Yoga can help keep expectant mothers stress free: First evidence found

April 30, 2014

Science Daily/Manchester University

The effects of yoga on pregnant women has been studied, with results showing that it can reduce the risk of anxiety and depression. Stress during pregnancy has been linked to premature birth, low birth weight and increased developmental and behavioral problems in the child as a toddler and adolescent, as well as later mental health problems in the mother. A high level of anxiety during pregnancy is linked with postnatal depression which in turn is associated with increased risk of developing depression later in life.

Dr Newham added: "There is a growing body of evidence that maternal antenatal anxiety may increase the risk of pre-term delivery and the likelihood of giving birth to a low birth weight child. If we can reduce these risk factors, and perhaps reduce the rate of post-natal mood disorders in mothers and negative health outcomes in their offspring, then that can only be a good thing."

Professor Aplin said: "The results confirm what many who take part in yoga have suspected for a long time. There is also evidence yoga can reduce the need for pain relief during birth and the likelihood for delivery by emergency caesarean section.

"Perhaps we should be looking at providing yoga classes on the NHS. It would be relatively cheap to implement, could help mothers and their children be healthier, as well as reducing the costs of longer term health care."

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/04/140430192543.htm

Meditation and ballet associated with wisdom

March 7, 2016
Science Daily/University of Chicago
A new study confirms the age-old conception that meditation is associated with wisdom. Surprisingly, it also concludes that somatic (physical) practices such as classical ballet might lead to increased wisdom.

A new study, "The Relationship between Mental and Somatic Practices and Wisdom," published Feb. 18, 2016, in PLOS ONE, confirms the age-old conception that meditation is associated with wisdom. Surprisingly, it also concludes that somatic (physical) practices such as classical ballet might lead to increased wisdom.

"As far as I know this is the first study to be published that looks at the relationship between meditation or ballet and increased wisdom," said Monika Ardelt, associate professor of sociology at the University of Florida. Ardelt is a leading wisdom researcher who was not involved in the project. "That meditation is associated with wisdom is good to confirm, but the finding that the practice of ballet is associated with increased wisdom is fascinating. I'm not going to rush out and sign up for ballet, but I think this study will lead to more research on this question."

The researchers included ballet in the study, "not expecting to find that it was associated with wisdom, but rather for comparison purposes," said Patrick B. Williams, lead author and a postdoctoral researcher in the University of Chicago's Department of Psychology. Williams is a member of a research project on somatic wisdom headed by principal investigators Berthold Hoeckner, associate professor of music; and Howard Nusbaum, professor of psychology.

"The link between ballet and wisdom is mysterious to us and something that we're already investigating further," Williams said. This includes ongoing studies with adult practitioners of ballet, as well as among novices training at Chicago's Joffrey Ballet. Williams wants to track novices and seasoned practitioners of both meditation and ballet for months and years to see whether the association holds up over time.

The published research was groundbreaking because science has overlooked somatic practices as a possible path to wisdom, Williams said.
Unstudied topic

"No studies have examined whether physical practices are linked to the cultivation of personal wisdom, nor have they theorized that this association might exist," the study stated.

Understanding the kinds of experiences that are related to increases in wisdom is fundamental in two aspects of the UChicago research, Nusbaum said.

"As we learn more about the kinds of experiences that are related to wisdom, we can gain insight into ways of studying the mechanisms that mediate wisdom. This also lets us shift from thinking about wisdom as something like a talent to thinking about it as something more like a skill," he said. "And if we think about wisdom as a skill, it is something we can always get better at, if we know how to practice."

The researchers administered a self-reported survey to 298 participants using Survey Monkey, a popular Internet-based tool that is being used increasingly in scientific research. The survey asked about experience (both in number of years and hours of practice) as a teacher or student of four activities: meditation, the Alexander Technique (a method for improving posture, balance, coordination, and movement), the Feldenkrais Method (a form of somatic education that seeks to improve movement and physical function, reduce pain, and increase self-awareness), and classical ballet. It also included psychological questionnaires that asked about characteristics thought to be components of wisdom, such as empathy and anxiety.

The results showed that those who practice meditation -- vipassana (29 percent), mindfulness (23 percent), Buddhist (14 percent), and other types -- had more wisdom, on average, than those in the three other groups. More importantly, it established for the first time that the link between meditation and wisdom might be attributable to a lower level of anxiety.

"We are the first to show an association between wisdom, on the one hand, and mental and somatic practice, on the other," Williams said. "We're also the first to suggest that meditation's ability to reduce everyday anxiety might partially explain this relationship."

Participants who practiced ballet had the lowest levels of wisdom. Nevertheless, the more they practiced ballet, the higher they scored on measures of psychological traits that are associated with wisdom.
Causal relationship?

Williams said it's important to note that the research was not looking for and did not establish a causal relationship between wisdom and any of the four practices. But the results suggest that further study could identify such a causal relationship.

"We hope our exploratory research will encourage others to replicate our results and look for other experiences that are linked with wisdom, as well as the factors that might explain such links," Williams said.

"Although wisdom, as an intellectual pursuit, is one of the oldest subjects studied by human-kind, it is one of the youngest, as a scientific pursuit," he added.

Ardelt thinks this study will generate a lot of interest with the public and in the growing field of the study of wisdom, especially due to the current interest in meditation. "These findings indicate that meditation might have more benefits than as a stress-reduction or pain-reduction technique," she said.

If mental and somatic practices can lead to more wisdom, "their applications should be explored across settings such as in the classroom or workplace with the goal of creating not only wiser people but also a wiser society," researchers concluded.
Science Daily/SOURCE :https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2016/03/160307150401.htm

Yoga has potential to reduce risk factors of cardiovascular disease

December 15, 2014
Science Daily/European Society of Cardiology
There is "promising evidence" that the popular mind-body practice of yoga is beneficial in managing and improving the risk factors associated with cardiovascular disease and is a "potentially effective therapy" for cardiovascular health.

Indeed, following a systematic review of 37 randomised controlled trials (which included 2768 subjects), investigators from the Netherlands and USA have found that yoga may provide the same benefits in risk factor reduction as such traditional physical activities as biking or brisk walking. "This finding is significant," they note, "as individuals who cannot or prefer not to perform traditional aerobic exercise might still achieve similar benefits in [cardiovascular] risk reduction." Their study is published today in the European Journal of Preventive Cardiology.

Yoga, an ancient mind-body practice which originated in India and incorporates physical, mental, and spiritual elements, has been shown in several studies to be effective in improving cardiovascular risk factors, with reduction in the risk of heart attacks and strokes. This meta-analysis was performed, say the investigators, to appraise the evidence and provide a realistic pooled estimate of yoga's effectiveness when measured against exercise and no exercise.

Results showed first that risk factors for cardiovascular disease improved more in those doing yoga than in those doing no exercise, and second, that yoga had an effect on these risks comparable to exercise.

When compared to no exercise, yoga was associated with significant improvement in each of the primary outcome risk factors measured: body mass index was reduced by 0.77 kg/m2 (measured as a "mean difference"), systolic blood pressure reduced by.21 mm Hg, low-density (bad) lipoprotein cholesterol reduced by 12.14 mg/dl, and high-density (good) lipoprotein cholesterol increased by 3.20 mg/dl. There were also significant changes seen in secondary endpoints -- body weight fell by 2.32 kg, diastolic blood pressure by 4.9 mm Hg, total cholesterol by 18.48 mg/dl, and heart rate by.27 beats/min. However, no improvements were found in parameters of diabetes (fasting blood glucose and glycosylated hemoglobin).

Risk factor improvements (in BMI, blood pressure, lipid levels) were significant when yoga was used in addition to medication. Among patients with existing coronary heart disease, yoga provided a statistically significant benefit in lowering LDL cholesterol when added to medication (statins and lipid-lowering drugs).

