Mindfulness practice that quiets the mind and body is an extremely effective way to get blood pressure in check, a study suggests.
People who practiced the technique saw their levels drop four times further than a control group who received standard care that didn’t involve drugs.
Mindfulness practice helps people better manage their emotions and enhance their self-awareness. It is thought that taking in deep breaths helps dilate blood vessels, allowing more blood to flow through them and lowering blood pressure.
People who subscribe to mindfulness practices are also more likely to make healthy food choices and become physically active, promoting better heart health overall.
Researchers from Brown University looked at 200 participants in Rhode Island with elevated blood pressure aged between x and y over how many weeks.
Half attended weekly class that involved doing excactly what? whiel the other half followed the typical course of hypertension care consisting of a home blood pressure monitor, blood pressure education material, and access to a physician.
At six months, participants in the mindfulness program saw a drop of nearly six points in their systolic blood pressure – the top number in a blood reading.
The systolic pressure reading measures the pressure the heart exerts on the arteries when the heart beats.
Meanwhile the control group saw a 1.4-point reduction.
For comparison, people who take drugs aimed at lowering blood pressure will see an average nine point reduction in systolic blood pressure.
A slight decrease in systolic blood pressure has a big payoff. A five-point drop has been shown to reduce the risk of a severe cardiovascular event such as a heart attack by 10 per cent.
Mindfulness activities are popular among influencers and celebrities, as well as physicians, for their ability to calm the mind, manage stress levels, and even help lower high blood pressure and blood glucose levels
Lead study author Dr Eric B. Loucks, Ph.D., director of the Mindfulness Center at Brown University, said: ‘Mindfulness is non-judgmental, present-moment awareness of physical sensations, emotions and thoughts.’
‘It is almost like a scientist curiously and objectively observing the information coming in through the sense organs and the mind, and then responding skillfully to that information.’
Half of the participants who were enrolled in the Mindfulness-Based Blood Pressure Reduction program attended a group orientation session, eight weekly group sessions, and one all-day mindfulness retreat.
The results are relevant to nearly half of all adults in the US with elevated blood pressure.
About 116 million Americans have a systolic blood pressure greater than 130 mmHg or a diastolic blood pressure greater than 80 mmHg, or are taking medication for hypertension.
Normal blood pressure for most adults is defined as a systolic pressure of less than 120 and a diastolic pressure of less than 80.
Mindfulness is a broad term that encompasses a range of activities that bolster a person’s emotional health, such as meditation, yoga, tai chi and other low-impact marital arts, and breathing exercises.
The objective of practicing mind-body activities is to identify and remedy poor behavior patterns and increase a person’s ability to regulate emotions, decrease stress, temper anxiety, and alleviate symptoms of depression.
People who practiced the mindfulness activities were also more likely to maintain a good diet, a fitness regimen, a healthy relationship with alcohol, and manageable stress levels, all of which contribute to lower blood pressure and overall heart health.
Dr Loucks said: ‘Mindfulness also involves the concept of remembering, or in other words, remembering to bring one’s wisdom (wherever it was gained, such as from health care professionals or public health messages) into the present moment.’
‘Wisdom in the context of elevated blood pressure levels may include knowledge that evidence-based practices, such as physical activity, diet, limited alcohol consumption and antihypertensive medication adherence, can improve well-being,’ Dr Loucks added.
An ever-growing body of scientific research suggests it actually does help people relax and dispel feelings of anger, irritability or impatience.
A recent study involving an inhaler-like device that creates resistance when the user inhales determined that daily breathing exercises can lower blood pressure by as much as nine points.
There are also suggestions it may be able to change structures in the brain linked to attention and emotion regulation — such as the amygdala which looks out for fearful and threatening situations.
The findings were presented earlier this week at the American Heart Association’s Scientific Sessions 2022 in Chicago.
What’s the truth about mindfulness and our health? From lowering blood pressure to relieving chronic pain and improving your sex life, all the benefits according to science
It has been the craze among celebrities and CEOs for years.
Oprah Winfrey says meditation helped to build her $2.5billion fortune, while singer Katy Perry suggests that without mindfulness practices she would have given up on the music industry years ago.
It was written off as a fad for decades, but now a growing body of research suggests achieving calm states in the mind has measurable mental and physical benefits.
In Silicone Valley, a few quiet minutes with your thoughts long ago replaced the mantra of ‘I’ll sleep when I die’ and ‘Meditation rooms’ are becoming increasingly common at tech companies like Salesforce.
And it seems for good reason. Just this week, a study found that mindfulness meditation, breathing techniques and yoga were just as effective at lowering blood sugar among diabetics as standard drugs.
That followed research last week which suggested just five minutes of breathing exercises a day could lower blood pressure. The researchers said the big dumps of oxygen in the body helps dilate blood vessels and allow blood to flow through more easily.
Research has also indicated trendy mindfulness techniques can relieve pain as effectively as traditional painkillers, and even stimulate more intense orgasms.
However, the jury’s still out on exactly how well they work. Some scientists suggest it may just be the ‘placebo’ effect — when someone experiences a positive effect because they were expecting it.
Many studies rely on surveys and fail to use control groups which are the gold-standard for scientific research, meaning evidence from them is not water-tight.
