditation experiences become deeper.
  • Alpha and theta brainwaves are two reliable neurophysiological signatures of meditation.
  • Theta activity increased with more distractions and was suppressed during deeper experiences.
  • Increased alpha activity was related to fewer distractions and more deeper meditation experiences.
  • Deeper meditation experiences appear to involve a suppression of executive neural processing.

Abstract

Meditation training is proposed to enhance mental well-being by modulating neural activity, particularly alpha and theta brain oscillations, and autonomic activity. Although such enhancement also depends on the quality of meditation, little is known about how these neural and physiological changes relate to meditation quality. One model characterizes meditation quality as five increasing levels of ‘depth’: hindrances, relaxation, concentration, transpersonal qualities and nonduality. We investigated the neural oscillatory (theta, alpha, beta and gamma) and physiological (respiration rate, heart rate and heart rate variability) correlates of the self-reported meditation depth in long-term meditators (LTMs) and meditation-naïve controls (CTLs). To determine the neural and physiological correlates of meditation depth, we modelled the change in the slope of the relationship between self-reported experiential degree at each of the five depth levels and the multiple neural and physiological measures. CTLs reported experiencing more ‘hindrances’ than LTMs, while LTMs reported more ‘transpersonal qualities’ and ‘nonduality’ compared to CTLs, confirming the experiential manipulation of meditation depth. We found that in both groups, theta (4–6 Hz) and alpha (7–13 Hz) oscillations were related to meditation depth in a precisely opposite manner. The theta amplitude positively correlated with ‘hindrances’ and increasingly negatively correlated with increasing meditation depth levels. Alpha amplitude negatively correlated with ‘hindrances’ and increasingly positively with increasing depth levels. The increase in the inverse association between theta and meditation depth occurred over different scalp locations in the two groups—frontal midline in LTMs and frontal lateral in CTLs—possibly reflecting the downregulation of two different aspects of executive processing—monitoring and attention regulation, respectively—during deep meditation. These results suggest a functional dissociation of the two classical neural signatures of meditation training, namely, alpha and theta oscillations. Moreover, while essential for overcoming ‘hindrances’, executive neural processing appears to be downregulated during deeper meditation experiences.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8633885/

 

Psychedelic Drug Experiences Strengthen the Interpersonal Components of Personality.

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Psychedelic Drug Experiences Strengthen the Interpersonal Components of Personality.

 

By John M. de Castro, Ph.D.

 

“experience with psychedelic drugs was linked to increased positive affect and to personality traits that favor resilience and stability in the light of the ongoing crisis.” – Federico Cavanna

 

Psychedelic substances such as peyote, mescaline, LSD, Bufotoxin, ayahuasca and psilocybin 

have been used almost since the beginning of recorded history to alter consciousness and produce spiritually meaningful experiences. More recently hallucinogenic drugs such as MDMA (Ecstasy) and Ketamine have been similarly used. People find the experiences produced by these substances extremely pleasant. eye opening, and even transformative. They often report that the experiences changed them forever. Psychedelics and hallucinogens have also been found to be clinically useful as they markedly improve mood, increase energy and enthusiasm and greatly improve clinical depression. If these drugs actually change the individuals permanently then they should alter their personalities.

 

In today’s Research News article “.” (See summary below or view the full text of the study at: https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.749788/full?utm_source=F-AAE&utm_medium=EMLF&utm_campaign=MRK_1784429_a0P58000000G0YfEAK_Psycho_20211202_arts_A ) and colleagues recruited online healthy adults who intended to use psychedelic drugs in the near future. Before, 2-weeks and 4-weeks after the psychedelic experience the participants completed online measures of personality, empathetic concern, perspective taking, compassion, social connectedness, relatedness, and absorption. They were also measured for suggestibility, expectancy, motivation, setting of use, anxiety, depression, challenging experiences, mystical experiences, and emotional breakthrough.

 

They found that in comparison to baseline after the psychedelic experience there were significant decreases in the personality characteristics of anxious and critical while there were significantly higher levels of calm, extraverted, social connectedness, and relatedness. These correspond to the Big Five personality characteristics of neuroticism and agreeableness. They also found that the higher the levels of social connectedness the lower the levels of the personality characteristics of anxious, critical, and disorganized and higher levels of extraverted.

 

The absence of a control (comparison) condition should be noted, leaving the interpretation of the results open to a variety of confounding factors including participant expectancy (placebo) effects. The fact that only people who were intending to use psychedelics participated greatly limits the generalizability of the results. These considerations notwithstanding the results suggest that psychedelic experiences change personality traits for the better, decreased neuroticism and increased agreeableness. The psychedelic experiences appear to improve social functioning, prosociality and feelings of belonging in one’s social environment. These findings suggest that psychedelics may be useful in improving social function and potentially treating patients with negative personality characteristics.

 

So, psychedelic drug experiences strengthen the interpersonal components of personality.

 

“patients who rate highly for openness, acceptance and absorption, and were more likely to be in a psychological state of surrendering to what transpires, were more likely to have positive psychedelic experiences.” – Psych Congress

 

CMCS – Center for Mindfulness and Contemplative Studies

 

This and other Contemplative Studies posts are available on Twitter @MindfulResearch

 

Study Summary

 

Weiss B, Nygart V, Pommerencke LM, Carhart-Harris RL and Erritzoe D (2021) Examining Psychedelic-Induced Changes in Social Functioning and Connectedness in a Naturalistic Online Sample Using the Five-Factor Model of Personality. Front. Psychol. 12:749788. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2021.749788

 

The present study examines prospective changes in personality traits relevant to social functioning as well as perceived social connectedness in relation to the naturalistic use of psychedelic compounds in an online volunteer sample. The study also examined the degree to which demographic characteristics, social setting, baseline personality, and acute subjective factors (e.g., emotional breakthrough experiences) influenced trajectories of personality and perceived social connectedness. Participants recruited online completed self-report measures of personality and social connectedness at three timepoints (baseline, 2weeks post-experience, 4weeks post-experience). Linear mixed models were used to examine changes in outcomes and the moderation of these outcomes by covariates. The most substantive changes were reductions in the personality domains Neuroticism, and increases in Agreeableness and social connectedness. Notably, reductions in Neuroticism and increases in Agreeableness covaried over time, which may be suggestive of common processes involving emotion regulation. Preliminary evidence was found for a specific effect on a component of Agreeableness involving a critical and quarrelsome interpersonal style. Although moderation by demographic characteristics, social setting, baseline personality, and acute factors generally found limited support, baseline standing on Neuroticism, perspective taking, and social connectedness showed tentative signs of amplifying adaptive effects on each trait, respectively. Our findings hold implications for the potential use of psychedelics for treating interpersonal elements of personality pathology as well as loneliness.

https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.749788/full?utm_source=F-AAE&utm_medium=EMLF&utm_campaign=MRK_1784429_a0P58000000G0YfEAK_Psycho_20211202_arts_A