In comparisons with exercise itself, yoga was found to have comparable effects on risk factors as aerobic exercise. The investigators note that this might be because of yoga's impact on stress reduction, "leading to positive impacts on neuroendocrine status, metabolic and cardio-vagal function."

The similarity of yoga and exercise's effect on cardiovascular risk factors, say the investigators, "suggest that there could be comparable working mechanisms, with some possible physiological aerobic benefits occurring with yoga practice, and some stress-reducing, relaxation effect occurring with aerobic exercise."

Commenting on the results, senior author Professor Myriam Hunink from Erasmus University Medical Center, Rotterdam, and Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, said that, although the evidence of yoga's beneficial effect in cardiovascular health is growing, a physiological explanation for this effect remains unclear. "Also unclear," she added, "are the dose-response relationship and the relative costs and benefits of yoga when compared to exercise or medication. However, these results indicate that yoga is potentially very useful and in my view worth pursuing as a risk improvement practice."

Moreover, in view of yoga's ease of uptake, the investigators also note that evidence supports yoga's acceptability to "patients with lower physical tolerance like those with pre-existing cardiac conditions, the elderly, or those with musculoskeletal or joint pain."

Thus, they conclude that "yoga has the potential to be a cost-effective treatment and prevention strategy given its low cost, lack of expensive equipment or technology, potential greater adherence and health-related quality of life improvements, and possible accessibility to larger segments of the population."
Science Daily/SOURCE :http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/12/141215203049.htm

Forever young: Meditation might slow the age-related loss of gray matter in the brain

February 5, 2015
Science Daily/University of California - Los Angeles
Building on their earlier work that suggested people who meditate have less age-related atrophy in the brain's white matter, a new study found that meditation appeared to help preserve the brain's gray matter, the tissue that contains neurons.

Since 1970, life expectancy around the world has risen dramatically, with people living more than 10 years longer. That's the good news. The bad news is that starting when people are in their mid-to-late-20s, the brain begins to wither -- its volume and weight begin to decrease. As this occurs, the brain can begin to lose some of its functional abilities.

So although people might be living longer, the years they gain often come with increased risks for mental illness and neurodegenerative disease. Fortunately, a new study shows meditation could be one way to minimize those risks.

The scientists looked specifically at the association between age and gray matter. They compared 50 people who had mediated for years and 50 who didn't. People in both groups showed a loss of gray matter as they aged. But the researchers found among those who meditated, the volume of gray matter did not decline as much as it did among those who didn't.
The article appears in the current online edition of the journal Frontiers in Psychology.

Dr. Florian Kurth, a co-author of the study and postdoctoral fellow at the UCLA Brain Mapping Center, said the researchers were surprised by the magnitude of the difference.

"We expected rather small and distinct effects located in some of the regions that had previously been associated with meditating," he said. "Instead, what we actually observed was a widespread effect of meditation that encompassed regions throughout the entire brain."

As baby boomers have aged and the elderly population has grown, the incidence of cognitive decline and dementia has increased substantially as the brain ages.

"In that light, it seems essential that longer life expectancies do not come at the cost of a reduced quality of life," said Dr. Eileen Luders, first author and assistant professor of neurology at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA. "While much research has focused on identifying factors that increase the risk of mental illness and neurodegenerative decline, relatively less attention has been turned to approaches aimed at enhancing cerebral health."

Each group in the study was made up of 28 men and 22 women ranging in age from 24 to 77. Those who meditated had been doing so for four to 46 years, with an average of 20 years.

The participants' brains were scanned using high-resolution magnetic resonance imaging. Although the researchers found a negative correlation between gray matter and age in both groups of people -- suggesting a loss of brain tissue with increasing age -- they also found that large parts of the gray matter in the brains of those who meditated seemed to be better preserved, Kurth said.

The researchers cautioned that they cannot draw a direct, causal connection between meditation and preserving gray matter in the brain. Too many other factors may come into play, including lifestyle choices, personality traits, and genetic brain differences.

"Still, our results are promising," Luders said. "Hopefully they will stimulate other studies exploring the potential of meditation to better preserve our aging brains and minds. Accumulating scientific evidence that meditation has brain-altering capabilities might ultimately allow for an effective translation from research to practice, not only in the framework of healthy aging but also pathological aging."
Science Daily/SOURCE :http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/02/150205142951.htm

U. S. Nationwide survey reveals widespread use of mind and body practices

February 12, 2015
Science Daily/NIH/National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health
A large nationally representative survey shows that the number of Americans using mind and body approaches to improve health and well-being remains high. Of note is a significant increase in the use of yoga since 2002. In addition, almost as many Americans practice meditation or receive chiropractic or osteopathic manipulation.

The complementary health questionnaire was developed by NIH's National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health (NCCIH) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS). The complementary health questionnaire is administered every 5 years as part of the National Health Interview Survey (NHIS), an annual study in which tens of thousands of Americans are interviewed about their health- and illness-related experiences. To identify trends in Americans' use of certain practices, 2012 survey data were compared with versions of the survey fielded in 2002 and 2007.

"The 2012 NHIS survey is the most current, comprehensive, and reliable source of information on the use of complementary health approaches by U.S. adults and children. The survey data suggest that consumers are paying attention to medical evidence and using it to inform their decisions," said Josephine P. Briggs, M.D., Director of NCCIH. "This reaffirms how important it is for NIH to rigorously study complementary health approaches and make that information easily available to consumers."

Survey highlights:
•    Approximately 21 million adults (nearly double the number from 2002) and 1.7 million children practiced yoga.

•    Nearly 20 million adults and 1.9 million children had chiropractic or osteopathic manipulation.

•    Nearly 18 million adults and 927,000 children practiced meditation.

•    Children whose parents use a complementary health approach are more likely to use one as well.

The increase in yoga has occurred across all age, racial, and ethnic groups. Most notably, the largest shift in the use of any mind and body approach was seen in the demographics of people using yoga:

•    Among Americans age 18-44, yoga use nearly doubled since 2002;

•    Among older Americans age 45-64, usage increased from 5.2 percent in 2002 to 7.2 percent in 2012; and

•    Approximately 400,000 more children aged 4-17 used yoga in 2012 than in 2007.

The high rates of use may be partly due to a growing body of research showing that some mind and body practices can help manage pain and reduce stress. Another factor that may have influenced the increased popularity of yoga is increased access--for instance, industry reports show that the number of yoga studios in the United States has increased substantially in recent years.

The 2012 survey results, released in a National Health Statistics Report by NCHS, are based on combined data from 88,962 American adults and 17,321 interviews with a knowledgeable adult about children aged 4-17 years. The 2012 survey is the third conducted by NCCIH and NCHS--previous surveys occurred as part of the 2002 and 2007 NHIS. Children's data were assessed in 2007 and 2012.

The pattern of use of complementary health approaches is one of the four guiding principles that determine the practices and products studied by NCCIH. The others are that the practice or product must be able to be studied using high-quality and rigorous research, hold promise, and have an impact on the public's health. As well, knowing about use can help identify Americans' unmet health needs. For example, pain is one of the leading reasons why Americans turn to complementary health approaches. Thus, the Center's research priorities include the study of complementary approaches--such as yoga, massage, and meditation--that may help manage pain and other symptoms that are not consistently addressed well by drugs and other conventional treatments.

Read more about the use of other mind and body approaches and the use of natural products in the full report nccih.nih.gov/NHIS2012.
Science Daily/SOURCE :http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/02/150212122346.htm

Nationwide study reports shifts in Americans' use of natural products

February 12, 2015
Science Daily/NIH/National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health
A nationally representative survey shows that natural product use in the United States has shifted since 2007, with some products becoming more popular and some falling out of favor. Overall, natural products (dietary supplements other than vitamins and minerals) remain the most common complementary health approach.

