Decreased [Vdot]O2 Consumption during Exercise with Elicitation of the Relaxation Response

Authors
Herbert Benson, M.D., Thomas Dryer, B.A., L. Howard Hartley, M.D.
Publication
Journal of Human Stress
Vol 4, Issue 2
Abstract

Oxygen consumption is usually considered to be predictable and unalterable at a fixed work intensity. The relaxation response is hypothesized to be an integrated hypothalamic response which results in generalized decreased sympathetic nervous system activity. One physiologic manifestation of the relaxation response is decreased oxygen consumption. The possibility that the elicitation of the relaxation response could decrease oxygen consumption at a fixed work intensity was investigated. Oxygen consumption was decreased 4 percent (p < 0.05) in eight subjects working at a fixed intensity when the relaxation response was simultaneously elicited.

Related Listings
Nonpharmacologic treatment of hypertension: A m...
Authors
Eileen M. Stuart, RN, MS, Margaret Caudill, MD, PhD, Jane Leserman, PhD, Claudia Darrington, BSc, Richard Friedman, PhD, Herbert Benson, MD
Journal
Journal of Cardiovascular Nursing
Hypertension is one of the leading health problems in the United States. It is commonly accepted that as many as 60 million Americans have hypertension, with the majority (>70%) having mild elevations (diastolic pressure range, 90-104 mm Hg). The treatment of hypertension accounts for more office visits to health care providers and more treatment than any other medical diagnosis. A 1980 National Institutes of Health survey showed that about 2% of visits to health care providers wer […]
Kundalini Yoga Meditation Versus the Relaxation...
Authors
David Shannahoff-Khalsa, Rodrigo Yacubian Fernandes, Carlos A. de B. Pereira, John S. March, James F. Leckman, Shahrokh Golshan, Mario S.R. Vieira, Guilherme V. Polanczyk, Euripedes C. Miguel, Roseli G. Shavitt
Journal
Frontiers in Psychiatry
Background: Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is often a life-long disorder with high psychosocial impairment. Serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SRIs) are the only FDA approved drugs, and approximately 50% of patients are non-responders when using a criterion of 25% to 35% improvement with the Yale-Brown Obsessive-Compulsive Scale (Y-BOCS). About 30% are non-responders to combined first-line therapies (SRIs and exposure and response prevention). Previous research (one open, one randomi […]
Specific Transcriptome Changes Associated with ...
Authors
Manoj K. Bhasin, PhD, John W. Denninger, MD, PhD, Jeff C. Huffman, MD, Marie G. Joseph, BA, Halsey Niles, BA, Emma Chad-Friedman, BA, Robert Goldman, BA, Beverly Buczynski-Kelley, RN, Barbara A. Mahoney, RN, Gregory L. Fricchione, MD, Jeffery A. Dusek, PhD, Herbert Benson, MD, Randall M. Zusman, MD, Towia A. Liebermann, PhD
Journal
Journal Alternative and Complementary Medicine
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 […]