PloS one
January 1, 2023
Marco Schlosser, Harriet Demnitz-King, Thorsten Barnhofer et al.
13 citations
Older adults with subjective cognitive decline (SCD) recruited from memory clinics are at higher risk for dementia and often have reduced well-being due to memory concerns and fear of dementia. A randomized trial compared an 8-week caring mindfulness-based approach for seniors (CMBAS) with a health self-management program (HSMP) in 147 participants. The mindfulness program showed a small advantage over HSMP in improving a sense of connection immediately after the intervention. However, overall psychological well-being, quality of life, and other composite measures did not increase in either group. The findings suggest that these brief non-pharmacological interventions had only limited effects on well-being in SCD.
Psychologica Belgica
January 1, 2023
Florence Requier, Harriet Demnitz-King, Tim Whitfield et al.
12 citations
Meditation-based interventions reduce fatigue in people with chronic diseases, with a moderate overall effect (g = 0.62). The benefit is larger when meditation is compared against no treatment (passive control, g = 0.83) than against other active treatments. The review included 34 randomized controlled trials covering six conditions, mostly cancer (68%). Evidence suggests meditation is a useful non-pharmacological approach for pathological fatigue, though more studies are needed to clarify effects by meditation type, condition, and fatigue type (physical vs. mental).
Sci Rep
November 27, 2024
Sacha Haudry, Anne-Laure Turpin, Brigitte Landeau et al.
3 citations
Expert meditators show preserved brain structure and better psycho-affective health compared to meditation-naive older adults, suggesting that long-term meditation practice may protect against age-related decline. The study examined older expert meditators and older meditation-naive participants, finding that the expert group had greater brain preservation and more favorable psycho-affective profiles. These results indicate that meditation could be a protective factor for brain and mental health in aging.
Scientific reports
May 15, 2025
Florence Requier, Hamed Mohammadi, Harriet Demnitz-King et al.
Expert meditators in older age reported less external distraction and performed better on memory tasks compared to non-meditators, while no differences were found in attention, executive function, or global cognitive scores. These cross-sectional findings from 135 non-meditators and 27 expert meditators suggest that prolonged meditation practice may help preserve memory and manage distractions, two cognitive capacities important for healthy aging.