The complementary health questionnaire was developed by NIH's National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health (NCCIH) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS). The complementary health questionnaire is administered every 5 years as part of the National Health Interview Survey (NHIS), an annual study in which tens of thousands of Americans are interviewed about their health- and illness-related experiences. The 2012 NHIS survey is the most current, comprehensive, and reliable source of information on the use of complementary health approaches by U.S. adults and children.

To identify trends in Americans' use of certain supplements, 2012 survey data were compared with versions of the survey fielded in 2002 and 2007.

Survey highlights:
•    Fish oil was the top natural product among adults.

•    Adults' use of fish oil, probiotics or prebiotics, and melatonin increased between 2007 and 2012.

•    Adults' use of glucosamine/chondroitin, echinacea, and garlic decreased between 2007 and 2012.

•    Fish oil was the top natural product among children. This is a change from 2007, when Echinacea was first.

•    Melatonin was the second most used natural product by children in 2012. Its use increased substantially from 2007 to 2012.

"While NHIS does not assess why shifts in use occur, some of the trends are in line with published research on the efficacy of natural products," said Josephine P. Briggs, M.D., Director of NCCIH. "For example, the use of melatonin, shown in studies to have some benefits for sleep issues, has risen dramatically. Conversely, the use of echinacea has fallen, which may reflect conflicting results from studies on whether it's helpful for colds. This reaffirms why it is important for NIH to study these products and to provide that information to the public."

The 2012 survey results, released in a National Health Statistics Report by NCHS, are based on combined data from 88,962 American adults and 17,321 interviews with a knowledgeable adult about children aged 4-17 years. The 2012 survey is the third conducted by NCCIH and NCHS -- previous surveys occurred as part of the 2002 and 2007 NHIS. Children's data were assessed in 2007 and 2012.

"The changes in use of individual natural products seen in the surveys are generally consistent with changes in nationwide sales data. Having independent confirmation of the NHIS data strengthens confidence in our findings," said Richard L. Nahin, Ph.D., M.P.H., the NCCIH senior advisor for scientific coordination and outreach. Dr. Nahin leads NCCIH's efforts to gather health care use statistics and has co-authored the surveys' reports.

Knowing the patterns of use of complementary approaches helps to inform NIH's research priorities in this area. The scientific evidence on many complementary approaches shown by NHIS results to be popular is limited. Use by the American public is one of the four guiding principles that determine the practices and products studied by NCCIH, and these NHIS findings reflect the importance of continuing to study approaches to health and wellness that the public is using, often without the benefit of rigorous scientific study. The Center's research priorities also include the study of other complementary approaches -- such as spinal manipulation, meditation, and massage -- to manage pain and other symptoms that are not always well-addressed by conventional treatments.

Read more about the use of other natural products and the use of mind and body approaches in the full report nccih.nih.gov/NHIS2012.
Science Daily/SOURCE :http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/02/150212122350.htm

How mindfulness training affects health

February 12, 2015
Science Daily/Carnegie Mellon University
Over the past decade, there have been many encouraging findings suggesting that mindfulness training can improve a broad range of mental and physical health problems. Yet, exactly how mindfulness positively impacts health is not clear. Researchers have developed a model suggesting that mindfulness influences health via stress reduction pathways.

Carnegie Mellon University's J. David Creswell -- whose cutting-edge work has shown how mindfulness meditation reduces loneliness in older adults and alleviates stress -- and his graduate student Emily K. Lindsay have developed a model suggesting that mindfulness influences health via stress reduction pathways. Their work, published in "Current Directions in Psychological Science," describes the biological pathways linking mindfulness training with reduced stress and stress-related disease outcomes.

"If mindfulness training is improving people's health, how does it get under the skin to affect all kinds of outcomes?" asked Creswell, associate professor of psychology in CMU's Dietrich College of Humanities and Social Sciences. "We offer one of the first evidence-based biological accounts of mindfulness training, stress reduction and health."

Creswell and Lindsay highlight a body of work that depicts the biological mechanisms of mindfulness training's stress reduction effects. When an individual experiences stress, activity in the prefrontal cortex -- responsible for conscious thinking and planning -- decreases, while activity in the amygdala, hypothalamus and anterior cingulate cortex -- regions that quickly activate the body's stress response -- increases. Studies have suggested that mindfulness reverses these patterns during stress; it increases prefrontal activity, which can regulate and turn down the biological stress response.

Excessive activation of the biological stress response increases the risk of diseases impacted by stress (like depression, HIV and heart disease). By reducing individuals' experiences of stress, mindfulness may help regulate the physical stress response and ultimately reduce the risk and severity of stress-related diseases.

Creswell believes by understanding how mindfulness training affects different diseases and disorders, researchers will be able to develop better interventions, know when certain treatments will work most effectively and identify people likely to benefit from mindfulness training.

As the birthplace of artificial intelligence and cognitive psychology, Carnegie Mellon has been a leader in the study of brain and behavior for more than 50 years. The university has created some of the first cognitive tutors, helped to develop the Jeopardy-winning Watson, founded a groundbreaking doctoral program in neural computation, and completed cutting-edge work in understanding the genetics of autism. Building on its strengths in biology, computer science, psychology, statistics and engineering, CMU recently launched BrainHubSM, a global initiative that focuses on how the structure and activity of the brain give rise to complex behaviors.
Science Daily/SOURCE :http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/02/150212183511.htm

Mindfulness meditation appears to help improve sleep quality

February 16, 2015
Science Daily/The JAMA Network Journals
Mindfulness meditation practices resulted in improved sleep quality for older adults with moderate sleep disturbance in a clinical trial comparing meditation to a more structured program focusing on changing poor sleep habits and establishing a bedtime routine, according to a new article.

Sleep disturbances are a medical and public health concern for our nation's aging population. An estimated 50 percent of individuals 55 years and older have some sort of sleep problem. Moderate sleep disturbances in older adults are associated with higher levels of fatigue, disturbed mood, such as depressive symptoms, and a reduced quality of life, according to the study background.

David S. Black, Ph.D., M.P.H., of the University of Southern California, Los Angeles, and coauthors conducted the small clinical trial in Los Angeles in 2012 and their analysis included 49 individuals (average age 66). The trial included 24 individuals who took part in a standardized mindful awareness practices (MAPs) intervention and 25 individuals who participated in a sleep hygiene education (SHE) intervention. Differences between the groups were measured using the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), a widely used self-reported questionnaire of sleep disturbances.

Participants in the MAPs group showed improvement relative to those in the SHE group. The MAPs group had average PSQI scores of 10.2 at baseline and 7.4 after the intervention. The SHE group had average PSQIs of 10.2 at baseline and 9.1 after the intervention, study results show. The MAPs group also showed improvement relative to the SHE group on secondary measures of insomnia symptoms, depression symptoms, fatigue interference and fatigue severity. However, differences between the groups were not seen for anxiety, stress or inflammatory signaling, a measure of which declined in both groups over time.

"According to our findings, mindfulness meditation appears to have a role in addressing the prevalent burden of sleep problems among older adults by remediating their moderate sleep disturbances and deficits in daytime functioning, with short-term effect sizes commensurate with the status quo of clinical treatment approaches for sleep problems. ... Given that standardized mindfulness programs are readily delivered in many communities, dissemination efforts do not serve as a barrier in this instance. ... Pending future replication of these findings, structured mindfulness mediation training appears to have at least some clinical usefulness to remediate moderate sleep problems and sleep-related daytime impairment in older adults," the study concludes.

