Improve the Happiness of Healthcare Workers with Mindfulness

psyjdc Leave a comment

Improve the Happiness of Healthcare Workers with Mindfulness

 

By John M. de Castro, Ph.D.

 

“Thanks to the rapidly growing science of mindfulness, we are now understanding the seamless interconnectedness of brain, mind, body, experience, and well-being — to say nothing of the contributions to health and well-being that stem from social interconnectedness and environmental/planetary concerns.” – Jon Kabat-Zinn

 

Stress is epidemic in the western workplace with almost two thirds of workers reporting high levels of stress at work. In high stress occupations, like healthcare, burnout is all too prevalent. Burnout is the fatigue, cynicism, emotional exhaustion, sleep disruption, and professional inefficacy that comes with work-related stress. It is estimated that over 45% of healthcare workers experience burnout. Currently, over a third of healthcare workers report that they are looking for a new job. It not only affects the healthcare providers personally, but also the patients, as it produces a loss of empathy and compassion. Burnout, in fact, it is a threat to the entire healthcare system as it contributes to the shortage of doctors and nurses.

 

Preventing burnout has to be a priority. Unfortunately, it is beyond the ability of the individual to change the environment to reduce stress and prevent burnout, so it is important that methods be found to reduce the individual’s responses to stress; to make the individual more resilient when high levels of stress occur. Contemplative practices have been shown to reduce the psychological and physiological responses to stress. Indeed, mindfulness has been shown to be helpful in treating and preventing burnout, increasing resilience, and improving sleep. Hence, mindfulness may be a means to improve the self-compassion and happiness of healthcare workers and thereby reduce burnout.

 

In today’s Research News article “Compassion, Mindfulness, and the Happiness of Healthcare Workers.” (See summary below or view the full text of the study at: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5598781/ ), Benzo and colleagues recruited adult healthcare workers and had them complete measures of mindfulness, self-compassion, happiness, relationship status, exercise, perceived stress, and spiritual practice. The data underwent a regression analysis to determine the relationship between the measures.

 

They found that the higher the levels of exercise and self-compassion, the greater the levels of happiness and the lower the levels of perceived stress. In addition, they found that the higher the levels of coping with isolation and mindfulness the higher the levels of happiness. The association of mindfulness with happiness occurred for the mindfulness component of self-compassion and both the non-judgmental awareness and non-reactivity to emotions.

 

These results suggest that mindfulness and self-compassion are very important for the happiness of healthcare workers. The most important components of self-compassion appear to be mindfulness and the ability to cope with isolation that is a frequent occurrence with healthcare workers. Being mindfully aware of themselves, non-judgmentally appears to be crucial for happiness of workers this high stress occupation.

 

Although these results are correlational and causation cannot be determined, prior research has demonstrated that mindfulness training works to improve well-being and reduce burnout, reduce perceived stress, and also increases self-compassion. So, the present results likely reflect an underlying causal connection between mindfulness and the happiness of healthcare workers. This further suggests that mindfulness and self-compassion training should be included in the initial training or continuing education of healthcare workers.

 

So, improve the happiness of healthcare workers with mindfulness.

 

“There is increasing evidence that learning to practice mindfulness can result in decreased burnout and improved well-being. Mindfulness is a useful way of cultivating self-kindness and compassion, including by bringing increased awareness to and acceptance of those things that are beyond our control.” – Kate Fitzpatrick

 

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

 

Benzo, R. P., Kirsch, J. L., & Nelson, C. (2017). Compassion, Mindfulness, and the Happiness of Healthcare Workers. Explore (New York, N.Y.), 13(3), 201-206.

 

Abstract

Context

Decreased well-being of health care workers expressed as stress and decreased job satisfaction influences patient safety and satisfaction and cost containment. Self-compassion has garnered recent attention due to its positive association with wellbeing and happiness. Discovering novel pathways to increase the well-being of health care workers is essential.

Objective

This study sought to explore the influence of self-compassion on employee happiness in health care professionals.

Design, Setting & Participants

400 participants (mean age 45 ± 14, 65% female) health care workers at a large teaching hospital were randomly asked to complete questionnaires assessing their levels of happiness and self-compassion, life conditions and habits.

Measures

Participants completed the Happiness Scale and Self-Compassion Scales, the Five Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire as well as variables associated with wellbeing: relationship status, the number of hours spent exercising a week, attendance at a wellness facility and engagement in a regular spiritual practice.

Results

Self-compassion was significantly and independently associated with perceived happiness explaining 39% of its variance after adjusting for age, marital status, gender, time spent exercising and attendance to an exercise facility. Two specific subdomains of self-compassion from the instrument used, coping with isolation and mindfulness, accounted for 95% of the self-compassion effect on happiness.

Conclusion

Self-compassion is meaningfully and independently associated with happiness and well-being in health care professionals. Our results may have practical implications by providing specific self-compassion components to be targeted in future programs aimed at enhancing wellbeing in health care professionals.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5598781/

 

Enhance Enjoyment of the Holidays with Mindfulness

psyjdc Leave a comment

Enhance Enjoyment of the Holidays with Mindfulness

 

By John M. de Castro, Ph.D.

 

“Many Americans celebrate both Christmas and Xmas. Others celebrate one or the other. And some of us celebrate holidays that, although unconnected with the [winter] solstice, occur near it: Ramadan, Hanukkah and Kwanzaa.” – John Silber:

 

The end of December marks transitions. It marks the new year, transition from 2017 to 2018. It’s also the time of the winter solstice, the shortest day of the year, transitioning from shortening days to lengthening days. Since the beginning of recorded history, the solstice has been a time of celebration and merriment. For most of that time it was an extremely popular pagan celebration. The Christians tried to suppress it, but were unsuccessful. So, instead they coopted it, turning it into a celebration of Jesus’ birth. There are no records of the actual date of Jesus’ birth, so any day could be chosen, and the time of the pagan solstice celebration was perfect. There are still many remnants of that pagan celebration carried into the Christmas celebration, including the tree, wreaths, mistletoe, holly, and even the name yule, the yule log, and the use of the word “jolly”.

 

Regardless of the purported reason, the end of December is a time of celebration. We now look on it as a time for giving, but the gifts are a relatively new addition that has been enthusiastically promoted by merchants. Should we be jaundiced about the celebration because of it’s confusing history, its crass commercialism, and varied religious meanings or should we participate with enthusiasm? Mindfulness tells us not to judge, just to experience what life has to offer in the moment. The holiday season has much to offer us. So, mindfulness would suggest that we don’t judge or criticize but engage mindfully in whatever way is appropriate for us.

