Breathing‐Based Meditation Decreases Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Symptoms in U.S. Military Veterans: A Randomized Controlled Longitudinal Study
Journal of Traumatic Stress August 1, 2014 Emma Seppälä, Jack B. Nitschke, Dana Tudorascu et al. 180 citations
A breathing-based meditation called Sudarshan Kriya yoga reduced posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms, anxiety, and respiration rate in male U.S. veterans of the Iraq or Afghanistan wars. Twenty-one veterans were randomly assigned to either the active meditation group or a waitlist control group. The active group showed large reductions in PTSD scores and anxiety symptoms, while the control group did not. Reductions in startle response correlated with reduced hyperarousal symptoms immediately after the intervention and at one-year follow-up. The findings suggest Sudarshan Kriya yoga may be a useful alternative treatment for PTSD.