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Improve Emotion Regulation and Well-Being During Covid-19 with Mindfulness

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Improve Emotion Regulation and Well-Being During Covid-19 with Mindfulness

 

By John M. de Castro, Ph.D.

 

“A mindfulness practice can help us connect with awareness and let things come and go without our attention getting stuck on it. It can also help us make better choices. Between the emotion and the action, there is a choice, so this can help you to respond rather than to react.” – Anne Dutton

 

Mindfulness training has been shown to improve health and well-being in healthy individuals. 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. The COVID-19 pandemic has challenged the mental and physical health of the population. It has created intense stress both for frontline workers but also for people simply isolating at home. So, there is a need to find ways to improve psychological well-being during the pandemic.

 

Mindfulness is known to decrease the psychological and physical responses to stress. So, mindfulness training may be helpful in coping with the mental and physical challenges resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic. But exposure to others during a pandemic is very dangerous. So, providing mindfulness training online is a preferred method. Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) is a well-established and heavily used mindfulness training technique that employs meditation, body scan, yoga, group discussion and homework. It has been successfully implemented online. But it’s efficacy during a Covid-19 lockdown is not well established.

 

In today’s Research News article “Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction Increases Mental Wellbeing and Emotion Regulation During the First Wave of the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Synchronous Online Intervention Study.” (See summary below or view the full text of the study at: https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.720965/full?utm_source=F-AAE&utm_medium=EMLF&utm_campaign=MRK_1778822_a0P58000000G0YfEAK_Psycho_20211123_arts_A ) Sanilevici and colleagues during the first wave Covid-19 lockdown recruited adult participants who enrolled in an online Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) course and a control group who expressed interest in the online program but who were unable to participate. MBSR was administered in 8 weekly, 2.5 hour online meetings along with 30 minutes of daily home practice. The groups were measured before and after MBSR and 1 month later for mindfulness, anxiety, perceived stress, emotion regulation, intolerance of uncertainty, and loneliness.

 

At baseline they found that the higher the levels of mindfulness the lower the levels of anxiety, perceived stress, intolerance of uncertainty, and loneliness and the higher the levels of emotion regulation. They also found that in comparison to baseline and the control group, the group that completed the online Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) course had significantly lower levels of anxiety and perceived stress and significantly higher levels of emotion regulation. Finally, they found that MBSR lowered anxiety and perceived stress directly and also indirectly by increasing emotion regulation which in turn lowered anxiety and perceived stress. These benefits were still significant one month after the completion of MBSR.

 

Previous research by others has established that mindfulness training reduces anxiety and perceived stress and improves emotion regulation. The present findings suggest that a Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) course can be successfully implemented online, improving the psychological well-being of individuals during an extremely stressful time. They further demonstrate that MBSR improved psychological well-being directly and through improving emotion regulation. These findings are important as during a pandemic it is not feasible to provide mindfulness-based therapy in person. So, the findings that mindfulness training can be implemented successfully online improving the psychological well-being of individuals in the real world provides a means to help individuals cope with the pandemic and the lockdown.

 

So, improve emotion regulation and well-being during Covid-19 with mindfulness.

 

“Mindfulness practice . . . can bring about an understanding and acceptance of transient and ever-changing nature of all our experiences, whether mental (thoughts, emotions, body sensations) or physical (events, things, relationships). This experiential understanding of all phenomena as being “impermanent” might prove to be an important mechanism for promoting positive adaptation to a highly unpredictable and constantly changing landscape of COVID-19 pandemic.” – Elena Antonova

 

CMCS – Center for Mindfulness and Contemplative Studies

 

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

 

Study Summary

 

Sanilevici M, Reuveni O, Lev-Ari S, Golland Y and Levit-Binnun N (2021) Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction Increases Mental Wellbeing and Emotion Regulation During the First Wave of the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Synchronous Online Intervention Study. Front. Psychol. 12:720965. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2021.720965

 

The COVID-19 pandemic imposed extreme living conditions of social distancing, which triggered negative mental health problems and created challenges in seeking mental health support. Mindfulness-based interventions (MBIs) have been found to enhance wellbeing and mental health by reducing stress and anxiety and improving emotion regulation. Preliminary evidence suggests that online, synchronous MBIs may produce beneficial effects similar to face-to-face programs. However, the effectiveness of such online-MBIs to support mental health in highly stressful times, such as a global pandemic, requires further study. To this end, we investigated the effect of an online 8-week Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) program on aspects of mental health during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic. Participants (N=92) who expressed interest in discounted online-MBSR programs were recruited for the study. The division into experimental and control groups was based on actual enrollment to the courses. Those who enrolled in a program were assigned to the experimental condition and those who decided not to enroll served as controls. Participants were assessed pre-intervention, post-intervention, and 1-month post-intervention for levels of mindfulness, perceived stress, anxiety, emotion regulation, and intolerance of uncertainty. Differences between the groups were tested using the general linear mixed effects model (GLMM) and Individual Growth Curve Models (IGCM) in intent to treat analysis. The findings indicated that, relative to the control group, MBSR improved mindfulness abilities (p <0.001), decreased anxiety (p <0.001), and stress (p <0.001) and increased emotion regulation (p <0.001). These effects were found to persist 1 month after the end of the program, despite the increased governmental public-health restrictions due to COVID-19 at that time. The ability to tolerate uncertainty, a central characteristic of the pandemic, was not found to be affected by the program. A mediation analysis revealed that the effect of the intervention on mental health improvement was partially mediated by the improvement in emotion regulation. Overall, the findings provide positive evidence for the feasibility of an online-MBSR program to support the mental health of individuals from the general population through the mediation of emotion regulation in challenging times, such as a global pandemic.

https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.720965/full?utm_source=F-AAE&utm_medium=EMLF&utm_campaign=MRK_1778822_a0P58000000G0YfEAK_Psycho_20211123_arts_A

 

Improve Cognitive and Socio-Emotional Skills in Children with Mindfulness

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Improve Cognitive and Socio-Emotional Skills in Children with Mindfulness

 

By John M. de Castro, Ph.D.