 

Perhaps the greatest gift we can give to our family and friends at any time but especially during the holidays is our presence, not just our physical presence but our mindful attentive presence. We give to them when we deeply listen. So many conversations are superficial. So, engaging deeply with others is a special gift. It involves employing an underused skill of true listening with full attention to another, not listening on the surface while composing the next communication, but just listening with mindfulness. We in effect give to them our most precious gift, our fully engaged selves. We may be surprised by what we now hear that we may have been missing for years, and what reactions occur. Just know that you’re giving what most people need most, to feel listened to, respected, valued and cared about.

 

The holidays are a time to focus on children. Here, also, mindfulness can improve the experience. If we mindfully observe and truly listen, we can see that what children desire most is our attention and love. Presents of toys and gadgets are opened with enthusiasm and glee. But the joy is short-lived. As with most things the happiness produced is fleeting. But, if you engage with the child, playing and giving your full attention to him/her the happiness is much more enduring. Doing this mindfully, without expectations or judgment will bring a joy and happiness to you that will also be enduring. Don’t engage with the child for personal gain, but enjoy the gain when it happens.

 

The holidays are also a time of revelry, with abundant parties and celebrations at work, with friends, and with family. Once again, engaging mindfully can improve the experience and help prevent excess. Being mindful can help us keep alcohol intake under control. By being aware of our state in the present moment we are better able to know when we reached our limit and especially, to know when to refrain from driving. Mindful eating can also help us enjoy all of the wonderful foods presented during the holidays while being aware of our actual physical state. It can help us to eat slowly, savoring the exquisite flavors, without overindulging. Engage socially mindfully without judging and you’ll enjoy the interactions all the more.

 

Mindfulness can also help with holiday depression. Because of the high expectations of what the holidays should be like in contrast to the experienced reality, many people get depressed. It is the time of the highest suicide rates of the year. Mindfulness is known to combat depression in ourselves. But, for the holidays we could use our mindfulness skills, particularly listening, to help vulnerable people deal with the holidays. Our compassion and loving kindness can go a long way toward helping people overcome negative mood states. Just a genuine smile can sometimes be a great mood enhancer. Mindfully give of yourself, without expectation of getting anything back. You’ll be amazed at how much good it does for others and at the benefit you will receive.

 

Finally, the underlying theme of the holidays is transformation and renewal. Just as the slow decent into the short days of winter ends the slow ascent to the long days of summer begins. We can use this time to begin to transform and renew ourselves. New year’s resolutions are a common tradition in this regard but few are entered into with sufficient dedication and energy to actually carry them out. We should use this holiday season to reflect mindfully on our own lives, looking deeply at what will truly help us to thrive physically, emotionally, socially, and spiritually in the coming year. Then set realistic goals and concrete plans to fulfill them. A good one that can help to lead us to a more fulfilling life is to simply make a commitment to be more mindful in the coming year. This should include a plan for engaging in regular practice and working to transfer mindfulness skills obtained outside of the practice. But, be realistic as to what can actually be accomplished and then set a firm concrete plan to achieve it.

 

So, enhance the enjoyment of the holidays with mindfulness.

 

“I hope that in this year to come, you make mistakes. Because if you are making mistakes, then you are making new things, trying new things, learning, living, pushing yourself, changing yourself, changing your world. You’re doing things you’ve never done before, and more importantly, you’re doing something.” – Neil Gaiman

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

 

Mindfully Politically Correct During the Holidays

psyjdc Leave a comment

Mindfully Politically Correct During the Holidays

 

By John M. de Castro, Ph.D.

 

“po·lit·i·cal cor·rect·ness

noun

  1. the avoidance, often considered as taken to extremes, of forms of expression or action that are perceived to exclude, marginalize, or insult groups of people who are socially disadvantaged or discriminated against.”

 

In the U.S. there are a large number of people who assert that there’s currently a war on Christmas. This has been brought about by a movement to use faith neutral terms for greetings and well wishes during the end of December season. So, rather than say “Merry Christmas” they say “Happy Holidays.” The accusation is that this is political correctness gone awry. It removes the meaning from Christmas and is an assault on religious freedom. In a broader sense, it’s an accusation that political correctness in general is distasteful and demeans the culture and damages freedom of speech and religion.

 

There is a meme used on the internet and on bumper stickers that “Jesus, is the reason for the season. But that is only true for Christians. In fact, the season’s celebration has a long history. The end of December is the time of the winter solstice, the shortest day of the year, transitioning from shortening days to lengthening days. Since the beginning of recorded history, the solstice has been a time of celebration and merriment. For most of that time it was an extremely popular pagan celebration. The Christians tried to suppress it but, because of its popularity, were unsuccessful. So, instead they coopted it, turning it into a celebration of Jesus’ birth. There are no records of the actual date of Jesus’ birth, so any day could be chosen, and the time of the pagan solstice celebration was perfect. The so-called Christmas celebration actually maintains many remnants of the pagan celebration, including the tree, wreaths, mistletoe, holly, the name yule, the yule log, and even the use of the word “jolly”.

 

So, what is the correct designation for the time of year. That depends upon your perspective. If you’re Christian, then Christmas is the appropriate term; if you’re pagan, then Yule is it; if you’re Jewish then it’s Hanukkah; if you’re Buddhist then it’s Bodhi Day; if your Muslim it’s Id al-Adha (the Day of Sacrifice); if you’re Native American it’s Soyal; if you’re Japanese it’s Omisoka; and if you’re African it’s Kwanza. So, what is the correct term. Well, obviously, it depends on who you’re talking to. But in every case late December is a time for a holiday. So, wishing someone “Happy Holidays” will almost inevitably get it right no matter who you’re addressing. But, if you know the individual’s holiday of choice then the specific wish is appropriate. If they’re Christian then a “Merry Christmas” is called; if Jewish “Happy Hanukkah”; etc.

 

Applying mindfulness to this discussion we can look to the fundamental teaching of the Buddha of “Right Action.” He taught that an action, of itself, is neither good nor bad, rather that the rightness or the wrongness of an action is determined by its effects. If the action produces greater harmony, happiness, wisdom, and well-being, and relieves suffering then it is considered good. If, on the other hand, it produces disharmony, unhappiness, confusion, unhealthfulness, and creates suffering then it’s considered bad. That is the sole test, the effects of the action.