Commentary: Being Mindful of Later-Life Sleep Quality
In a related commentary, Adam P. Spira, Ph.D., of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, writes: "As the authors explain, effective nonpharmacological interventions that are both 'scalable' and 'community accessible' are needed to improve disturbed sleep and prevent clinical levels of insomnia. This is imperative given links between insomnia and poor health outcomes, risks of sleep medication use and the limited availability of health care professionals trained in effective nondrug treatments such as behavior therapy and cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia. This context makes the positive results of this RCT [randomized clinical trial] compelling."

"This excellent study raises some questions that need to be answered in future research," Spira continues.

"In summary, Black et al are to be applauded for their intriguing study. Other community-based nonpharmacological interventions are needed that improve sleep and perhaps prevent insomnia among older adults. Such interventions may have a key role in safely reducing the morbidity associated with disturbed sleep in later life," Spira concludes.
Science Daily/SOURCE :http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/02/150216131115.htm

Meditation can reduce chronic neck pain

February 25, 2015
Science Daily/American Pain Society
Meditation might be an effective treatment for reducing chronic neck pain, according to research. Chronic neck pain can lead to serious comorbidities like depression. Patients with chronic neck pain frequently experience distress. Meditation has been increasingly used as a supportive treatment for individuals with chronic pain.

Previous research has shown that chronic pain is associated with distress and that meditation has stress relieving benefits. German researchers compared the effects of meditation on pain, perceived stress and psychological well being. They hypothesized that an eight-week meditation program will decrease pain more effectively than a standardized exercise program and that pain relief will coincide with stress reduction.

For the study, 89 patients with chronic neck pain who showed increased perceived stress were randomized into meditation and exercise program groups. Outcomes were assessed at baseline and after eight weeks.

Results showed that meditation training significantly reduced pain when compared to the exercise group and pain-related "bothersomeness" decreased more in the meditation group as well. No significant differences between meditation and exercise were found for pain during movement, pain disability, psychological scores and quality of life, which is consistent with the known benefits of exercise on pain-related outcomes. The authors concluded that meditation has unique benefits for producing pain relief and for pain coping.
Science Daily/SOURCE :http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/02/150225094105.htm

Stress reduction may reduce fasting glucose in overweight and obese women

March 6, 2015
Science Daily/The Endocrine Society
A treatment known as mindfulness-based stress reduction may decrease fasting glucose and improve quality of life in overweight and obese women, new research suggests.

MBSR is a secular mindfulness meditation program that was developed by Jon Kabat-Zinn, PhD at the University of Massachusetts Medical School. The practice of MBSR involves paying attention to one's thoughts, feelings, and bodily sensations in the present moment in a nonjudgmental and nonreactive manner through mindfulness exercises such as breathing awareness. MBSR may be beneficial for overweight and obese women as it has been shown to reduce stress and improve quality of life.

"In overweight and obese women, stress may contribute to increased diabetes and cardiovascular disease," said Nazia Raja-Khan, MD, assistant professor of medicine and obstetrics and gynecology at the Penn State College of Medicine in Hershey, Pennsylvania. "MBSR significantly reduces fasting glucose and improves quality of life without changing body weight or insulin resistance. Increased mindfulness and reduced stress may lead to physiological changes in the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis and/or sympathetic nervous system that result in lower glucose levels."

Dr. Raja-Khan and her colleagues conducted a pilot randomized controlled trial of 86 overweight or obese women who were similar in age and body mass index. The women received 8 weeks of either MBSR or health education control (HEC) and underwent fasting blood work and completed questionnaires at baseline, 8 weeks and 16 weeks.

The MBSR group's mindfulness scores significantly increased and its perceived stress scores significantly decreased, compared to the HEC group's scores. While sleep, depression, anxiety and overall psychological distress improved in both groups, fasting glucose dropped significantly and quality of life improved significantly in the MBSR group, but not in the HEC group.

Weight, body mass index, blood pressure, lipid profile, hemoglobin A1c, fasting insulin, homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance (HOMA-IR) and high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hsCRP) remained similar with MBSR.

"Given the increasing epidemics of obesity and diabetes, this study is particularly relevant to the general public, as it demonstrates that stress management, specifically with mindfulness-based interventions such as MBSR, may be beneficial for reducing perceived stress and blood glucose and improving quality of life in overweight or obese women," said Raja-Khan. "This research supports the integration of mindfulness-based interventions with conventional medical approaches to obesity and diabetes prevention and treatment."

The NIH National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM) and the NIH National Center for Research Resources and the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences funded the study.
Science Daily/SOURCE :http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/03/150306181815.htm

Researchers probing potential power of meditation as therapy

April 8, 2015
Science Daily/Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center
The effectiveness of meditation as a therapy for mild cognitive impairment and migraine headaches is being studied by researchers, as well as its potential to reduce pain. "We're coming to recognize that meditation changes people's brains," said one researcher. "And we're just beginning to gain understanding of what those changes mean and how they might benefit the meditator."
http://images.sciencedaily.com/2015/04/150408085656-large.jpg

When Rebecca Erwin was a varsity rower at the University of North Carolina, the coach had the team's members take a yoga and meditation class.

It had an impact.

"My teammates and I noticed that yoga and meditation improved our flexibility and focus, but also made us feel better, not just when we were rowing but in our everyday lives," she recalled. "I wondered if yoga and meditation really have scientific benefits, especially if they have specific effects on the brain, and if so, how that works."

Since becoming Rebecca Erwin Wells, M.D., she has done more than wonder about the effects of mind-body interventions, she has studied them.

"We're coming to recognize that meditation changes people's brains," said Wells, an assistant professor of neurology at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center. "And we're just beginning to gain understanding of what those changes mean and how they might benefit the meditator."
In separate clinical studies, Wells has looked into the effectiveness of a meditation and yoga program called mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) as a therapy for mild cognitive impairment -- problems with memory or other faculties without yet having dementia -- and for migraine headaches.

In the first study, the participants were adults between 55 and 90 with mild cognitive impairment. Those who practiced MBSR for eight weeks had significantly improved functional connectivity in the brain's network that is active during introspective thought such as retrieving memories, along with trends of less atrophy in the hippocampus (the area of the brain responsible for emotions, learning and memory) compared with the participants who received conventional care. These findings indicate that meditation may positively affect the areas of the brain most impacted by Alzheimer's and thus may be capable of slowing the progress of the disease.

Wells' second study found that adults with migraines who practiced MBSR for eight weeks had shorter and less debilitating migraines than those in the control group who received standard medical care. The members of the MBSR group also had trends of less frequent and less severe attacks, and reported having a greater sense of self-control over their migraines.

"Both of these were pilot studies with small subject groups and additional research is needed, but I'm still very excited by the findings," said Wells, who began both studies while completing fellowships at Harvard Medical School. "This type of meditation is a safe and relatively simple intervention, and if it can delay cognitive decline and help relieve migraines, it could contribute to improved quality of life for many of these individuals."

Another Wake Forest Baptist faculty member probing meditation's effects and capabilities is Fadel Zeidan, Ph.D., an assistant professor of neurobiology and anatomy.

In his research Zeidan has demonstrated that as little as three 20-minute training sessions in mindfulness meditation can reduce pain and everyday anxiety in healthy individuals with no previous meditation experience. And through the use of a special type of imaging that captures longer-duration brain processes more effectively than a standard MRI scan, he has identified the specific brain mechanisms involved.

In Zeidan's pain study, participants graded the pain caused by a device that heated a small area of their skin to 120 degrees. They rated the pain they felt while they meditated as 40 percent less intense and 57 percent less unpleasant than when they simply rested with their eyes closed. At the same time, the brain imaging showed decreased neural activity in the area of the brain involved in feeling the location and intensity of pain and increased activity in brain regions associated with attention and the ability to regulate emotions.

