Impact of Heartfulness meditation practice on anxiety, perceived stress, well-being, and telomere length.
Mansee Thakur, Yogesh Patil, Sanjana T Philip, Tahreem Hamdule, Jayaram Thimmapuram, Nishant Vyas, Kapil Thakur
Frontiers in psychology January 1, 2023 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1158760 via PubMed
Summary
AI-generated from the abstractA 3-month randomized trial with 100 healthy adults aged 18-24 found that practicing Heartfulness meditation significantly reduced cortisol levels and anxiety, while increasing well-being and mindfulness as measured by standard questionnaires. Perceived stress decreased but not significantly. Telomere length correlated negatively with cortisol and positively with well-being, suggesting meditation may slow cellular aging. The authors conclude Heartfulness meditation can improve mental health and affect telomere length, though larger studies are needed to confirm.
Study at a glance
| Characteristics | Randomized controlled trial Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 100 |
| Population | Healthy individuals aged 18-24 |
| Intervention | Heartfulness meditation |
| Duration | 03 months |
| Topics | Anxiety |
| Keywords | Heartfulness meditation Rt-pcr Cortisol Stress |
| Citations | 27 |
| Key finding | Heartfulness meditation practice significantly reduced cortisol levels and anxiety, increased well-being and mindfulness, and was associated with longer telomere length. |
Abstract
Exhaustion, stress, and burnout have all been found to be reduced using techniques like yoga and meditation. This study was carried out to check the effectiveness of Heartfulness practice (a form of meditation) on certain psychological and genetic variables. A total of 100 healthy individuals (aged 18-24) were recruited and randomized into two groups-Heartfulness intervention and control group. The intervention was carried out for 03 months. Participants from both groups were analysed for their cortisol levels and telomere length before and after the intervention. Psychometric measures of anxiety, perceived stress, well-being and mindfulness were carried out using Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI), Perceived Stress Scale (PSS), WHO-Well-being Index (WHO-WBI) and Five Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire (FFMQ). The cortisol levels in the meditators group significantly decreased (p 0.05). Anxiety and perceived stress also decreased post intervention, and well-being as well as mindfulness increased, as assessed by the questionnaire tools, although the decrease in perceived stress was statistically insignificant (p > 0.05). A negative correlation was observed between telomere length and cortisol (stress biomarker), whereas a positive correlation was found between telomere length and well-being. Our data provide evidence that Heartfulness meditation practice can improve our mental health. Additionally, telomere length is shown to be affected by cortisol levels, and this meditation practice can also help to increase telomere length, and thereby slow down cellular aging. However, future studies with larger sample size are required to confirm our observations.