 

We can put this test to being politically correct. If we carefully and mindfully observe the effects of saying “Happy Holidays” rather than “Merry Christmas” or “Happy Hanukkah,” etc. we’ll likely observe a positive response from most people. But, there will be a few people who will be upset and show a negative response. So, for the most part greeting someone with “Happy Holidays” will increase harmony and happiness for the largest proportion of people. But, we can do better if we apply mindfulness to this situation and discern the nature of the individual before making the statement. This requires deep listening; a skill that is generally weak. In a conversation, most people are not really paying close attention to what the other people are saying. Rather, they are thinking about what they will say next and listening for a point where they can jump in and say it. But to discern the nature of the individual, it is necessary that they be listened deeply with full attention.

 

If mindfulness and deep listening reveals that the individual is Christian or Jewish, etc., then a statement of “Merry Christmas” or “Happy Hanukkah,” etc. would be good and increase harmony and happiness. It doesn’t demean your religious preference by recognizing the holiday celebrated by the other. It simply extends a wish for them to enjoy the holiday they celebrate. It would be bad to be stubborn and mindlessly stick to political correctness when it is clear that this would not be appropriate for the individual being greeted. It’s not always easy to correctly judge the individual and lacking a clear discernment it would be best to simply use “Happy Holidays.” In fact, not knowing who will be reading this essay, I’d be best advised to only use “Happy Holidays.” Keep in mind that perfection is not necessary, only that “Right Effort” is applied and the individual tries to do the best they can.

 

This argument applies also to political correctness in general. It requires mindfulness. It requires non-judgmental awareness of the circumstances, exactly who is present, and what are their characteristics. In fact, we do this all the time in social interactions. As a simple example, we discern the gender of the person in order to use the appropriate pronouns in conversation. But the sensitivity of some people to political correctness requires greater sensitivity and discernment than usual.

 

It needs to be kept in mind that conversations are not contests, with winners and losers. The goal is not to convince the other of your point of view, dominate the other, or win the discussion. There isn’t a war on anything. The mindful perspective is that the ultimate purpose is to increase harmony, happiness, wisdom, and well-being, and relieve suffering. Let this simple test guide the conversation, mindfully pay attention looking at the effects of the language being used, and in a very small way make the world a better place.

 

Happy Holidays!

 

“I had to live through controversies like the notion that I was trying to kill Christmas. Well, where’d that come from? Well, I bet he said happy holidays instead of merry Christmas. So, that must be evidence of him either not being a Christian or not caring about Christmas. . . . my advice to all of us as citizens is to be able to distinguish between being courteous and being thoughtful and thinking about how words affect other people and not demonizing others versus having legitimate political debates and disagreements.” – Barak Obama

 

CMCS – Center for Mindfulness and Contemplative Studies

 

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

 

Protect Against Mental Illness and Suicide in Gay Men with Mindfulness

psyjdc Leave a comment

Protect Against Mental Illness and Suicide in Gay Men with Mindfulness

 

By John M. de Castro, Ph.D.

 

“Mindfulness enables you to recognize just how transitory thoughts are. They come and they go, like clouds before the sun. . . Watch your suicidal thoughts as they float by. You don’t need to grab one and hold on to it. More thoughts will come. More thoughts will go.” – Stacey Freedenthal

 

The word gay connotes happy and fun loving. This descriptor of homosexual men as gay, however is inaccurate. In fact, the risk of a mental health condition, like depression, anxiety disorders, or post-traumatic stress disorder, is almost three times as high for youths and adults who identify as gay, It is troubling that suicide is attempted four times more often by gay youth. In addition, gay youth are almost twice as likely as their heterosexual peers to abuse drugs and alcohol.

 

Hence, it is important to develop resources that can reduce mental illness and suicidality in gay men. Mindfulness has been found to be associated with psychological well-being in gay men. It makes sense, then to further explore the ability of mindfulness to improve mental health and reduce suicidality in gay men.

 

In today’s Research News article “Mindfulness and Other Psycho-Social Resources Protective Against Mental Illness and Suicidality Among Gay Men.” (See summary below or view the full text of the study at: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6095030/ ), Wang and colleagues recruited gay men and had them complete measures of self-efficacy, internalized homophobia, self-acceptance, purpose in life, hedonism, altruism, religion, spirituality, mindfulness, positive affect, life satisfaction, vitality, positive relations with others, mental illness, suicidality, and victimization. These data were analyzed with sophisticated modelling and regression analyses.

 

They found that the higher the levels of mindfulness, the higher the levels of self-efficacy, purpose in life, positive emotions, life satisfaction, vitality, and positive relations with others, and the lower the levels of internalized homophobia, emotional reactivity, and rumination. They also found that gay men with higher levels of mindfulness had lower incidences of mental illness, depression, and suicidality, and less medical/ psychological disability.

 

Hence, dispositional mindfulness appears to be associated with better psychological and mental health including reduced tendency for depression and suicide. These results are encouraging but are correlational, so causation cannot be determined. But other research has shown that mindfulness causes improvements in the mental and physical states of a wide variety of individuals. And there is no reason to believe that this would also not be the case with gay men. Future research should manipulate mindfulness levels with training and assess the impact of the increased mindfulness on the psychological and mental health of the gay men.

 

So, protect against mental illness and suicide in gay men with mindfulness.

 

“Mindfulness can be a powerful tool in dealing with various mental health challenges and symptoms. Beyond breathing exercises, mindfulness means being fully aware of the facets of the body and mind. This helps in assessing intrusive thoughts and emotional reactions.” – Faith Onimiya

 

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

 

Wang, J., Häusermann, M., & Ambresin, A. E. (2018). Mindfulness and Other Psycho-Social Resources Protective Against Mental Illness and Suicidality Among Gay Men. Frontiers in psychiatry, 9, 361. doi:10.3389/fpsyt.2018.00361

 

Abstract

Background: There is considerable evidence of health disparities among gay men characterized by higher levels of stress and distress. Psycho-social resources have been linked to numerous positive health outcomes and shown to act as buffers in the stress-distress pathway.

Methods: With data from the 3rd Geneva Gay Men’s Health Survey carried out in 2011 using time-space sampling (n = 428), a relatively elaborate profile of 14 psycho-social resources—including mindfulness—is presented. Using their original scores, latent class analysis created an index variable dividing the respondents into meaningful groups. Psycho-social resources—the index variable as well as each resource individually—were then compared to two recent outcomes—i.e., serious mental illness in the past 4 weeks and short-term disability in the past 2 weeks—using a series of logistic regression models, controlling for all other psycho-social resources and socio-demographic confounders. To assess their potential role as buffers, a similar series of logistic regression models were erected using victimization and three outcomes—i.e., major depression, suicidal ideation, and suicide attempt—in the past 12 months.