 

“Teaching mindfulness to kids can also help shape three critical skills developed in early childhood: paying attention and remembering information, shifting back and forth between tasks, and behaving appropriately with others.” – Christopher Willard

 

Childhood is a miraculous period during which the child is dynamically absorbing information from every aspect of its environment. This is particularly evident during the elementary school years. Mindfulness training in school has been shown to have very positive effects. These include improvements in the cognitive, psychological, emotional and social domains. Importantly, mindfulness training in school appears to improve attentional ability which is fundamental to success in all aspects of academic performance. The research evidence has been accumulating. So, there is a need to summarize what has been learned.

 

In today’s Research News article “Exploring the Effects of Meditation Techniques Used by Mindfulness-Based Programs on the Cognitive, Social-Emotional, and Academic Skills of Children: A Systematic Review.” (See summary below or view the full text of the study at: https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.660650/full?utm_source=F-AAE&utm_medium=EMLF&utm_campaign=MRK_1778822_a0P58000000G0YfEAK_Psycho_20211123_arts_A ) Filipe and colleagues review and summarize the published controlled research studies on the effects of mindfulness training on 6-12 year old children. They found 29 published research articles.

 

They report that the published research found that mindfulness training produced significant improvements in the children’s cognitive skills, including overall executive functions, attention, concentration, inhibitory control, cognitive flexibility, and immediate auditory-verbal memory. They also found that there were significant improvements in socio-emotional skills, including stress, wellbeing, mindfulness, self-esteem, resilience, psychological happiness, empathy, perspective-taking, emotional control, optimism, depression, internalizing problems, peer aggression, prosocial behavior, peer acceptance, anxiety, self-control, self-regulation, mental health problems, quality of life, self-compassion, acceptance, relaxation, happiness, aggressive behaviors, and social competence. But only one of the 29 studies reported improvements in academic skills.

 

The published research makes a strong case for the effectiveness of mindfulness training to improve the cognitive and socio-emotional skills on children. But there is little evidence for improvement in academic performance. Unfortunately, only 9 of the 29 studies employed strong research designs (randomized controlled trails). So, there is a need for further research with high quality research designs. Nevertheless, the consistency and magnitude of the findings suggest robust positive effects of mindfulness trainings on a myriad of cognitive, social, and emotional skills in children. These are important benefits for these developing humans that may have important contributions to their growth and well-being, perhaps eventually making them better adults. As such, mindfulness training should be incorporated into the school curriculum.

 

So, improve cognitive and socio-emotional skills in children with mindfulness.

 

“For children, mindfulness can offer relief from whatever difficulties they might be encountering in life. It also gives them the beauty of being in the present moment.” – Annaka Harris

 

CMCS – Center for Mindfulness and Contemplative Studies

 

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

 

Study Summary

 

Filipe MG, Magalhães S, Veloso AS, Costa AF, Ribeiro L, Araújo P, Castro SL and Limpo T (2021) Exploring the Effects of Meditation Techniques Used by Mindfulness-Based Programs on the Cognitive, Social-Emotional, and Academic Skills of Children: A Systematic Review. Front. Psychol. 12:660650. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2021.660650

 

There is evidence for the positive impact of mindfulness in children. However, little is known about the techniques through which mindfulness practice results in differential outcomes. Therefore, this study intended to systematically review the available evidence about the efficacy of meditation techniques used by mindfulness-based programs on cognitive, socio-emotional, and academic skills of children from 6 to 12 years of age. The review was registered on the PROSPERO database, and the literature search was conducted according to PICO criteria and PRISMA guidelines. The EBSCO databases were searched, and 29 studies were eligible: nine randomized controlled trials and 20 quasi-experimental studies. All the included randomized controlled trials were rated as having a high risk of bias. Overall, the evidence for mindfulness techniques improving cognitive and socio-emotional skills was reasonably strong. Specifically, for cognitive skills, results showed that all the interventions used “body-centered meditations” and “mindful observations.” Regarding socio-emotional skills, although all the studies applied “body-centered meditations” and “mindful observations,” “affect-centered meditations” were also frequent. For academic skills, just one quasi-experimental trial found improvements, thus making it difficult to draw conclusions. Further research is crucial to evaluate the unique effects of different meditation techniques on the cognitive, social-emotional, and academic skills of children.

https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.660650/full?utm_source=F-AAE&utm_medium=EMLF&utm_campaign=MRK_1778822_a0P58000000G0YfEAK_Psycho_20211123_arts_A

Improve Anxiety Disorders with Mindfulness

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Improve Anxiety Disorders with Mindfulness

 

By John M. de Castro, Ph.D.

 

“[Anxiety Disorders] primarily involves unrelenting worry. With meditation, you can learn to accept those worries without letting them upset you, which is likely to diminish your stress.” – Arlin Cuncic

 

Anxiety disorders are the most common mental illness in the United States, affecting 40 million adults, or 18% of the population. A characterizing feature of anxiety disorders is that the sufferer overly identifies with and personalizes their thoughts. The sufferer has recurring thoughts, such as impending disaster, that they may realize are unreasonable, but are unable to shake. Anxiety disorders have generally been treated with drugs. But there are considerable side effects, and these drugs are often abused. There are several psychological therapies for anxiety. But, about 45% of the patients treated do not respond to the therapy. So, there is a need to develop alternative treatments. So, there is a need to develop alternative treatments. Recently, it has been found that mindfulness training can be effective for anxiety disorders. There has developed a considerable volume of research on the effectiveness of mindfulness-based therapies for anxiety disorders. So, it is reasonable to summarize what has been learned.