In the anxiety-related research, the subjects reported decreases in everyday anxiety of as much as 39 percent after practicing meditation. The scans of their brains while they meditated, meanwhile, showed increased activity in areas of the cortex associated with regulating thinking, emotions and worrying.

"In these studies we've been able to get a better sense of the brain regions associated with reducing pain and anxiety during meditation," Zeidan said. "Basically, by having people meditate while their brains are being scanned we've been able to objectively verify what people like Buddhist monks have been reporting about meditation for thousands of years."

Zeidan and Wells are currently working together on two new research trials. One, led by Zeidan, will attempt to determine more precisely how mindfulness meditation reduces pain and improves health. The other, led by Wells, will further investigate her pilot study's findings about meditation and migraines with a larger number of participants. "Our research shows that meditation produces robust effects in behavior and in the brain and may provide an effective way for people to substantially reduce their pain," Zeidan said. "What we have to do now is continue to find out exactly how it works and what it involves."
Science Daily/SOURCE :http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/04/150408085656.htm

Listen to your heart: Why your brain may give away how well you know yourself

April 20, 2015
Science Daily/University of Cambridge
"Listen to your heart," sang Swedish pop group Roxette in the late Eighties. But not everyone is able to tune into their heartbeat, according to an international team of researchers -- and half of us under- or over-estimate our ability.

In research published today in the journal Cerebral Cortex, a team of scientists led by the University of Cambridge and the Medical Research Council (MRC) Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit, Cambridge, studied not only whether volunteers could be trained to follow their heartbeat, but whether it was possible to identify from brain activity how good they were at estimating their performance.

Dr Tristan Bekinschtein, a Wellcome Trust Fellow and lecturer in the Department of Psychology at the University of Cambridge, says: "'Follow your heart' has become something of a cliché, but we know that, consciously or unconsciously, there is a relationship between our heartrate and our decisions and emotions. There may well be benefits to becoming more attuned to our heartbeat, but there's very little in scientific literature about whether this is even technically possible."

A recent study from Dr Bekinschtein and colleagues showed that people with 'depersonalisation-derealisation disorder' -- in which patients repeatedly feel that they are observing themselves from outside their body or have a sense that things around them are not real -- perform particularly badly at listening to their heart. Another study from the team, looking at a man with two hearts -- his natural, diseased heart and a replacement artificial heart -- found that he was better able to tune into the artificial heart than the diseased one.

Other studies have highlighted a possible connection between heartrate and task performance. For example, in one study, volunteers given the drug propranolol to increase their heart rate performed worse at emotional tasks than the control group. Changing heartrate is part of our automatic and unconscious 'fight or flight' response -- being aware of the heart's rhythm could give people more control over their behaviour, believe the researchers.

Thirty-three volunteers took part in an experiment during which scientists measured their brain activity using an electroencephalograph (EEG). First off, the volunteers were asked to tap in synchrony as they listened to a regular and then irregular heartbeat. Next, they were asked to tap out their own heartbeat in synchrony. Then, they were asked to tap out their own heartbeat whilst listening to it through a stethoscope. Finally, the stethoscopes were removed and they were once again asked to tap out their heartbeat.

During the task, when the volunteers were tapping out their heartbeat unaided, they were asked to rate their performance on a scale of 1 to 10, with 1 being 'inaccurate' and 10 'extremely accurate'. Once the task was completed, they were asked how much they thought they had improved from 1 ('did not improve') to 10 ('improved a lot').

"Perhaps unsurprisingly, we found that brain activity differed between people who improved at tapping out their heartbeat and those who did not," says Andrés Canales-Johnson from the MRC Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit. "But interestingly, brain activity also differed between people who knew whether or not they had improved and those people who under- or over-estimated their own performance."

Just over four in ten (42%) of the participants showed significant improvement in their ability to accurately tap along unaided with their heartbeat. This is most likely due to the fact that listening to their heartbeat through a stethoscope had allowed them to fine tune their attention to the otherwise faint signal of their heartbeat. In those whose performance had improved, the researchers saw a stronger brain signal known as the 'heartbeat evoked potential' (HEP) across the brain.

The researchers found no significant differences in the HEP when grouping the participants by how well they thought they had performed -- their subjective performance. This suggests that the HEP provides a marker of objective performance.

In the final part of the test -- after the participants had listened to their heartbeat through the stethoscope and were once again tapping unaided -- the researchers found differences in brain activity between participants. Crucially, they found an increase in 'gamma phase synchrony' -- coordinated 'chatter' between different regions in the brain -- in only those learners whose subjective judgement of their own performance matched their actual, objective performance. In other words, this activity was seen only in learners who knew they had performed badly or knew they had improved.

"We've shown that for just under half of us, training can help us listen to our hearts, but we may not be aware of our progress," adds Dr Bekinschtein. "Some people find this task easier to do than others do. Also, some people clearly don't know how good or bad they actually are -- but their brain activity gives them away.

"There are techniques such as mindfulness that teach us to be more aware of our bodies, but it will be interesting to see whether people are able to control their emotions better or to make better decisions if they are aware of how their heart is beating."

The research was supported by the Wellcome Trust and the MRC in the UK, and the Chilean National Fund for Scientific and Technological Development, the Argentinean National Research Council for Science and Technology, and the Argentinean Agency for National Scientific Promotion.
Science Daily/SOURCE :http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/04/150420213915.htm

Mindfulness-based therapy could offer an alternative to antidepressants for preventing depression relapse

April 20, 2015
Science Daily/The Lancet
The results come from the first ever large study to compare mindfulness-based therapy – structured training for the mind and body which aims to change the way people think and feel about their experiences – with maintenance antidepressant medication for reducing the risk of relapse in depression, researchers say.

The study aimed to establish whether MBCT is superior to maintenance antidepressant treatment in terms of preventing relapse of depression. Although the findings show that MBCT isn't any more effective than maintenance antidepressant treatment in preventing relapse of depression, the results, combined with those of previous trials, suggest that MCBT may offer similar protection against depressive relapse or recurrence for people who have experienced multiple episodes of depression, with no significant difference in cost.

"Depression is a recurrent disorder. Without ongoing treatment, as many as four out of five people with depression relapse at some point," explains Willem Kuyken, lead author and Professor of Clinical Psychology at the University of Oxford in the UK.

"Currently, maintenance antidepressant medication is the key treatment for preventing relapse, reducing the likelihood of relapse or recurrence by up to two-thirds when taken correctly," adds study co-author Professor Richard Byng, from the Plymouth University Peninsula Schools of Medicine and Dentistry, UK. "However, there are many people who, for a number of different reasons, are unable to keep on a course of medication for depression. Moreover, many people do not wish to remain on medication for indefinite periods, or cannot tolerate its side effects."

MBCT was developed to help people who have experienced repeated bouts of depression by teaching them the skills to recognise and to respond constructively to the thoughts and feelings associated with relapse, thereby preventing a downward spiral into depression.

In this trial, which was conducted from the University of Exeter, UK, 424 adults with recurrent major depression and taking maintenance antidepressant medication were recruited from 95 primary care general practices across the South West of England. Participants were randomly assigned to come off their antidepressant medication slowly and receive MBCT (212 participants) or to stay on their medication (212 participants).

Participants in the MBCT group attended eight 2 ¼ hour group sessions and were given daily home practice. After the group they had the option of attending 4 follow up sessions over a 12 month period. The MBCT course consists of guided mindfulness practices, group discussion and other cognitive behavioural exercises. Those in the maintenance antidepressant group continued their medication for two years.

All trial participants were assessed at regular intervals over 2 years for a major depressive episode using a psychiatric diagnostic interview tool -- the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV.