Results: According to the latent class analyses, (1) 5.1% of this sample had a low level of psycho-social resources (i.e., one standard deviation (SD) below the group means), (2) 25.2% a medium-low level, (3) 47.4% a medium level (i.e., at the group means), and (4) 22.2% a high level of psycho-social resources (i.e., one SD above the group means). Psycho-social resources appeared to strongly protect against recent mental morbidity and buffer against the impact of victimization on major depression and suicidality in the past 12 months, reducing the adjusted odds ratios below statistical significance. The explained variance and the individual psycho- https://www.huffingtonpost.com/lodro-rinzler/meditation-isnt-enough-a-_b_5672580.htmlConclusions: There may be disparities in several psycho-social resources among gay men, and as strong compensatory and protective factors, they may explain in part the well-established disparities in stress and distress in this population. While multiple psycho-social resources should be promoted in this population, gay men under 25 years should receive particular attention as all three disparities are most pronounced in this age group.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6095030/

 

Improve Mental Health with Yoga Nidra and Meditation

psyjdc Leave a comment

Improve Mental Health with Yoga Nidra and Meditation

 

By John M. de Castro, Ph.D.

 

“Yoga nidra promotes deep rest and relaxation that isn’t found in your average meditation practice. The stages of body scan and breath awareness alone can be practiced to calm the nervous system, leading to less stress and better health.” – Allison Ray Jeraci

 

“Meditation leads to concentration, concentration leads to understanding, and understanding leads to happiness” – This wonderful quote from the modern-day sage Thich Nhat Hahn is a beautiful pithy description of the benefits of meditation practice. Meditation allows us to view our experience and not put labels on it, not make assumptions about it, not relate it to past experiences, and not project it into the future. Rather meditation lets us experience everything around and within us exactly as it is arising and falling away from moment to moment.

 

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. Meditation techniques have common properties of restful attention on the present moment, but there are large differences. These differences are likely to produce different effects on the practitioner. Yoga Nidra is a deep relaxation technique where the practitioner lies on the back in a “corpse pose” and is guided through body scan and imagery into a deeply relaxed state. Meditation involves a more active and concentrated process on the part of the practitioner but also leads to relaxation. It is not known if these two different contemplative techniques have different effects on psychological health.

 

In today’s Research News article “The Impact of Yoga Nidra and Seated Meditation on the Mental Health of College Professors.” (See summary below or view the full text of the study at: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6134749/ ), Ferreira-Vorkapic and colleagues recruited healthy adults and randomly assigned them to either practice Yoga Nidra of meditation for 3 months, once a week for 45 minutes, or to a wait-list control. They were measured before and after training for anxiety, depression, fear, and perceived stress.

 

They found that in comparison to baseline and the wait-list control group, the participants who practiced either Yoga Nidra or meditation had significant reductions in anxiety, depression, fear, and perceived stress. There were no significant differences between the contemplative techniques on any of the measure of psychological health. Hence, the techniques would appear to be equally effective in improving the psychological state of the participants.

 

It should be mentioned that since the control condition did not receive any treatment and both treated groups had significant effects, that a subject expectancy (placebo effect), attention, of experimenter bias effects may account for the improvements. It is also possible that the techniques may produce different effects on variable that were not measured, as only negative mood states were measured and a variety of contemplative techniques have been shown to reduce anxiety, depression, fear, and perceived stress. Regardless, the present study demonstrates that the contemplative techniques of Yoga Nidra and meditation are effective in improving the psychological states of the practitioners.

 

So, improve mental health with Yoga Nidra and meditation.

 

“As you can imagine, feeling well rested is life changing, but yoga nidra also improves your overall health. A 2013 study showed that practicing yoga nidra improved anxiety, depression, and overall well-being.” – Karen Brody

 

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

 

Ferreira-Vorkapic, C., Borba-Pinheiro, C. J., Marchioro, M., & Santana, D. (2018). The Impact of Yoga Nidra and Seated Meditation on the Mental Health of College Professors. International journal of yoga, 11(3), 215-223.

 

Abstract

Background:

World statistics for the prevalence of anxiety and mood disorders shows that a great number of individuals will experience some type of anxiety or mood disorder at some point in their lifetime. Mind–body interventions such as Hatha Yoga and seated meditation have been used as a form of self-help therapy and it is especially useful for challenging occupations such as teachers and professors.

Aims:

In this investigation, we aimed at observing the impact of Yoga Nidra and seated meditation on the anxiety and depression levels of college professors.

Materials and Methods:

Sixty college professors, men and women, aged between 30 and 55 years were randomly allocated in one of the three experimental groups: Yoga Nidra, seated meditation, and control group. Professors were evaluated two times throughout the 3-month study period. Psychological variables included anxiety, stress, and depression.

Results:

Data analysis showed that the relaxation group presented better intragroup results in the anxiety levels. Meditation group presented better intragroup results only in the anxiety variable (physical component). Intergroup analysis showed that, except for the depression levels, both intervention groups presented better results than the control group in all other variables.

Conclusions:

Prepost results indicate that both interventions represent an effective therapeutic approach in reducing anxiety and stress levels. However, there was a tendency toward a greater effectiveness of the Yoga Nidraintervention regarding anxiety, which might represent an effective tool in reducing both cognitive and physiological symptoms of anxiety.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6134749/

 

Improve Autonomic Function, Metabolism, and Physical Fitness with Tai Chi

psyjdc Leave a comment

Improve Autonomic Function, Metabolism, and Physical Fitness with Tai Chi

 

By John M. de Castro, Ph.D.

 

“Qigong and Tai Chi initiate the “relaxation response,” which is fostered when the mind is freed from its many distractions. This decreases the sympathetic function of the autonomic nervous system, which in turn reduces heart rate and blood pressure, dilates the blood capillaries, and optimizes the delivery of oxygen and nutrition to the tissues.”

 

Tai Chi has been practiced for thousands of years with benefits for health and longevity. Tai Chi training is designed to enhance function and regulate the activities of the body through regulated breathing, mindful concentration, and gentle movements. Only recently though have the effects of Tai Chi practice been scrutinized with empirical research. It has been found to be effective for an array of physical and psychological issues. It appears to strengthen the immune system, reduce inflammation, increase the number of cancer killing cells in the bloodstream and improve cardiovascular function.

 

Because Tai Chi is not strenuous, involving slow gentle movements, and is safe, having no appreciable side effects, it is appropriate for all ages including the elderly and for individuals with illnesses that limit their activities or range of motion. So, with indications of so many benefits it makes sense to explore further the effects of Tai Chi training on physical and psychological well-being.