 

In today’s Research News article “A systematic review and meta-analysis of acceptance- and mindfulness-based interventions for DSM-5 anxiety disorders.” (See summary below or view the full text of the study at: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8516851/ ) Haller and colleagues review, summarize, and perform a meta-analysis on the published research on the effectiveness of mindfulness-based therapies for anxiety disorders. They identified 23 randomized controlled trials including a total of 1815 patients with anxiety disorders; Generalized Anxiety Disorder, Social Anxiety Disorder, and mixed anxiety diagnoses. Twelve studies employed Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), 3 ones Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT), and 8 ones Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR).

 

They report that the published research studies found that Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT), and Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) in comparison to treatment as usual produced significant reduction in anxiety either based on clinician or patient reports and also depression in these patients. ACT appeared to have superior effects, followed by MBCT, and lastly MBSR. These effects, however, were no longer significant at follow up 6- and 12-months after the interventions.

 

This analysis of the published research suggests that mindfulness-based therapies are effective in relieving anxiety and depression in patients with anxiety disorders. But they appear to be only effective over the short term. More work needs to be done to optimize the effectiveness of these therapies and to identify how to make the effects longer lasting.

 

So, improve anxiety disorders with mindfulness.

 

“Mindfulness counters the overthinking and hypervigilance of anxiety. When we’re anxious, our minds are full of ruminations about the past and worries about the future, and the more anxiety pulls us away from the present moment, the more stressed and unhappy we are.  . . mindfulness offers a break from the worries and fears of anxiety.” – Tanya Peterson

 

CMCS – Center for Mindfulness and Contemplative Studies

 

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

 

Study Summary

 

Haller, H., Breilmann, P., Schröter, M., Dobos, G., & Cramer, H. (2021). A systematic review and meta-analysis of acceptance- and mindfulness-based interventions for DSM-5 anxiety disorders. Scientific reports, 11(1), 20385. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-021-99882-w

 

Abstract

This meta-analysis systematically reviewed the evidence on standardized acceptance-/mindfulness-based interventions in DSM-5 anxiety disorders. Randomized controlled trials examining Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT), and Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) were searched via PubMed, Central, PsycInfo, and Scopus until June 2021. Standardized mean differences (SMD) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) were calculated for primary outcomes (anxiety) and secondary ones (depression and quality of life). Risk of bias was assessed using the Cochrane tool. We found 23 studies, mostly of unclear risk of bias, including 1815 adults with different DSM-5 anxiety disorders. ACT, MBCT and MBSR led to short-term effects on clinician- and patient-rated anxiety in addition to treatment as usual (TAU) versus TAU alone. In comparison to Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), ACT and MBCT showed comparable effects on both anxiety outcomes, while MBSR showed significantly lower effects. Analyses up to 6 and 12 months did not reveal significant differences compared to TAU or CBT. Effects on depression and quality of life showed similar trends. Statistical heterogeneity was moderate to considerable. Adverse events were reported insufficiently. The evidence suggests short-term anxiolytic effects of acceptance- and mindfulness-based interventions. Specific treatment effects exceeding those of placebo mechanisms remain unclear.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8516851/

Spiritual Well-Being Predicts Psychological Well-Being

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Spiritual Well-Being Predicts Psychological Well-Being

 

By John M. de Castro, Ph.D.

 

“Spiritual wellbeing means the ability to experience and integrate meaning and purpose in life through a person’s connectedness with self, others art, music, literature, nature, or a power greater than oneself.” – Ritika Srivastava

 

There is a lot of pressure on university students to excel. This stress might in fact be counterproductive as the increased pressure can actually lead to stress and anxiety which can impede the student’s physical and mental health, well-being, and school performance. 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. This suggests that student spirituality may be associated with their psychological well-being.

 

In today’s Research News article “Cross-sectional study of the relationship between the spiritual wellbeing and psychological health among university Students.” (See summary below or view the full text of the study at: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8049307/ ) Leung and colleagues recruited university students and had them complete measures of spiritual well-being, including measures of personal and communal, environmental, and transcendental well-being, depression, anxiety, and perceived stress.

 

They found that the higher the levels of spiritual well-being, including measures of personal and communal, environmental, and transcendental well-being, the lower the levels of depression, anxiety, and perceived stress. They also found that participants who indicated that they had religious beliefs had higher levels of depression, anxiety, perceived stress, and spiritual well-being.

 

These findings are correlational and as such no conclusions regarding causation can be reached. The fact that spiritual well-being was higher in students with religious beliefs but depression, anxiety, and perceived stress were higher suggests that the results were not due to a causal connection. In this case having higher spiritual well-being was not associated with better psychological well-being. Nevertheless, the results clearly show that spiritual well-being is highly related to higher levels of psychological well-being The results also suggest that religiosity is related to poorer psychological well-being. There are no data on the reasons for the relationships but perhaps reverse causation is involved such that higher levels of psychological distress may reduce students’ psychological well-being and prompt them to seek out religion.

 

So, spiritual well-being predicts psychological well-being.