Over 2 years, relapse rates in both groups were similar (44% in the MBCT group vs 47% in the maintenance antidepressant medication group). Although five adverse events were reported, including two deaths, across both groups, they were not judged to be attributable to the interventions or the trial.

According to study co-author Professor Sarah Byford, from the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience (IoPPN) at King's College London, UK, "As a group intervention, mindfulness-based cognitive therapy was relatively low cost compared to therapies provided on an individual basis and, in terms of the cost of all health and social care services used by participants during the study, we found no significant difference between the two treatments." 

According to Professor Kuyken, "Whilst this study doesn't show that mindfulness-based cognitive therapy works any better than maintenance antidepressant medication in reducing the rate of relapse in depression, we believe these results suggest a new choice for the millions of people with recurrent depression on repeat prescriptions. "*

Study participant Mr Nigel Reed from Sidmouth, Devon, UK, comments that, "Mindfulness gives me a set of skills which I use to keep well in the long term. Rather than relying on the continuing use of antidepressants mindfulness puts me in charge, allowing me to take control of my own future, to spot when I am at risk and to make the changes I need to stay well."

Writing in a linked Comment, Professor Roger Mulder from the University of Otago in New Zealand says, "Because it is a group treatment that reduces costs and the number of trained staff needed, it might be feasible to offer [mindfulness-based cognitive therapy] as a choice to patients in general practice…We therefore have a promising new treatment that is reasonably cost effective and applicable to the large group of patients with recurrent depression."
Science Daily/SOURCE :http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/04/150420213918.htm

Stress relief techniques help cancer patients overcome fear of treatment

May 14, 2015
Science Daily/RCNi
The benefit of rapid stress management techniques (RSMTs) to help cancer patients who experience 'procedure-related' stress has been revealed by a new study. Patients experiencing distress related to medical procedures were able to achieve a 'calm state' both before and during procedures as a result of the interventions. Those who took part were positive about the experience, the researchers say.

Cancer patients benefit from stress relief techniques and complementary therapy to manage their fears of medical procedures, according to a new service evaluation study.

Patients experiencing distress related to medical procedures were able to achieve a 'calm state' both before and during procedures as a result of the interventions. Those who took part were positive about the experience.

The study, reported in the journal Cancer Nursing Practice, was carried out at the acute oncology complementary therapy service at the Christie NHS Foundation Trust in Manchester among patients who had been experiencing difficulties such as needle phobia, claustrophobia, and the fear of nausea before actual treatment.

Face to face or telephone interviews were conducted with 19 patients -- most of whom were women. All had been referred to the service over distress related to radiotherapy and chemotherapy procedures.

The four themes picked up were: being distressed; coping with distress; surviving distress and thoughts about the complementary service.

Interviews revealed pre-existing phobias, the experience of flashbacks to previous traumatic events, fear of the disease spreading and the possibility of dying.

Participants typically reported being taught two rapid stress management techniques, sometimes after another brief complementary treatment such as massage, aromatherapy or reflexology. On learning self-help techniques, one patient described the benefits: 'mindfulness, self hypnosis and relaxation… to help me to look at things in a different way… not to panic... to be able to sleep because I was exhausted...'

Complementary therapies helped participants avoid negative feelings, such as loneliness, fear or exhaustion, the study found. The service also helped participants maintain 'mind over matter'. Feelings of panic were reduced and even enabled patients to 'fight' the disease.

The most commonly used stress management techniques deployed were: tightening and releasing stress balls in time with four slow breaths; redirecting the 'fight or flight' response by tightening and releasing groups of muscles combined with slow comfortable breaths, and taking a sip of water and holding it on the tongue for ten seconds before swallowing, repeating the process three times.
Science Daily/SOURCE :http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/05/150514085707.htm

Yoga and chronic pain have opposite effects on brain gray matter

May 15, 2015
Science Daily/American Pain Society
Chronic pain is known to cause brain anatomy changes and impairments, but yoga can be an important tool for preventing or even reversing the effects of chronic pain on the brain, according to a new study.
http://images.sciencedaily.com/2015/05/150515083223_1_540x360.jpg

M. Catherine Bushnell, PhD, scientific director, Division of Intramural Research, National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health, NIH, explained in a plenary session address that many chronic pain patients show associated anxiety and depression as well as deficits in cognitive functions. In addition, brain imaging studies in rats and humans have shown alterations in gray matter volume and white matter integrity in the brain caused by the effects of chronic pain.

"Imaging studies in multiple types of chronic pain patients show their brains differ from healthy control subjects," said Bushnell. "Studies of people with depression show they also have reduced gray matter, and this could contribute to the gray matter changes in pain patients who are depressed. Our research shows that gray matter loss is directly related to the pain when we take depression into account," said Bushnell.

Gray matter is brain tissue with numerous cell bodies and is located in the cerebral cortex and subcortical areas. The impact of gray matter loss depends on where it occurs in brain. Decreased gray matter can lead to memory impairment, emotional problems and decreased cognitive functioning.

Bushnell said there is compelling evidence from studies conducted at NIH/NCCIH and other sites that mind-body techniques, such as yoga and meditation, can counteract the brain anatomy affects of chronic pain. "Practicing yoga has the opposite effect on the brain as does chronic pain," said Bushnell.

She said the studies show yoga practitioners have more gray matter than controls in multiple brain regions, including those involved in pain modulation. "Some gray matter increases in yogis correspond to duration of yoga practice, which suggests there is a causative link between yoga and gray matter increases," Bushnell noted.

Assessing the impact of brain anatomy on pain reduction, Bushnell said gray matter changes in the insula or internal structures of the cerebral cortex are most significant for pain tolerance. "Insula gray matter size correlates with pain tolerance, and increases in insula gray matter can result from ongoing yoga practice," said Bushnell.

"Brain anatomy changes may contribute to mood disorders and other affective and cognitive comorbidities of chronic pain. The encouraging news for people with chronic pain is mind-body practices seem to exert a protective effect on brain gray matter that counteracts the neuroanatomical effects of chronic pain," Bushnell added.
Science Daily/SOURCE :http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/05/150515083223.htm

Yoga improves arthritis symptoms, mood

September 15, 2015
Science Daily/Johns Hopkins Medicine
Yoga can be safe and effective for people with arthritis, a randomized trial of people with two common forms of arthritis has found. The researchers report that eight weeks of yoga classes improved the physical and mental well being of people with two common forms of arthritis, knee osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis.

A randomized trial of people with two common forms of arthritis has found that yoga can be safe and effective for people with arthritis. Johns Hopkins researchers report that 8 weeks of yoga classes improved the physical and mental wellbeing of people with two common forms of arthritis, knee osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis. The study is believed to be the largest randomized trial so far to examine the effect of yoga on physical and psychological health and quality of life among people with arthritis.

Results were published in the April issue of the Journal of Rheumatology.

"There's a real surge of interest in yoga as a complementary therapy, with 1 in 10 people in the U.S. now practicing yoga to improve their health and fitness," says Susan J. Bartlett, Ph.D., an adjunct associate professor of medicine at Johns Hopkins and associate professor at McGill University "Yoga may be especially well suited to people with arthritis because it combines physical activity with potent stress management and relaxation techniques, and focuses on respecting limitations that can change from day to day."

Arthritis, the leading cause of disability, affects 1 in 5 adults, most of whom are under 65 years of age. Without proper management, arthritis affects not only mobility, but also overall health and well-being, participation in valued activities, and quality of life. There is no cure for arthritis, but one important way to manage arthritis is to remain active. Yet up to 90% of people with arthritis are less active than public health guidelines suggest, perhaps due to arthritis symptoms such as pain and stiffness, but also because they are unsure of how best to remain active.