 

In today’s Research News article “Effect of Tai Chi Synergy T1 Exercise on Autonomic Function, Metabolism, and Physical Fitness of Healthy Individuals.” (See summary below or view the full text of the study at: https://www.hindawi.com/journals/ecam/2018/6351938/ ), Tai and colleagues recruited adults and randomly assigned them to either participate in 12 weeks, once a week for 60 minutes, of either Tai Chi synergy T1 exercise or a metabolically equivalent walking exercise. “Tai Chi synergy T1 exercise is an aerobic exercise composed of movements derived not only from Tai Chi exercise but also from Eight Trigrams Palms, form and will boxing, mantis boxing, Qigong, and Yoga . . . The 60-minute exercise involves 4 exercise elements: handwork, trunk work, legwork, and whole-body work. The 3 levels of exercise intensity, light, average, and heavy, are adjusted according to the tolerance and fitness of the exerciser.” The participants were measured before and after the 12 weeks of training for body size and fatness, heart rate and blood pressure, serum glucose and cholesterol, physical fitness, bone density, and cell counts of immune regulator cells, including T cells, CD3+ cells, CD19+ B cells, CD16-CD56- cytotoxic T cells, and CD16+CD56+ NK/T cells.

 

They found that both exercises decreased the Body Mass Index (BMI) indicating decreased body fatness and also increased parasympathetic control of heart rate and blood pressure suggesting reduced activation and greater relaxation. Tai Chi synergy T1 exercise, but not walking, was found to significantly improve physical fitness and reduce blood levels of glucose and cholesterol. Tai Chi synergy T1 exercise was also found to improve immune system function as indicated by significantly increased T cells, CD3+ T cells, CD19+ B cells, and CD16+CD56+NK cells and significantly decreased CD3+ cytotoxic T cells.

 

These results are impressive especially as the group sizes were relatively small, 26 and 23 participants. They suggest that Tai Chi synergy T1 exercise is safe and effective in improving the physical health of participants; improving body fatness, physiological relaxation, physical fitness, and immune system function. Metabolically equivalent walking exercise also improved physical health, but not to the same extent as Tai Chi synergy T1 exercise.

 

It is well established that exercise is important for health. There’s no question there. There is, however, a question as to what exercises may be best for which group of people. Tai Chi and similar mindful movement exercises have been shown to improve cardiovascular fitness, muscle recovery after exercise, movement and flexibility, and immune and metabolic function. The present study demonstrated that a particular form of augmented Tai Chi is very effective in improving health. It would be interesting to compare the effectgiveness of various forms of mindful movement prctices.

 

So, improve autonomic function, metabolism, and physical fitness with Tai Chi.

 

“Qigong practice activate a number of the body’s self regulating systems which are responsible for the balanced function of the tissues, organs and glands. The uptake of oxygen, as well as, oxygen metabolism is tremendously enhanced by Qigong practice.” – Roger Jahnke

 

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

 

Hsu-Chih Tai, Yi-Sheng Chou, I-Shiang Tzeng, et al., “Effect of Tai Chi Synergy T1 Exercise on Autonomic Function, Metabolism, and Physical Fitness of Healthy Individuals,” Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine, vol. 2018, Article ID 6351938, 7 pages, 2018. https://doi.org/10.1155/2018/6351938.

 

Abstract

Objectives. Tai Chi synergy T1 exercise is an aerobic exercise derived mainly from Tai Chi exercise. It is also derived from the Eight Trigrams Palms, form and will boxing, mantis boxing, Qigong, and Yoga, with a total of 16 sessions in 63 minutes. In this study, we investigated its effects on autonomic modulation, metabolism, immunity, and physical function in healthy practitioners. Method. We recruited a total of 26 volunteers and 23 control participants. Heart rate variability (HRV), blood pressure, and body mass index (BMI) were recorded before and after practicing Tai Chi synergy T1 exercise and regular walking for 10 weeks, respectively. Serum glucose, cholesterol, and peripheral blood including B and T cell counts were also measured. They underwent one-minute bent-knee sit-ups, sit and reach test, and three-minute gradual step test. Results. Tai Chi synergy T1 exercise enhanced parasympathetic modulation and attenuated sympathetic nerve control with increased very low frequency (VLF) and high frequency (HF) but decreased low frequency (LF) compared to the control group. Metabolic profiles including serum glucose, cholesterol, and BMI significantly improved after exercise. The exercise enhanced innate and adaptive immunity by increasing the counts of CD3+ T cells, CD19+ B cells, and CD16+CD56+ NK cells but decreasing the CD3+ cytotoxic T cell count. All monitored parameters including physical fitness and physical strength improved after the exercise. Conclusion. Tai Chi synergy T1 exercise improves autonomic modulation, body metabolism, physical fitness, and physical strength after 10 weeks of practice.

https://www.hindawi.com/journals/ecam/2018/6351938/

 

Improve Adolescent’s Self-Compassion and Reduce Emotional Eating with Mindful Parenting

psyjdc Leave a comment

Improve Adolescent’s Self-Compassion and Reduce Emotional Eating with Mindful Parenting

 

By John M. de Castro, Ph.D.

 

“Interestingly, parents who simply had higher trait mindfulness did not see significantly better outcomes for their kids, suggesting that being mindful and being a mindful parent may be two different things.” – Jill Suttie

 

Raising children, parenting, is very rewarding, but it can also be challenging. Children test parents frequently. They test the boundaries of their freedom and the depth of parental love. These challenges require that the parents be able to deal with stress, to regulate their own emotions, and to be sensitive and attentive their child. These skills are exactly those that are developed in mindfulness training. It improves the psychological and physiological responses to stress. It improves emotion regulation. It improves the ability to maintain attention and focus in the face of high levels of distraction. Mindful parenting involves the parents having emotional awareness of themselves and compassion for the child and having the skills to pay full attention to the child in the present moment, to accept parenting non-judgmentally and be emotionally non-reactive to the child.

 

Obesity has become an epidemic in the industrialized world. In the U.S. the incidence of obesity, defined as a Body Mass Index (BMI) of 30 or above has more than doubled over the last 35 years to currently around 35% of the population, while two thirds of the population are considered overweight or obese (BMI > 25). Sadly, children and adolescents have not been spared with 1 in 5 school age children and young people (6 to 19 years) classified as obese. This can be particularly troubling to adolescents who are very sensitive regarding their bodies and appearance and can be the victim of ridicule or shaming by peers.