 

“whole health requires care and attention for not only your physical body but also your mind and spirit. The benefits of spiritual well-being are numerous – from more compassionate relationships to a deeper sense of inner peace. – Advent Health

 

CMCS – Center for Mindfulness and Contemplative Studies

 

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

 

Study Summary

 

Leung, C. H., & Pong, H. K. (2021). Cross-sectional study of the relationship between the spiritual wellbeing and psychological health among university Students. PloS one, 16(4), e0249702. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0249702

 

Abstract

University students’ spiritual wellbeing has been shown to be associated with quality, satisfaction, and joy of life. This study tested the relationship between spiritual wellbeing and symptoms of psychological disorders (i.e., depression, anxiety and stress) among Chinese university students in Hong Kong. Cross-sectional data were collected from N = 500 students (aged 17–24; 279 women). The participants were asked to complete the Spiritual Health and Life-Orientation Measure (SHALOM) to evaluate the status of their spiritual wellbeing in the personal and communal, environmental, and transcendental domains, and the Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scale-21 (DASS-21) to assess their emotional states of depression, anxiety and stress. All domains of spiritual wellbeing were negatively associated with psychological distress. Hierarchical Multiple Regression showed that together the three domains of spirituality explained 79.9%, 71.3% and 85.5% of the variance in students’ depression, anxiety and stress respectively. The personal and communal domain of spiritual wellbeing was the strongest predictor of psychological distress.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8049307/

 

Improve Neuropsychological Disorders with Yoga

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Improve Neuropsychological Disorders with Yoga

 

By John M. de Castro, Ph.D.

 

“yoga might be considered as an effective adjuvant for the patients with various neurological disorders including stroke, Parkinson’s disease, multiple sclerosis, epilepsy, Alzheimer’s disease, dementia, headache, myelopathy, neuropathies.” – A.Mooventhan

 

Mindfulness training and yoga practices have been shown to improve health and well-being in healthy individuals. They have 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 has accumulated a large amount of research on the effectiveness of yoga practice for the treatment of a variety of physical and mental issues. Hence, it would be useful to summarize what has been learned.

 

In today’s Research News article “Therapeutic role of yoga in neuropsychological disorders.” (See summary below or view the full text of the study at: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8546763/ ) Nourollahimoghadam and colleagues review and summarize the published research regarding the effectiveness of yoga practice for the treatment of a variety of neuropsychological disorders.

 

They report that the published research found that yoga practice produced significant improvements in physical illnesses including migraine headaches, Alzheimer’s Disease, epilepsy, multiple sclerosis, Parkinson’s Disease, and neuropathy. Yoga practice also produced significant improvements in psychological well-being including anxiety, stress, depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, somatoform disorders, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and burnout. They further report that yoga may produce its beneficial effects by altering the chemistry, electrical activity, structures, and connectivity within the brain.

 

Hence Yoga practice appears to have a myriad of positive physical and psychological benefits. The authors, however, point to weaknesses in the research including small sample sizes, short-term follow-up, confounding variables, and lack of appropriate controls. So, more and better controlled studies are needed to verify the benefits of yoga practice. Hence, the present state of knowledge supports the engagement in yoga practice to advance the physical and mental well-being of both ill and healthy individuals.

 

So, improve neuropsychological disorders with yoga.

 

“Yoga can be a helpful practice of self-care for people with multiple sclerosis (MS) and other neurological conditions (such as stroke, traumatic brain injury, Parkinson’s disease, Lyme’s disease, Lou Gehrig’s disease).” – Mary Hilliker

 

CMCS – Center for Mindfulness and Contemplative Studies

 

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

 

Study Summary

 

Nourollahimoghadam, E., Gorji, S., Gorji, A., & Khaleghi Ghadiri, M. (2021). Therapeutic role of yoga in neuropsychological disorders. World journal of psychiatry, 11(10), 754–773. https://doi.org/10.5498/wjp.v11.i10.754

 

Abstract

Yoga is considered a widely-used approach for health conservation and can be adopted as a treatment modality for a plethora of medical conditions, including neurological and psychological disorders. Hence, we reviewed relevant articles entailing various neurological and psychological disorders and gathered data on how yoga exerts positive impacts on patients with a diverse range of disorders, including its modulatory effects on brain bioelectrical activities, neurotransmitters, and synaptic plasticity. The role of yoga practice as an element of the treatment of several neuropsychological diseases was evaluated based on these findings.

Core Tip: A multitude of beneficial effects of yoga practice and the underlying mechanisms of action have been reported and point out its role as an influential element in the integrative therapy of various neuropsychological disorders. In the planning of further investigations, studies should be designed to achieve more accuracy and precision in the heterogeneous field of yoga practices and potential fields of application.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8546763/

 

Decrease Anxiety and Improve Test Performance with Virtual Reality Meditation

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Decrease Anxiety and Improve Test Performance with Virtual Reality Meditation

 

By John M. de Castro, Ph.D.

 

“VR based meditation interventions have the potential to play an important role in anxiety management and stress reduction.” – Jeff Tarrant

 

In the modern world education is a key for success. But there is a lot of pressure on university students to excel. The pressure can lead to anxiety which can impede the student’s well-being and school performance. It is, for the most part, beyond the ability of the students to change the environment to reduce anxiety. There are, however, a number of psychological therapies for anxiety. Recently, it has been found that mindfulness training can be effective for anxiety disorders.

 

Technology has recently been applied to training in mindfulness. Indeed, mindfulness training carried out completely on-line has been shown to be effective for as number of conditions including anxiety. Virtual reality (VR) devices are improving and becoming readily available. Previously it has been shown the virtual reality (VR) can be helpful in treating phobias. and Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD). But, it is not known if VR can enhance the effectiveness of mindfulness training in the treatment of anxiety in college students.

 

In today’s Research News article “The impact of virtual reality meditation on college students’ exam performance.” (See summary below or view the full text of the study at: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8520331/ ) Kaplan-Rakowski and colleagues recruited university students and randomly assigned them to receive a 15-minute meditation either with an “animated, slow-paced, calming visualizations of forest scenes” accompanied by music presented in virtual reality or on a video screen. They were measured before and after the meditation for anxiety. They also completed a 30-minute series of computer science tasks.

