Category: Measurement Techniques

Background and aim Mental stress represents a pivotal factor in cardiovascular diseases. The mechanism by which stress produces its deleterious effects is still under study, but one of the most explored pathways is inflammation-aging and cell senescence. In this scenario, circulating microRNAs appear to be regulatory elements of the telomerase activity and alternative splicing within the nuclear factor kappa-light-chain-enhancer (NF-κB) network. Anti-stress techniques appeared to be […]

Relaxation helps to reduce physical, mental, and emotional pressure. Relaxation techniques generally enable a person to obtain calmness and well-being by reducing stress, anxiety, or anger. When a person becomes calm the body reacts physiologically, producing the so-called Relaxation Response (RResp) which affects the organism in a positive manner, no matter if it is during a state of relaxation or in the middle of a stressful period. The goal of this paper is to design a system capab […]

Stress is a term used to define the body’s physiological and psychological reactions to circumstances that require behavioral adjustment [1,2,3], and the relaxation response is a psychophysiological state that is opposite to that of the stress or fight–flight response [4]. A variety of mind/body techniques can be used to elicit a relaxation response and achieve the therapeutic effects associated with reduced blood pressure. For example, researchers at the Cochrane Review [5] investiga […]

Objective: Mind–body practices that elicit the relaxation response (RR) have been demonstrated to reduce blood pressure (BP) in essential hypertension (HTN) and may be an adjunct to antihypertensive drug therapy. However, the molecular mechanisms by which the RR reduces BP remain undefined. Design: Genomic determinants associated with responsiveness to an 8-week RR-based mind–body intervention for lowering HTN in 13 stage 1 hypertensive patients classified as BP responders and 11 as n […]

Researchers identified genes and biological pathways linked to immune regulation, metabolism, and circadian rhythm in people who reduced their hypertension after eight-week relaxation response training

A very readable introduction to the scientific findings in neurology about primarily Buddhist forms of meditation.

The relaxation response (RR) is the counterpart of the stress response. Millennia-old practices evoking the RR include meditation, yoga and repetitive prayer. Although RR elicitation is an effective therapeutic intervention that counteracts the adverse clinical effects of stress in disorders including hypertension, anxiety, insomnia and aging, the underlying molecular mechanisms that explain these clinical benefits remain undetermined. To assess rapid time-dependent (temporal) genomic […]

Mind-body practices that elicit the relaxation response (RR) have been used worldwide for millennia to prevent and treat disease. The RR is characterized by decreased oxygen consumption, increased exhaled nitric oxide, and reduced psychological distress. It is believed to be the counterpart of the stress response that exhibits a distinct pattern of physiology and transcriptional profile. We hypothesized that RR elicitation results in characteristic gene expression changes that can be […]

The authors examined the effect of a 6-week mind/body intervention on college students' psychological distress, anxiety, and perception of stress. One hundred twenty-eight students were randomly assigned to an experimental group (n = 63) or a waitlist control group (n = 65). The experimental group received 6 90-minute group-training sessions in the relaxation response and cognitive behavioral skills. The Symptom Checklist-90-Revised, Spielberger State-Trait Anxiety Inventory, and the […]

To clarify the mechanisms of gender-related mind/body relationships, the authors analyzed the characteristics of 1,132 outpatients (848 women and 284 men) attending a mind/body medicine clinic. At entry in the program, the patients completed the Medical Symptom Checklist, Symptom Checklist-90 revised (SCL-90R), and Stress Perception Scale. Women reported 9 out of 12 symptoms (fatigue, insomnia, headache, back pain, joint or limb pain, palpitations, constipation, nausea, and dizziness) […]