 

One helpful method to reduce intake and help to control body weight is mindful eating. It involves paying attention to eating while it is occurring, including attention to the sight, smell, flavors, and textures of food, to the process of chewing and may help reduce intake. Indeed, high levels of mindfulness are associated with lower levels of obesity and mindfulness training has been shown to reduce binge eating, emotional eating, and external eating. In addition, mindfulness has been shown to improve the individual’s ability to respond adaptively to emotions. Hence, mindfulness may be an antidote to emotional eating. It is not known if mindful parenting can reduce emotional eating in adolescents.

 

In today’s Research News article “Is Mindful Parenting Associated With Adolescents’ Emotional Eating? The Mediating Role of Adolescents’ Self-Compassion and Body Shame.” (See summary below or view the full text of the study at: https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2018.02004/full?utm_source=F-AAE&utm_medium=EMLF&utm_campaign=MRK_812127_69_Psycho_20181030_arts_A ), Gouveia and colleagues recruited parent-adolescent dyads of mother or father and their 12-18 year old adolescent. The parents were measured for body size and mindful parenting. The adolescents were measured for body size, self-compassion, body shame, and emotional eating. The dyads were separated based upon the Body Mass Index (BMI) of the adolescents into normal weight and overweight and obese (BMI > 85th percentile) groups. They then performed a regression analysis of the data.

 

They found that the best fitting model of the data indicated that mindful parenting of the adolescents by the parents was associated indirectly with reduced emotional eating by the adolescents. The indirect path indicated that mindful parenting was associated with increased adolescent self-compassion which was in turn associated both with reduced emotional eating and reduced feelings of shame concerning their bodies which in turn was associated with reduced emotional eating. They also found that the facet of mindful parenting that was most associated with the benefits was the parents’ compassion for the child.

 

These results are correlational, so no conclusions regarding causation can be inferred. The results, however, are suggestive that the parents’ compassion for the child affects the child’s feelings of compassion toward itself which helps the child overcome feeling of shame about its body, all of which contribute to reduced eating in response to emotions. It remains for future research to determine if promoting parental compassion toward the adolescent may cause positive change in the adolescent, improving self-compassion, reducing body shame, and in turn reducing emotional eating.

 

So, improve adolescent’s self-compassion and reduce emotional eating with mindful parenting.

 

“Mindful parenting means that you bring your conscious attention to what’s happening, instead of getting hijacked by your emotions. . . It’s about accepting whatever is going on, rather than trying to change it or ignore it. Being a mindful parent means that you pay attention to what you’re feeling. It does not mean that you will not get angry or upset. Of course you will feel negative emotions, but acting on them mindlessly is what compromises our parenting.” – Parent Co

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

 

Gouveia MJ, Canavarro MC and Moreira H (2018) Is Mindful Parenting Associated With Adolescents’ Emotional Eating? The Mediating Role of Adolescents’ Self-Compassion and Body Shame. Front. Psychol. 9:2004. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2018.02004

 

This study aimed to explore whether parents’ mindful parenting skills were associated with adolescents’ emotional eating through adolescents’ levels of self-compassion and body shame. The sample included 572 dyads composed of a mother or a father and his/her child (12–18 years old), with normal weight (BMI = 5–85th percentile) or with overweight/obesity with or without nutritional treatment (BMI ≥ 85th percentile) according to the WHO Child Growth Standards. Parents completed self-report measures of mindful parenting (Interpersonal Mindfulness in Parenting Scale), and adolescents completed measures of self-compassion (Self-Compassion Scale-Short Form), body shame (Experience of Shame Scale), and emotional eating (Dutch Eating Behavior Questionnaire). Two path models, one with the total score for mindful parenting and the other with its dimensions, were tested in AMOS. Mindful parenting, specifically the dimension of compassion for the child, was indirectly associated with emotional eating through adolescents’ self-compassion (point estimate = −0.27, p = 0.03, CI 95% [−0.61, −0.06]) and through self-compassion and body shame sequentially (point estimate = −0.19, p = 0.03, CI 95% [−0.37, −0.05]). The path model was invariant across weight groups but not across adolescents’ sex (the indirect effects were significant among girls only). This study provides a novel comprehensive model of how mindful parenting, especially the dimension of compassion for the child, can be associated with adolescents’ emotional eating behaviors by suggesting a potential sequence of mechanisms that may explain this association. This study suggests the beneficial effect of both mindful parenting and adolescents’ self-compassion skills for adolescent girls struggling with feelings of body shame and emotional eating behaviors.

https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2018.02004/full?utm_source=F-AAE&utm_medium=EMLF&utm_campaign=MRK_812127_69_Psycho_20181030_arts_A

 

Reduce Psychological Distress Levels of Prison Inmates with Yoga

psyjdc Leave a comment

Reduce Psychological Distress Levels of Prison Inmates with Yoga

 

By John M. de Castro, Ph.D.

 

“Ninety percent of the prison population will be released, and if we provide people with skills to reinforce the deeper good in their nature and their stronger, better selves while they are in prison, they will take that with them.” – Kath Meadows

 

Around 2 ¼ million people are incarcerated in the United States. Even though prisons are euphemistically labelled correctional facilities very little correction actually occurs. This is supported by the rates of recidivism. About three quarters of prisoners who are released commit crimes and are sent back to prison within 5-years. The lack of actual treatment for the prisoners leaves them ill equipped to engage positively in society either inside or outside of prison. Hence, there is a need for effective treatment programs that help the prisoners while in prison and prepares them for life outside the prison.

 

Contemplative practices are well suited to the prison environment. Mindfulness training teaches skills that may be very important for prisoners. In particular, it puts the practitioner in touch with their own bodies and feelings. It improves present moment awareness and helps to overcome rumination about the past and negative thinking about the future. It’s been shown to be useful in the treatment of the effects of trauma and attention deficit disorder. It also relieves stress and improves overall health and well-being. Finally, mindfulness training has been shown to be effective in treating depression, anxiety, and anger. It has also been shown to help overcome trauma in male prisoners.

 

Yoga practice, because of its mindfulness plus physical exercise characteristics, would seem to be ideal for the needs of an incarcerated population. Indeed, it has been shown to be beneficial for prisoners. In today’s Research News article “Yoga Practice Reduces the Psychological Distress Levels of Prison Inmates.” (See summary below or view the full text of the study at: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6129942/ ), Sfendla and colleagues recruited adult male and female prison inmates and randomly assigned them to either engage in 10 weeks, once a week for 90 minutes, of hatha yoga practice or free choice exercise, including gym, walking, basketball, or football. They were measured before and after training for anxiety, depression, interpersonal sensitivity, hostility, obsessive-compulsive, psychoticism, paranoid ideation, phobic anxiety, and somatization.