 

They found that in comparison to baseline both groups had decreased anxiety and improved performance on the computer science tasks, but the virtual reality group had significantly better test performance.

 

This study looked only at the immediate effects of a single 15-minute meditation in the laboratory. So, no conclusions can be reached on whether the benefits are sustained or what would be the effects of long-term meditation practice and whether these interventions would work in real-world applications. Nevertheless, the results are clear, brief meditation with videos produces immediate relief of anxiety and better test performance. In addition, adding virtual reality presentation to a brief meditation practice increases the improvement in test performance.

 

So, decrease anxiety and improve test performance with virtual reality meditation.

 

“I see virtual reality as a tool that helps me bridge the gap between that ideal and my reality. Some people might call it “cheating” at meditation. I simply call it relief.” – Sarah Garone

 

CMCS – Center for Mindfulness and Contemplative Studies

 

This and other Contemplative Studies posts are also available on Google+ https://plus.google.com/106784388191201299496/posts and on Twitter @MindfulResearch

 

Study Summary

 

Kaplan-Rakowski, R., Johnson, K. R., & Wojdynski, T. (2021). The impact of virtual reality meditation on college students’ exam performance. Smart Learning Environments, 8(1), 21. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40561-021-00166-7

 

Abstract

Advocates of meditation claim that it can improve various aspects of life, including health, attention, thinking, and learning. The purpose of this empirical, quantitative, between-subject study was twofold. First, it compared the effectiveness of meditation delivered through virtual reality versus video, as measured by students’ test scores. Second, the study provided insights on the use of meditation, whether via virtual reality or video, as a way to positively affect well-being. T-test analysis showed virtual reality meditation to be significantly more beneficial than video meditation. Students reported that meditation techniques delivered using either medium to be helpful in decreasing their pre-exam anxiety. This study has practical implications and offers evidence on the beneficial impact of VR meditation on students’ exam performance and anxiety levels.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8520331/

 

Improve Breast Cancer Survivors Physical and Psychological Health with Yoga

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Improve Breast Cancer Survivors Physical and Psychological Health with Yoga

 

By John M. de Castro, Ph.D.

 

“physical activity after a breast cancer diagnosis has potentially “favorable influence on breast cancer incidence and outcome.” Yoga can not only be an effective, low-impact exercise, but it has also been shown in numerous studies to reduce fatigue, improve physical function and quality of sleep, and contribute to an overall better quality of life.” – Gretchen Stelter

 

Because of great advances in treatment, many breast cancer patients today are surviving. But breast cancer survivors frequently suffer from a range of persistent psychological and physical residual symptoms that impair their quality of life. Mindfulness training and exercise have been shown to help with general cancer recovery. Mindfulness practices have been shown to improve the residual symptoms in cancer survivors.  Yoga is both an exercise and a mindfulness practice that has also been shown to be helpful with the residual symptoms in cancer survivors, the psychological and physical ability to deal with cancer treatment and improves sleep. The mechanisms of how yoga produces these benefits are unknown.

 

In today’s Research News article “The high dose of vitamin D supplementation combined with yoga training improve the leukocytes cell survival-related gene expression in breast cancer survivors.” (See summary below or view the full text of the study at: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8403369/ ) Zare and colleagues recruited adult survivors of breast cancer and randomly assigned them to receive a high dose of vitamin D (4000 IU), a high dose of vitamin D (4000 IU) plus 12 weeks of yoga practice, or a low dose of vitamin D (2000 IU) plus 12 weeks of yoga practice. Yoga practice consisted of postures, breathing exercises, and meditation and was practiced for 60-90 minutes twice a week for 12 weeks. The participants were measured before and after training for anxiety, body size, aerobic fitness (1-mile walk), shoulder range of motion, blood cortisol, and expression of leukocyte survival genes p53, NF-κB, Bcl2, and Bax.

 

They found that yoga practice resulted in a significant decrease in body fat percentage and anxiety levels and a significant increase in aerobic fitness and shoulder flexibility regardless of the vitamin D dosage. They also found that the high dose of vitamin D produced a significant up regulation of the leukocyte survival genes p53 and Bcl2 regardless of yoga practice.

 

These results suggest/that yoga practice is beneficial for breast cancer survivors improving their psychological and physical well being while high dose vitamin D supplementation improves their cell survival genes. It should be noted that there wasn’t an active comparison, control, condition for yoga practice such as another form of exercise. So, it is unclear if the effects were due to yoga practice per se or to the exercise provided by yoga practice. But previous controlled studies of the effects of yoga practice have shown that yoga practice reduces anxiety and body fat. So, the effects seen here are likely due to yoga practice. Hence the results suggest that the combination of yoga practice plus high dose vitamin D supplementation should be recommended for breast cancer survivors.

 

So, improve breast cancer survivors physical and psychological health with yoga.

 

“Research suggests that there are real benefits to regularly practising yoga after a breast cancer diagnosis, particularly for emotional wellbeing, cancer-related fatigue and pain.” – Brest Cancer Now

 

CMCS – Center for Mindfulness and Contemplative Studies

 

This and other Contemplative Studies posts are also available on Google+ https://plus.google.com/106784388191201299496/posts and on Twitter @MindfulResearch

 

Study Summary

 

Khedmati Zare, V., Javadi, M., Amani-Shalamzari, S., & Kaviani, M. (2021). The high dose of vitamin D supplementation combined with yoga training improve the leukocytes cell survival-related gene expression in breast cancer survivors. Nutrition & metabolism, 18(1), 80. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12986-021-00607-7

 

Abstract

Background

This study aimed to examine the effect of yoga training combined with vitamin D supplementation on the expression of survival-related genes in leukocytes and psycho-physical status in breast cancer survivors.

