Impact of Heartfulness meditation practice on anxiety, perceived stress, well-being, and telomere length.
Frontiers in psychology – January 01, 2023
Source: PubMed
Summary
Heartfulness meditation significantly reduces anxiety and stress while enhancing well-being and mindfulness. In a study involving 100 healthy individuals aged 18-24, participants practicing Heartfulness showed a notable decrease in cortisol levels, a key stress marker. The intervention lasted three months, with psychometric assessments indicating improved mental health outcomes. Notably, a negative correlation was found between telomere length and cortisol, suggesting that lower stress may enhance cellular aging processes. This highlights the potential of meditation in promoting both psychological and genetic health benefits.
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.