 

They report that the yoga group significantly improved in global psychological symptoms and on each of the symptom dimensions. The exercise group also improved in global severity and all symptom dimensions except obsessive-compulsive, phobic anxiety, and somatization. In all cases the degree of improvement was greater in the yoga practice group and in the cases of obsessive-compulsive, phobic anxiety, and somatization the differences were statistically significant.

 

Hence, exercise in general and especially yoga practice significantly improved psychological distress levels in prison inmates. These results are particularly important as the yoga practice effects were compared to an appropriate active control condition. The results suggest that practicing yoga while in prison may improve the mental health of the prisoners and better prepare them for returning to society. It remains for future research to determine is the benefits are lasting or only occur in the immediate aftermath of training.

 

So, reduce psychological distress levels of prison inmates with yoga.

 

“We’ve got two and a quarter million people who are incarcerated and a 60 percent recidivism rate. That’s a dismal failure. So while we’ve got them, I think we should be allocating resources to give them the tools so that they don’t come back to prison.” – Jessica Rizzo

 

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

Sfendla, A., Malmström, P., Torstensson, S., & Kerekes, N. (2018). Yoga Practice Reduces the Psychological Distress Levels of Prison Inmates. Frontiers in psychiatry, 9, 407. doi:10.3389/fpsyt.2018.00407

Abstract

Background: Psychiatric ill-health is prevalent among prison inmates and often hampers their rehabilitation. Rehabilitation is crucial for reducing recidivistic offending. A few studies have presented evidence of the positive effect of yoga on the well-being of prison inmates. The conclusion of those previous studies that yoga is an effective method in the rehabilitation process of inmates, and deserves and requires further attention.

Aims: The current study aimed to evaluate the effect of 10 weeks of yoga practice on the mental health profile, operationalized in the form of psychological distress, of inmates.

Methods: One hundred and fifty-two volunteer participants (133 men; 19 women) were randomly placed in either of two groups: to participate in weekly 90-min yoga class (yoga group) or a weekly 90-min free-choice physical exercise (control group). The study period lasted for 10 weeks. Prior to and at the end of the study period the participants completed a battery of self-reported inventories, including the Brief Symptom Inventory (BSI).

Results: Physical activity (including yoga) significantly reduced the inmates’ levels of psychological distress. Yoga practice improved all primary symptom dimensions and its positive effect on the obsessive-compulsive, paranoid ideation, and somatization symptom dimensions of the BSI stayed significant even when comparing with the control group.

Conclusions: Yoga as a form of physical activity is effective for reducing psychological distress levels in prison inmates, with specific effect on symptoms such as suspicious and fearful thoughts about losing autonomy, memory problems, difficulty in making decisions, trouble concentrating, obsessive thought, and perception of bodily dysfunction.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6129942/

Reduce Psychological Distress and Improve Emotion Regulation with Online Mindfulness Training

psyjdc Leave a comment

Reduce Psychological Distress and Improve Emotion Regulation with Online Mindfulness Training

 

By John M. de Castro, Ph.D.

 

“Mindful emotion regulation represents the capacity to remain mindfully aware at all times, irrespective of the apparent valence or magnitude of any emotion that is experienced. It does not entail suppression of the emotional experience, nor any specific attempts to reappraise or alter it in any way. Instead, MM involves a systematic retraining of awareness and nonreactivity, leading to defusion from whatever is experienced, and allowing the individual to more consciously choose those thoughts, emotions and sensations they will identify with, rather than habitually reacting to them.” – Richard Chambers

 

Mindfulness training has been shown through extensive research to be effective in improving physical and psychological health and particularly with the physical and psychological reactions to stress. The vast majority of the mindfulness training techniques, however, require a certified trained therapist. This results in costs that many clients can’t afford. In addition, the participants must be available to attend multiple sessions at particular scheduled times that may or may not be compatible with their busy schedules and at locations that may not be convenient. As an alternative, online mindfulness training programs have been developed. These have tremendous advantages in decreasing costs, making training schedules much more flexible, and eliminating the need to go repeatedly to specific locations. There is a need to investigate the effectiveness of these programs as an alternative to face-to-face trainings.

 

In today’s Research News article “Effectiveness of Online Mindfulness-Based Interventions on Psychological Distress and the Mediating Role of Emotion Regulation.” (See summary below or view the full text of the study at: https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2018.02090/full?utm_source=F-AAE&utm_medium=EMLF&utm_campaign=MRK_820262_69_Psycho_20181108_arts_A ), Ma and colleagues recruited adult participants over the web and randomly assigned them to 4 different online groups; group mindfulness-based intervention, self-direct mindfulness-based intervention, discussion group, and blank control group.

 

The group mindfulness-based intervention was similar to Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT) and included homework, meditation, body scan, yoga, and cognitive therapy. It was delivered over 8 weeks in 8, 2-hour, sessions including a 40-minute mindfulness practice and group online discussion. The self-direct mindfulness-based intervention condition was the same as the group mindfulness-based intervention except that there were no group discussions. The discussion group met online and discussed emotions including “positive and negative events, stress, and interpersonal communications, as well as how the participants perceived their psychological distress such as stress, anxiety, and depression symptoms, and how they dealt with their emotional problems.” The blank control group was a wait-list group that received no treatment. All participants were measured before and after the 8 weeks of training for mindfulness, emotion regulation, anxiety, and depression.

 

They found that in comparison to baseline the group mindfulness-based intervention and self-direct mindfulness-based intervention groups had large significant increases in mindfulness and emotion regulation and decreases in anxiety and depression. The group mindfulness-based intervention group generally produced larger effects than the self-direct mindfulness-based intervention group. They also found that the higher the levels of mindfulness the higher the levels of emotion regulation and the lower the levels of anxiety and depression and that the higher the levels of emotion regulation the lower the levels of anxiety and depression.

 

Previous research using face-to-face mindfulness training has demonstrated that mindfulness improves emotion regulation, anxiety and depression. The contribution of the present study is demonstrating that similar benefits can be produced by online mindfulness training, especially when group discussion is included. The group discussions are generally included in the face-to-face mindfulness trainings including Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT) and Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR). So, it would appear that being able to share and discuss experiences with other participants is important in producing maximum benefits of the trainings but it doesn’t matter if they occur face-to-face or online.

 

So, reduce psychological distress and improve emotion regulation with online mindfulness training.