The study recruited 75 people with either knee osteoarthritis or rheumatoid arthritis. Participants were randomly assigned to either a wait list or eight weeks of twice-weekly yoga classes, plus a weekly practice session at home. Participants' physical and mental wellbeing was assessed before and after the yoga session by researchers who did not know which group the participants had been assigned to.

Compared with the control group, those doing yoga reported a 20% improvement in pain, energy levels, mood and physical function, including their ability to complete physical tasks at work and home. Walking speed also improved to a smaller extent, though there was little difference between the groups in tests of balance and upper body strength. Improvements in those who completed yoga was still apparent nine months later.

Clifton O. Bingham III, M.D., associate professor of medicine at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and director of the Johns Hopkins Arthritis Center, says the idea for the study grew out of his experiences treating patients with arthritis. "It was watching what happened with my patients and the changes in their lives as a result of practicing yoga that got me interested in the first place."

Safety was a priority in the study, the authors say. "For people with other conditions, yoga has been shown to improve pain, pain-related disability and mood," says Bingham. "But there were no well-controlled trial of yoga that could tell us if it was safe and effective for people with arthritis, and many health professionals have concerns about how yoga might affect vulnerable joints given the emphasis on changing positions and on being flexible. Our first step was to ensure that yoga was reasonable and safe option for people with arthritis. Our instructors were experienced yoga therapists with additional training to modify poses to accommodate individual abilities." Participants were screened by their doctors prior to joining the study, and continued to take their regular arthritis medication during the study.

The researchers have developed a checklist to make it easier for doctors to safely recommend yoga to their patients, Bingham says. People with arthritis who are considering yoga should "talk with their doctors about which specific joints are of concern, and about modifications to poses," suggests Bingham. "Find a teacher who asks the right questions about limitations and works closely with you as an individual. Start with gentle yoga classes. Practice acceptance of where you are and what your body can do on any given day."
Science Daily/SOURCE :http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/09/150915141149.htm

Relaxation response-based program may reduce participants' future use of health services

Study reveals how mind-body medicine could help cut health care costs
October 13, 2015
Science Daily/Massachusetts General Hospital
A new study finds that individuals participating in a relaxation-response-focused training program used fewer health care services in the year after their participation than in the preceding year.

Many studies have showed that eliciting the relaxation response -- a physiologic state of deep rest induced by practices such as meditation, yoga and prayer -- not only relieves feelings of stress and anxiety but also affects physiologic factors such as blood pressure, heart rate and oxygen consumption. Now a study from the Institute for Technology Assessment and the Benson-Henry Institute (BHI) for Mind Body Medicine -- both at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) -- finds that individuals participating in a relaxation-response-focused training program used fewer health care services in the year after their participation than in the preceding year. The report is being published in the open-access journal PLOS ONE.

"Our study's primary finding is that programs that train patients to elicit the relaxation response -- specifically those taught at the BHI -- can also dramatically reduce health care utilization," says James E. Stahl, MD, of the MGH Institute for Technology Assessment, who led the study. "These programs promote wellness and, in our environment of constrained health care resources, could potentially ease the burden on our health delivery systems at minimal cost and at no real risk." Previously affiliated with the Benson-Henry Institute, Stahl is now based at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center.

The relaxation response was first described more than 40 years ago by Herbert Benson, MD, founder and director emeritus of the BHI and a co-author of the current study. The physiologic opposite of the well-documented fight-or-flight response, the relaxation response is elicited by practices including meditation, deep breathing and prayer and has been shown to be helpful in the treatment of stress-related disorders ranging from anxiety to hypertension. The paper's authors note that stress-related illnesses such as anxiety and depression are the third highest causes of health expenditures in the U.S. after heart disease and cancer, which also are affected by stress.

In order to analyze the potential impact of mind body interventions like the relaxation response on the utilization of health care services, the researchers examined information available through the Research Patient Data Registry (RPDR) of Partners HealthCare, a system incorporating MGH, Brigham and Women's Hospital and other Boston-area facilities. Through the RPDR -- which provides de-identified information on clinical services provided within the Partners system -- the research team gathered data on individuals participating in the BHI Relaxation Response Resiliency Program (3RP) from 2006 to 2014. The program combines elicitation of the relaxation response with social support, cognitive skills training and positive psychology designed to build resiliency.

Data regarding more than 4,400 3RP participants' use of Partners system services in the years before and after their participation was compared with information from a demographically matched control group of almost 13,150 Partners patients over a similar two-year period. To address the possibility that 3RP participants had been more frequent users of health services in the year before their participation, the researchers also compared a subgroup of almost 1,200 3RP participants that excluded those with the highest pre-participation utilization levels with a subgroup of 222 controls whose initial healthcare utilization exactly matched those of the 3RP participants in the first of the two studied years.

Based on the number of health-care encounters in the studied period -- which included interactions health care providers in any setting, imaging studies, lab tests and procedures -- the 3RP participants had an average reduction of 43 percent in their use of health care services in the year after their participation. The control group had an overall but not statistically significant increase in service utilization in the second year. The utilization-matched 3RP subgroup had a reduction of around 25 percent across all clinical services. Clinical areas in which 3RP participation was associated with the greatest reduction in service utilization were neurologic, cardiovascular, musculoskeletal and gastrointestinal. The investigators estimate that the price of participating in programs like 3RP would be made up in costs savings in a matter of four to six months or less.

Stahl notes that the results of this investigation need to be validated by a prospective study that would also explore where and when best to use mind body interventions like the Benson-Henry Relaxation Response Resiliency Program. "I think of it this way; there are many gates to wellness, but not everyone is ready to walk through a particular gate at a given time. From a public health perspective, it is better to be prepared to offer these tools to people in their customary settings than to wait for them to seek out these interventions. For that reason, we feel that mind body interventions -- which are both low-cost and essentially risk-free -- should perhaps be incorporated into regular preventive care."

Benson adds, "From the outset, our primary goal has been to enhance the health and well being of people by counteracting the harmful effects of stress and alleviating the many diseases that are caused or exacerbated by stress. The challenge now is to disseminate these findings, which we feel will be of great interest to health care payors and policy makers." Benson is the Mind/Body Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School, and Stahl is an associate professor of Medicine at the Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center.
 

Science Daily/SOURCE :http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/10/151013153756.htm

Yoga in jails helps make better fathers

Study also finds improved physical, mental health

October 15, 2015
Science Daily/Washington State University
Yoga can help fathers in jail be better dads, new research shows.
http://images.sciencedaily.com/2015/10/151015114806_1_540x360.jpg
A yoga instructor leads his class at the Chelan County Regional Jail in Wenatchee.
Credit: Image courtesy of Washington State University

A Washington State University researcher has found that yoga can help fathers in jail be better dads.

A study by WSU Extension educator Jennifer Crawford found that yoga, which can improve physical and mental health, may also help incarcerated fathers improve their parenting skills.

"We would have a class on a specific topic, like child development or setting limits," Crawford said. "That would last about an hour, then a yoga instructor would come in and give a guided yoga class."

The study, located at Chelan County Regional Jail in Wenatchee, took place over three years with 14 different groups of male inmates. The program was advertised among the jail population; volunteers, who had to be parents of young children and pass a security screening, were recruited.

The results, published in the August edition of the California Journal of Health Promotion, showed that inmates demonstrated being more aware and accepting of their vulnerability and responsiveness to children, among other benefits.

The program, called "Fit Fathers, Successful Families, Inside and Out," had a goal of preventing child abuse and reducing recidivism by improving parents' resilience.

"Yoga can be physically demanding, and the initial responses we got from the participants confirmed that," Crawford said. "I believe the yoga practice helped participants become ready to learn and increased their willingness to try new ideas, absorb new information and begin to apply these in their lives."

