Effects of an 8-week intervention of anulom vilom pranayama combined with heartfulness meditation on psychological stress, autonomic function, inflammatory biomarkers, and oxidative stress in healthcare workers during COVID-19 pandemic: a randomized controlled trial.
Journal of basic and clinical physiology and pharmacology July 1, 2024 Vivek Kumar Sharma, Pradip B Barde, Rajesh Kathrotia et al. 5 citations
An 8-week program combining anulom vilom pranayama and heartfulness meditation reduced cardiovascular measures (heart rate, blood pressure, mean arterial pressure, rate pressure product), perceived stress, depression, and stress scores in nurses who were health-care workers during the COVID-19 pandemic. The intervention also shifted autonomic balance toward parasympathetic dominance, indicated by changes in heart rate variability parameters (total power, low-frequency to high-frequency ratio, and NN50 count). Serum cortisol, high-sensitivity C-reactive protein, tumor necrosis factor-alpha, interleukin-1, interleukin-6, and telomerase all decreased. The program may help curtail stress and improve well-being in this population.