 

“both face-to-face and internet-based mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT) reduced psychological distress compared with usual care.” – Matthew Stenger

 

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

 

Ma Y, She Z, Siu AF-Y, Zeng X and Liu X (2018) Effectiveness of Online Mindfulness-Based Interventions on Psychological Distress and the Mediating Role of Emotion Regulation. Front. Psychol. 9:2090. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2018.02090

 

Online mindfulness-based intervention as a feasible and acceptable approach has received mounting attention in recent years, yet more evidence is needed to demonstrate its effectiveness. The primary objective of this study was to examine the effects of online mindfulness-based programs on psychological distress (depression and anxiety). The randomized controlled intervention design consisted of four conditions: group mindfulness-based intervention (GMBI), self-direct mindfulness-based intervention (SDMBI), discussion group (DG) and blank control group (BCG). The program lasted 8 weeks and a total of 76 participants completed the pre- and post-test. Results showed that participants in GMBI and SDMBI had significant pre- and post-test differences on mindfulness, emotion regulation difficulties, and psychological distress, with medium to large effect sizes. In addition, ANCOVA results indicated significant effects of group membership on post-test scores of mindfulness, depression and anxiety when controlling the pretest scores, with medium to large effect sizes. The GMBI appeared to exert the greatest effects on outcome variables in comparison with other groups. In addition, changes in emotion regulation difficulties across groups could mediate the relationship between changes in mindfulness dimensions (Observing and Describing) and changes in psychological distress across groups. These results provided encouraging evidence for the effectiveness of online mindfulness-based interventions in reducing psychological distress, and the possible mediating role of emotion regulation, while also underlining the importance of group discussion in online mindfulness-based interventions.

https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2018.02090/full?utm_source=F-AAE&utm_medium=EMLF&utm_campaign=MRK_820262_69_Psycho_20181108_arts_A

 

 

Improve Physical and Psychological Well-Being in Head and Neck Cancer Survivors with Yoga

psyjdc Leave a comment

Improve Physical and Psychological Well-Being in Head and Neck Cancer Survivors with Yoga

 

By John M. de Castro, Ph.D.

 

“Many people living with cancer find a sense of peace participating in yoga, an ancient practice combining breathing, relaxation and meditation exercises. Those that practice yoga may find their quality of life improve and gain a renewed sense of belonging.” – CancerCare

 

Receiving a diagnosis of cancer has a huge impact on most people. Feelings of depression, anxiety, and fear are very common and are normal responses to this life-changing and potentially life-ending experience. These feeling can result from changes in body image, changes to family and work roles, feelings of grief at these losses, and physical symptoms such as pain, nausea, or fatigue. People might also fear death, suffering, pain, or all the unknown things that lie ahead. So, coping with the emotions and stress of a cancer diagnosis is a challenge and there are no simple treatments for these psychological sequelae of cancer diagnosis.

 

Mindfulness training has been shown to help with cancer recovery and help to alleviate many of the residual physical and psychological symptoms, including stress,  sleep disturbance, and anxiety and depression. Yoga practice is a form of mindfulness training that has been shown to be beneficial for cancer patients. Patients recovering from surgery for head and neck cancer often face substantial musculoskeletal impairments especially in the jaw, neck, shoulders, and chest. Yoga practice, then may be especially helpful for these patients as it combines the benefits of a mindfulness practice with those of a gentle exercise.

 

In today’s Research News article “Feasibility and Preliminary Efficacy of Tailored Yoga in Survivors of Head and Neck Cancer: A Pilot Study.” (See summary below or view the full text of the study at: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6142084/ ), Adair and colleagues recruited adult survivors of head and neck cancer who were at least 3 months post-treatment. They were randomly assigned to either be on a wait list or receive Hatha yoga training, including breathing exercises, meditation, relaxation, and poses adapted to the needs of the patient. Yoga practice occurred for 90 minutes for 8 weeks 3 times per week for the first 4 weeks and 2 times a week for the second 4 weeks. They were also encouraged to practice at home. They were measured before, during, and after treatment for range of motion, posture, head and neck symptoms, pain, anxiety, depression, and quality of life. They also completed a questionnaire regarding the feasibility and acceptability of the yoga practice.

 

They found that there were no adverse events and there was very high compliance with both the guided and home practice sessions and the participants found the practice to be highly satisfactory. Hence, the technique appears to be feasible for a larger study. But, they still were able to document efficacy. They found in comparison to baseline and the wait-list group that there were significant improvements in range of motion, especially in the shoulder region, and decreases in both anxiety and pain.

 

This was a pilot study that was designed to simply determine feasibility for a larger trial. But, it was still able to demonstrate that the tailored yoga practice produced significant improvements in the physical and psychological well-being of the survivors of head and neck cancer. Hence, tailored yoga practice may well be a safe and effective treatment reducing the suffering and improving the lives of head and neck cancer patients.

 

So, improve physical and psychological well-being in head and neck cancer survivors with yoga.

 

“Yoga for cancer patients—what better way to manage anxiety, gain strength, increase flexibility, and create feelings of well-being. A growing body of research points to the potential of yoga for supporting cancer patients, both during and after treatment.” – Tari Prinster

 

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

 

Adair, M., Murphy, B., Yarlagadda, S., Deng, J., Dietrich, M. S., & Ridner, S. H. (2018). Feasibility and Preliminary Efficacy of Tailored Yoga in Survivors of Head and Neck Cancer: A Pilot Study. Integrative cancer therapies, 17(3), 774-784.

 

Purpose: Treatment for head and neck cancer (HNC) results in long-term toxicities and increased physical and psychosocial survivor burden. There are a limited number of treatments for these late effects. Yoga postures, breath work, relaxation, and meditation, may improve these late effects. The purpose of this study was to examine the feasibility of a tailored yoga program in HNC survivors and obtain preliminary efficacy data. Methods: This was a randomized wait-list control study of yoga-naive HNC survivors who were >3 months post–cancer treatment. Baseline data were collected. Participants were randomized to either an 8-week hatha yoga intervention group or a wait-list group. Feasibility and efficacy data were collected. At 4 and 8 weeks, patients underwent a repeat assessment of health. Wait-list control group participants were offered the yoga program after data collection. Descriptive statistics evaluated feasibility. Mixed effects general linear models were used to generate estimates of the efficacy outcomes. Results: Seventy-three individuals were screened and 40 were eligible. All eligible individuals consented and enrolled. Five of the intervention group discontinued early and none in the wait-list control group. Feasibility was affirmed as participants were recruited and retained in the study, there were no adverse events, fidelity to protocol was demonstrated, and satisfaction rates were high. Efficacy measures indicated potential benefit for shoulder range of motion (d = 0.57-0.86, P < .05), pain (d = 0.67-0.90, P ≤ .005), and anxiety (d = 0.59, P = .015). Conclusion: A tailored hatha yoga program is feasible and potentially efficacious for HNC survivors. Preliminary data supports further investigation of yoga in this population is needed.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6142084/