Although the yoga instructor for each lesson couldn't physically touch the participants due to jail regulations, Crawford said the classes didn't look that unusual.

"It was very similar to what a person would see in a normal yoga gym -- other than the security guards entering and leaving the room," she said.

The instructor started every class with a centering exercise, then taught simple sequences that focused on standing poses; more complicated poses were not used due to potential health issues among the inmates.

Outside of the class setting, the inmates did journaling exercises such as writing about their own upbringing or ways they communicate with their children.

The yoga classes were modeled on other programs around the country. The parenting classes followed a curriculum based on an established course taught in other correctional settings called "Fit2bFathers," developed by Ohio State University Extension.

The study, funded by a grant from the statewide nonprofit Council for Children and Families and the Washington State Department of Early Learning, didn't contain any control groups; Crawford said she hopes to conduct more rigorous studies in the future.
Science Daily/SOURCE :http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/10/151015114806.htm

Mindfulness training helps patients with inflammatory bowel diseases

November 5, 2015
Science Daily/Wolters Kluwer Health: Lippincott Williams and Wilkins
Training in meditation and other mindfulness-based techniques brings lasting improvements in mental health and quality of life for patients with inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD), according to a study.

"Our study provides support for the feasibility, acceptability, and effectiveness of a tailored mindfulness-based group intervention for patients with IBD," concludes the research report by Dr. David Castle, a psychiatrist at St. Vincent's Hospital, Melbourne, Australia, and colleagues. More research is needed to demonstrate the clinical benefits of mindfulness techniques--including whether they can help to reduce IBD symptoms and relapses.

Mindfulness Reduces Anxiety and Depression in IBD Patients

The researchers evaluated a mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) program tailored for patients with IBD. The study included 60 adults with IBD: Crohn's disease or ulcerative colitis. The patients' average age was 36 years, and average duration of IBD 11 years. Twenty-four patients had active disease at the time of the study.

The MBSR intervention consisted of eight weekly group sessions plus a daylong intensive session, led by an experienced instructor. The program included guided meditations, exercises designed to enhance mindfulness in daily life, and group discussions of challenges and experiences. Participants were also encouraged to perform daily "mindfulness meditation" at home.

Thirty-three patients agreed to participate in the MBSR intervention, 27 of whom completed the program. Ratings of mental health, quality of life, and mindfulness were compared to those of the 27 patients who chose not to participate (mainly because of travel time).

The MBSR participants had greater reductions in anxiety and depression scores, as well as improvement in physical and psychological quality of life. They also had higher scores on a questionnaire measuring various aspects of mindfulness--for example, awareness of inner and outer experiences.

Six months later, MBSR participants still had significant reduction in depression and improvement in quality of life, with a trend toward reduced anxiety. The patients were highly satisfied with the mindfulness intervention.

Anxiety, depression, and decreased quality of life are common in patients with IBD. Psychological distress may lead to increased IBD symptoms and play a role in triggering disease flare-ups. Previous studies have shown benefits of MBSR for patients with a wide range of physical illnesses, but there is limited evidence on mindfulness-based interventions for patients with IBD.

The new results show that the MBSR approach is feasible and well-accepted by patients with IBD. The study also suggests that training patients in mindfulness practices to follow in daily life can lead to significant and lasting benefits, including reduced psychological distress and improved quality of life. Dr. Castle comments, "This work reinforces the interaction between physical and mental aspects of functioning, and underscores the importance of addressing both aspects in all our patients."

The researchers point out some important limitations of their study--including the fact that patients weren't randomly assigned to MBSR and control groups. They also note that the study didn't assess the impact on measures of disease activity, including IBD flares. Dr. Castle and colleagues conclude, "A larger adequately powered, randomised study with an active control arm is warranted to evaluate the effectiveness of a mindfulness group program for patients with IBD in a definitive manner."
Science Daily/SOURCE :http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/11/151105113742.htm

Mindfulness meditation trumps placebo in pain reduction

November 10, 2015
Science Daily/Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center
New evidence has been found that mindfulness meditation reduces pain more effectively than placebo. The study used a two-pronged approach -- pain ratings and brain imaging -- to determine whether mindfulness meditation is merely a placebo effect. Seventy-five healthy, pain-free participants were randomly assigned to one of four groups: mindfulness meditation, placebo meditation ("sham" meditation), placebo analgesic cream (petroleum jelly) or control.

http://images.sciencedaily.com/2015/11/151110171600_1_540x360.jpg
MRI scan (stock image). This study showed that study participants who practiced mindfulness meditation reported greater pain relief than placebo. Significantly, brain scans showed that mindfulness meditation produced very different patterns of activity than those produced by placebo to reduce pain.
Credit: © George.M. / Fotolia

This is significant because placebo-controlled trials are the recognized standard for demonstrating the efficacy of clinical and pharmacological treatments.

The research, published in the Nov.11 issue of the Journal of Neuroscience, showed that study participants who practiced mindfulness meditation reported greater pain relief than placebo. Significantly, brain scans showed that mindfulness meditation produced very different patterns of activity than those produced by placebo to reduce pain.

"We were completely surprised by the findings," said Fadel Zeidan, Ph.D., assistant professor of neurobiology and anatomy at Wake Forest Baptist and lead investigator of the study. "While we thought that there would be some overlap in brain regions between meditation and placebo, the findings from this study provide novel and objective evidence that mindfulness meditation reduces pain in a unique fashion."

The study used a two-pronged approach -- pain ratings and brain imaging -- to determine whether mindfulness meditation is merely a placebo effect. Seventy-five healthy, pain-free participants were randomly assigned to one of four groups: mindfulness meditation, placebo meditation ("sham" meditation), placebo analgesic cream (petroleum jelly) or control.

Pain was induced by using a thermal probe to heat a small area of the participants' skin to 49 degrees Centigrade (120.2 degrees Fahrenheit), a level of heat most people find very painful. Study participants then rated pain intensity (physical sensation) and pain unpleasantness (emotional response). The participants' brains were scanned with arterial spin labeling magnetic resonance imaging (ASL MRI) before and after their respective four-day group interventions.

The mindfulness meditation group reported that pain intensity was reduced by 27 percent and by 44 percent for the emotional aspect of pain. In contrast, the placebo cream reduced the sensation of pain by 11 percent and emotional aspect of pain by 13 percent.

"The MRI scans showed for the first time that mindfulness meditation produced patterns of brain activity that are different than those produced by the placebo cream," Zeidan said.

Mindfulness meditation reduced pain by activating brain regions (orbitofrontal and anterior cingulate cortex) associated with the self-control of pain while the placebo cream lowered pain by reducing brain activity in pain-processing areas (secondary somatosensory cortex).

Another brain region, the thalamus, was deactivated during mindfulness meditation, but was activated during all other conditions. This brain region serves as a gateway that determines if sensory information is allowed to reach higher brain centers. By deactivating this area, mindfulness meditation may have caused signals about pain to simply fade away, Zeidan said.

Mindfulness meditation also was significantly better at reducing pain intensity and pain unpleasantness than the placebo meditation. The placebo-meditation group had relatively small decreases in pain intensity (9 percent) and pain unpleasantness (24 percent). The study findings suggest that placebo meditation may have reduced pain through a relaxation effect that was associated with slower breathing.

"This study is the first to show that mindfulness meditation is mechanistically distinct and produces pain relief above and beyond the analgesic effects seen with either placebo cream or sham meditation," Zeidan said.

"Based on our findings, we believe that as little as four 20-minute daily sessions of mindfulness meditation could enhance pain treatment in a clinical setting. However, given that the present study examined healthy, pain-free volunteers, we cannot generalize our findings to chronic pain patients at this time."
Science Daily/SOURCE :