Effects of Meditation on Mental Health and Cardiovascular Balance in Caregivers
Metadatos
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Díaz Rodríguez, Consuelo Lourdes; Vargas Román, Keyla; Sánchez García, Juan Carlos; Rodríguez Blanque, Raquel; Cañadas De La Fuente, Guillermo Arturo; Fuente Solana, Emilia I. De LaEditorial
Mdpi
Materia
Meditation Vagal nerve activity High-burden caregivers Mental health
Fecha
2021-01-13Referencia bibliográfica
Díaz-Rodríguez, L.; Vargas-Román, K.; Sanchez-Garcia, J.C.; Rodríguez-Blanque, R.; Cañadas-De la Fuente, G.A.; De La Fuente-Solana, E.I. Effects of Meditation on Mental Health and Cardiovascular Balance in Caregivers. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2021, 18, 617.[https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18020617]
Resumen
Background: Caring for a loved one can be rewarding but is also associated with substantial
caregiver burden, developing mental outcomes and affecting happiness. The aim of this study
was to determine the effects of a four-week, 16-h presential meditation program on physiological
and psychological parameters and vagal nerve activity in high-burden caregivers, as compared
to a control group. Methods: A non-randomized repeated-measures controlled clinical trial was
conducted. Results: According to the ANCOVA results, the global happiness score (F = 297.42,
p < 0.001) and the scores for all subscales were significantly higher in the experimental group than in
the control group at 5 weeks. Anxiety levels were also significantly reduced in the experimental group
(F = 24.92, p < 0.001), systolic (F = 16.23, p < 0.001) and diastolic blood (F = 34.39, p < 0.001) pressures,
and the resting heart rate (F = 17.90, p < 0.05). HRV results revealed significant between-group
differences in the HRV Index (F = 8.40, p < 0.05), SDNN (F = 13.59, p < 0.05), and RMSSD (F = 10.72,
p < 0.05) in the time domain, and HF (F = 4.82 p < 0.05)) in the frequency domain, which were all
improved in the experimental group after the meditation program. Conclusions: Meditation can be
a useful therapy to enhance the mental health and autonomic nervous system balance of informal
caregivers, improving symptoms of physical and mental overload.