Methods

Thirty breast cancer survivor women (age, 48 ± 8 yrs) were randomly assigned into three groups: high dose (4000 IU) of vitamin D supplementation (HD) (n = 10); yoga training with a high dose of vitamin D (Y + HD); (n  = 10); yoga training with a low dose (2000 IU) of vitamin D (Y + LD) (n = 10). Participants performed the Hatha yoga style twice a week. Blood samples and a battery of psychological and physical tests were taken before and after the completion of interventions. Expression of p53, NF-κB, Bcl2, and Bax genes was measured in leukocytes.

Results

Body fat percentage (ηp2 = 0.36), shoulder flexibility (ηp2 = 0.38), Rockport walk tests (ηp2 = 0.49), and anxiety (ηp2 = 0.52) were significantly improved in both the Y + HD and Y + LD groups compared to the HD group (p < 0.05). P53 was significantly over-expressed in the Y + HD group while Bcl2 upregulated in both the Y + HD and Y + LD groups. NF-κB and Bax expression downregulated in all groups but were not statistically significant.

Conclusion

yoga training combined with low and high doses of VD improved physical fitness and psychological measures while only in combination with a high dose of VD positively modified the leukocytes cell survival-related gene expression.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8403369/

 

Reduce the Psychological and Physical Responses Before a Major Dental Procedure with Yogic Relaxation

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Reduce the Psychological and Physical Responses Before a Major Dental Procedure with Yogic Relaxation

 

By John M. de Castro, Ph.D.

 

“Practicing yoga has been effectively proven to reduce stress levels and induce the sense of calmness in individuals, which could help in the management of several stress-induced oral conditions.” – Roquaiya Nishat

 

If you asked most people what’s one of the most common health problems that people have, probably the last thing that they would come up with is oral health. But more than 26% of adults in the United States have untreated tooth decay and 65% of adults had a dental visit every year. A common dental procedure is a root canal that is performed around 15 million times annually. But this procedure is accompanied by great anxiety and stress in the patients. This often results in patients avoiding or delaying needed procedures. There is considerable evidence that yoga practice reduces anxiety and stress. But it is not known if a brief yogic relaxation practice can reduce anxiety and stress prior to a dental root canal procedure.

 

In today’s Research News article “Effect of Pranayama Techniques with Marmanasthanam Kriya as Yogic Relaxation on Biopsychosocial Parameters Prior to Endodontic Therapy: A Cross Sectional Study Design.” (See summary below or view the full text of the study at: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8191219/ ) Thiruvalluvan and colleagues recruited adults between the ages of 25-50 years who were scheduled to undergo a dental root canal procedure and randomly assigned them to receive either guided Yogic relaxation for 15 minutes before the root canal treatment or to simply relax for 15 minutes. Yoga relaxation included breathing practices, mudras, and body scan exercises. The participants were measured before and after the intervention for anxiety, heart rate, and blood pressure.

 

They found that in comparison to baseline and the relaxation control group, the patients who practiced yogic relaxation had a significant decrease in anxiety, heart rate, and diastolic and systolic blood pressure. Hence, yogic relaxation prior to a dental root canal procedure reduced anxiety and physiological arousal in the patients. It is important to note that yogic relaxation produced superior results to simply asking the patient to relax. This suggests that yogic relaxation produces does more than simply relax the patients.

 

Yoga has been repeatedly shown to reduce anxiety, blood pressure, and heart rate in a variety of conditions. The present results demonstrate that a brief yogic relaxation can produce similar effects in patients before a major dental procedure. Anxiety and fear have been found to be major barriers to dental treatment. This leads to patients avoiding or delaying treatment allowing the damage to progress, So, a treatment that can reduce the anxiety before the treatment may be helpful in promoting dental health.

 

So, reduce the psychological and physical responses before a major dental procedure with yogic relaxation.

 

“Yoga is versatile, enjoyable and highly beneficial and a great way for dentists and their patients to battle stress and anxiety. ‘– Saurabh Bhargava

 

CMCS – Center for Mindfulness and Contemplative Studies

 

This and other Contemplative Studies posts are also available on Google+ https://plus.google.com/106784388191201299496/posts and on Twitter @MindfulResearch

 

Study Summary

 

Thiruvalluvan, A., Sekizhar, V., Ramanathan, M., Bhavanani, A. B., Chakravathy, D., & Reddy, J. (2021). Effect of Pranayama Techniques with Marmanasthanam Kriya as Yogic Relaxation on Biopsychosocial Parameters Prior to Endodontic Therapy: A Cross Sectional Study Design. International journal of yoga, 14(2), 146–151. https://doi.org/10.4103/ijoy.IJOY_133_20

 

Abstract

Background:

The root canal treatment is one of the common dental or endodontic therapies associated with high levels of patient anxiety. Yoga therapy (YT) is reported in medical literature as an effective modality in bringing down anxiety in clinical scenarios; however, the reports of the same for dental settings are fewer. The current study aimed to evaluate the effect of YT on biopsychosocial parameters in patients undergoing root canal therapy.

Materials and Methods:

A cross sectional study was conducted on 50 participants who underwent dental root canal therapy. The sample was divided into two groups: Yoga group (Group A; n = 25) who received YT and control group (Group B; n = 25) who were subjected to self-relaxation during dental procedure. The state of anxiety was measured by a 5-point single-item Likert scale and the cardiovascular (CV) parameters (systolic blood pressure [SBP], diastolic blood pressure [DBP], heart rate [HR]) and CV indices (pulse pressure [PP], mean arterial pressure [MAP], rate-pressure product [RPP], and double product [DoP]) were derived and compared between both the groups.

Results:

The intergroup comparison showed statistically significant differences in anxiety score (P < 0.001), SBP (P < 0.001), MAP (P < 0.001), RPP (P < 0.001), DoP (P < 0.001), HR (P < 0.029), DBP (P < 0.003), and PP (P < 0.116).

Conclusion:

A significant reduction was recorded in terms of anxiety and primary and derived CV parameters in the yoga group. The YT can be adopted as an interventional tool for anxiety management in patients indicated for dental root canal therapy.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8191219/

 

Improve Health in Unhealthy People with Yoga

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Improve Health in Unhealthy People with Yoga

 

By John M. de Castro, Ph.D.

 

“Incorporating [yoga] into your routine can help enhance your health, increase strength and flexibility and reduce symptoms of stress, depression and anxiety. Finding the time to practice yoga just a few times per week may be enough to make a noticeable difference when it comes to your health.” – Rachel Link

 

Yoga practice has been shown to have a myriad of benefits for psychological and physical health, social, and spiritual well-being. It is both an exercise and a mind-body practice which stresses both mental attention to present moment movements, breath control, and flexibility, range of motion, and balance. But beginning yoga practice has risks and adverse events are known to occur. These can be particularly problematic for people who are not in the best of health. So, it is important to examine the risks and benefits of beginning yoga practice for people in a variety of health conditions.

 

In today’s Research News article “Health-related benefits and adverse events associated with yoga classes among participants that are healthy, in poor health, or with chronic diseases.” (See summary below or view the full text of the study at: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8499562/ ) Oka and colleagues recruited first time participants in 3-month, once a week for 60-90 minutes yoga classes. They were separated into 3 groups: healthy, poor health (some somatic or psychological complaints but no medication), and chronic disease (on medication). Before and after the class they completed measures of mood, perceived stress, quality of life, subjective symptoms, satisfaction with the yoga class, and adverse events defined as “undesirable symptoms or responses that occurred during a yoga class”.

 

They found that from the beginning to the end of both the first and last yoga class there was a significant reduction in fatigue and tension-anxiety and increase in vigor in all groups. Over the 3-months of practice there was a significant reduction in perceived stress, subjective symptoms, and increase in health-related quality of life in the poor health and chronic disease groups. Perceived stress in the unhealthy groups reached the level of the healthy group at the end of training. Relatively mild adverse events were reported in all groups but more so in the unhealthy groups. But the symptoms were mild and did not stop participation inn the class in which they occurred.

 

Previous research with varied groups has shown that yoga training results in reduced fatigue and tension-anxiety and increased vigor. So, these findings were not surprising in the present study. The interesting findings here was that participants in ill health benefited more than healthy participants in reduced perceived stress and subjective symptoms and increased health-related quality of life. This suggests that yoga practice is particularly beneficial for individuals who have current somatic symptoms or who have chronic diseases.

 

Yoga practice appears to be beneficial for the psychological and physical well-being of everyone but is particularly beneficial for those who have current or chronic health issues. Although adverse symptoms produced by participation in yoga classes are common and occur more frequently in people with health problems. they tend to be mild, not stopping participation in the classes in which they occurred. So, for everyone the benefits of yoga practice appear to outweigh the costs.

 

So, improve health in unhealthy people with yoga.

 

“there’s also a growing body of science showing that a regular yoga practice may benefit people with a host of chronic health conditions, including asthma, heart disease, and MS.” – Wyatt Meyers

 

CMCS – Center for Mindfulness and Contemplative Studies

 

This and other Contemplative Studies posts are also available on Google+ https://plus.google.com/106784388191201299496/posts and on Twitter @MindfulResearch

 

Study Summary

 

Oka, T., & Lkhagvasuren, B. (2021). Health-related benefits and adverse events associated with yoga classes among participants that are healthy, in poor health, or with chronic diseases.

BioPsychoSocial medicine, 15(1), 17. https://doi.org/10.1186/s13030-021-00216-z

 

Abstract

Background

Our previous study demonstrated that 42% of yoga class participants in Japan had chronic diseases requiring medication. This raises the question as to whether those with chronic diseases would benefit from practicing yoga or if they are at higher risk for specific adverse events compared to healthy individuals receiving the same instruction.

Methods

To address these questions, 328 adults who started practicing yoga for the first time were asked to complete the Profile of Mood States (POMS), Perceived Stress Scale (PSS), and Medical Outcomes Study Short Form 8, standard version (SF-8™) and to record any adverse events on the first day of the yoga class and again three months later. The participants consisted of three groups: a healthy (H) group (n = 70), a poor health (PH) group (n = 117), and a chronic disease (CD) group (n = 141). The degree of subjective symptoms was also compared between the pre- and post-intervention period in the PH and CD groups.

Results

Typically, yoga classes were held once a week for 60–90 min. The programs included asanas, pranayamas, meditation, isometric yoga, and sukshma vyayama. In the PH and CD groups, the POMS tension-anxiety and fatigue scores decreased and the vigor score increased significantly after the first class. Furthermore, PSS scores decreased and the SF-8™ scores increased significantly three months later. The degree of subjective symptoms such as easy fatigability, shoulder stiffness, and insomnia also decreased over three months. Individuals in these groups experienced more frequent adverse events than those in the H group. The PH and CD groups also experienced a greater variety of symptoms, including psychological ones, not reported by the H group. Adverse events were not so serious that participants stopped practicing yoga during the class. About 60% of all participants were highly satisfied with participating in yoga classes.

Conclusions

If yoga classes are conducted with attention to possible adverse events, yoga practice in a yoga studio may have beneficial effects for people with functional somatic symptoms and chronic diseases, as well as healthy participants. These benefits include reductions in perceived stress and uncomfortable symptoms as well as improved mood and quality of life.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8499562/

 

Improve the Symptoms of Central Pain Sensitization Syndromes with Mindfulness

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Improve the Symptoms of Central Pain Sensitization Syndromes with Mindfulness

 

By John M. de Castro, Ph.D.

 

“Central sensitization, in short, is a hypersensitivity to stimuli from things that are not typically painful. . . Stress can heighten pain even more, so various forms of stress management may be recommended to patients. This may include practices such as yoga, mindfulness, or meditation.” – Southern Pain

 

We all have to deal with pain. It’s inevitable, but hopefully it’s mild and short lived. For a wide swath of humanity, however, pain is a constant in their lives. At least 100 million adult Americans have chronic pain conditions. Central Pain Sensitization Syndromes such as fibromyalgia and Migraine headaches are particularly difficult to deal with as they have triggers that are not normally painful.

 

The most common treatment for chronic pain is drugs. These include over-the-counter analgesics and opioids. But opioids are dangerous and highly addictive. Prescription opioid overdoses kill more than 14,000 people annually. So, there is a great need to find safe and effective ways to lower the psychological distress and improve the individual’s ability to cope with the pain. There is an accumulating volume of research findings that demonstrate that mindfulness practices, in general, are effective in treating pain.

 

A therapeutic technique that contains mindfulness training and Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) is Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT). It focuses on the individual’s thoughts, feelings, and behavior and how they interact to impact their psychological and physical well-being. It then works to change thinking to alter the interaction and produce greater life satisfaction. ACT employs mindfulness practices to increase awareness and develop an attitude of acceptance and compassion in the presence of painful thoughts and feelings. ACT teaches individuals to “just notice”, accept and embrace private experiences and focus on behavioral responses that produce more desirable outcomes.

 

The research on the effectiveness of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) for  Central Pain Sensitization Syndromes has been accumulating. So, it makes sense to pause and review what has been learned. In today’s Research News article “Effectiveness of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy in Central Pain Sensitization Syndromes: A Systematic Review.” (See summary below or view the full text of the study at: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8235706/ ) Galvez-Sánchez and colleagues review and summarize the published research evidence on the effectiveness of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) for  Central Pain Sensitization Syndromes. They identified 21 published studies that included a total of 1090 adult participants.

 

They report that 8 studies found that Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) significantly improved the symptoms of fibromyalgia especially anxiety and depression and improved pain acceptance, self-efficacy, and psychological flexibility. Six studies found that ACT improved the patient’s acceptance of irritable bowel syndrome and the psychological distress produced by IBS. In 7 studies ACT was shown to significantly improve migraine pain and the affective distress resulting from the disease including anxiety and depression. These improvements were greater than those seen with pharmacological and psychoeducational interventions.

 

Mindfulness training has been shown to improve the symptoms of fibromyalgia, irritable bower syndrome, and migraine headache. The finding from the currently published research studies of the effectiveness of the mindfulness training of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) suggests that it is similarly effective in treating the symptoms from Central Pain Sensitization Syndromes particularly the psychological distress produced by them and improve the patients’ health related quality of life.

 

So, improve the symptoms of Central Pain Sensitization Syndromes with mindfulness.

 

“The goal of meditation is not to eliminate pain or anxiety, but rather to get patients to focus on breathing and relaxation techniques. . . to reverse some of the negative central sensitization that can occur with chronic pain.” – Mel Pohl

 

MCS – Center for Mindfulness and Contemplative Studies

 

This and other Contemplative Studies posts are also available on Google+ https://plus.google.com/106784388191201299496/posts and on Twitter @MindfulResearch

 

Study Summary

 

Galvez-Sánchez, C. M., Montoro, C. I., Moreno-Padilla, M., Reyes Del Paso, G. A., & de la Coba, P. (2021). Effectiveness of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy in Central Pain Sensitization Syndromes: A Systematic Review. Journal of clinical medicine, 10(12), 2706. https://doi.org/10.3390/jcm10122706

 

Abstract

Objectives: Acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) is considered by the American Psychological Association as an evidence-based treatment for a variety of disorders, including chronic pain. The main objective of the present systematic review was to determine the effectiveness of ACT in patients with central pain sensitization syndromes (CPSS). Methods: This systematic review was conducted according to the guidelines of the Cochrane Collaboration and PRISMA statements. The protocol was registered in advance in the Prospective Register of Systematic Reviews (PROSPERO) international database. The selected articles were evaluated using the Cochrane risk of bias (ROB) assessment tool. The PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Science databases were searched. Results: The literature search identified 21 studies (including investigations of fibromyalgia syndrome, irritable bowel syndrome, and migraine) eligible for the systematic review. There were no studies regarding the effectiveness of ACT for chronic tension-type headache (CTTH), interstitial cystitis (IC), or temporomandibular disorder (TMD). The evaluation of ROB showed that 12 of the selected studies were of low quality, 5 were of moderate quality, and 4 were high quality. ACT reduces some clinical symptoms, such as anxiety, depression, and pain. This positive effect of ACT might be mediated by pain acceptance, psychological flexibility, optimism, self-efficacy, or adherence to values. ACT showed better results in comparison to non-intervention (e.g., “waiting list”) conditions, as well as pharmacological and psychoeducational interventions. It is not entirely clear whether extended ACT treatments are more advantageous than briefer interventions. Conclusions: There are few studies about the effectiveness of ACT on CPSS. However, ACT seems to reduce subjective CPSS symptoms and improve the health-related quality of life of these patients. The absence of studies on the effectiveness of ACT in CTTH, IC, and TMD, indicate the pressing need for further ACT studies in these CPSS.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8235706/