HERE, DAILYMAIL.COM LOOKS AT WHAT THE SCIENCE SAYS ABOUT MINDFULNESS
Meditation is credited by many celebrities and CEOs for helping them reach their success. And now a growing body of scientific research suggests there are several measurable benefits to the practice. The key one scientists have found it that the practice eases stress, possibly because it leads to a reduction in the stress hormone cortisol. Just last week a study also suggested 20 minutes of breathing a day could lower blood pressure by causing vessels to dilate, allowing more space for blood to flow. A number of studies have even linked meditation to better orgasms, and some say it can boost the levels of melatonin – or sleep hormone – to help people get more shut-eye
Stress, anxiety and depression
Most Americans turn to meditation to help them handle stress — triggered by work, family life or financial troubles.
An ever-growing body of scientific research suggests it actually does help people relax and dispel feelings of anger, irritability or impatience.
A meta-analysis from 2014 reviewed 47 trials involving meditation among 3,515 people. The practice was associated with ‘moderate evidence’ of lowered stress, anxiety and depression in eight weeks.
Many were practicing transcendental meditation — where participants repeated a mantra in their minds for 15 to 20 minutes twice a day.
The researchers theorized it lowers levels of the hormone cortisol — nature’s built-in alarm system — in turn lowering inflammation in the body.
There are also suggestions it may be able to change structures in the brain linked to attention and emotion regulation — such as the amygdala which looks out for fearful and threatening situations.
Psychologists add that sitting still with your eyes closed for long periods raises awareness of negative thoughts, and how to counter-act them — also helping calm stress.
But some experts are warning that meditation does not always ease these feelings, and can actually have the reverse effect.
Another meta-analysis from 2020 suggested as many as one in 12 people who take up meditation actually experience the reverse effect — with it leading to panic attacks, suicidal thoughts and more anxiety.
Dr Miguel Farias, a psychologist at Coventry University in the UK who has done several studies on mindfulness, suggested the negative effects may be down to the intensity of practice and a potentially incompetent teacher.
But he also suggested it could be down to participants previously being unaware of the state of their mental health.
There is also evidence that in rare cases meditation could be linked to schizophrenia — where people struggle to interpret reality and experience hallucinations — according to a 2019 study in the Irish Journal of Psychological Medicine.
More than 40 million American adults are thought to suffer from stress or anxiety, according to the National Alliance on Mental Illness.
Lower blood pressure
There are some suggestions that mindfulness could help lower blood pressure.
Just last week a study found doing five minutes of breathing exercises every day had the effect after patients breathed through a device that created resistance.
And even the American Heart Association says it could have a ‘beneficial effect’, although they warn it should not be used in the place of other treatments.
Scientists suggested it may be due to the practice dilating blood vessels, allowing more to flow through them.
Another paper from 2012 involved 101 adults who did 20 minutes of meditation a day for several months while their blood pressure was monitored.
The group that did the meditation had a 48 per cent lower risk of death from heart disease and strokes up to seven years later. Blood pressure is a key risk factor for these conditions.
Some papers have, however, found ‘no significant difference’ in blood pressure after meditation including one from 2013 in the American Journal of Hypertension where participants meditated 45 minutes a day for two months.
Another study from 2009 that looked at 298 university students with moderate blood pressure also found little drop in it after 40 minutes of meditation per day with their eyes closed for three months.
Both papers note that their results may be down to the small sample size they used, or because participants did not have severely high blood pressure.
In a statement last year, the AHA said: ‘Meditation was a reasonable adjunct to other cardiovascular risk reduction methods given its low cost and risk and its potential benefits.’
Nearly half of American adults — or more than 110million people — have high blood pressure, the CDC says.
Improved Orgasms
Mindful meditation may be able to improve orgasms and sex lives, studies suggest.
One of the most well-known is a paper from 2018 that interviewed 450 women between 17 to 70 years old including 198 participants who already practiced meditation.
The researchers found that these women had higher scores for sexual arousal, lubrication, orgasm and desire than those who did not use the method.
Experts suggest this may be because meditation can reduce stress.
They also say it could help raise levels of dopamine and serotonin — reward chemicals in the brain —, which may in turn raise sexual desire and appetite.
Another study from 2014, 26 women were asked to do three 90-minute mindfulness sessions over two weeks. Their sexual arousal was scored before and after the sessions via surveys, with results showing there was a ‘significant benefit’ to undertaking the arousal.
There have also been studies on men experiencing erectile dysfunction showing the method can raise their sexual enjoyment.
Little research has been carried out on this area, however, and more papers are needed.
Better sleep
Mindfulness meditation may be able to help people struggling to settle down at night sleep longer.
But little evidence is available suggesting it improves the quality of sleep for those who get enough shut-eye.
Studies suggesting a link include a 2015 paper where 49 people who were about 66 years old and struggled to get to sleep were asked to either meditate for up to 20 minutes a day or take part in a ‘sleep hygiene’ course over a 10-week period.
Sleep hygiene is a Food and Drug Administration-approved treatment for trouble sleeping where participants are asked to try room changes — such as black-out curtains and having only dimmed lights — to improve their sleep.
Surveys showed that while both groups got better sleep and were less fatigued, improvements were significantly larger in the meditation group.
This may be because meditation reduces stress.
But could also be linked to the fact that it boosts melatonin levels — the sleep chemical — in the brain, helping someone to relax.
Of the studies to look at how sleep improved in non-insomnia patients was a 2013 paper involving 336 women who had received operations for breast cancer.
It found that meditation only improved sleep among those who were already struggling to get some shut-eye, while there was no improvement for the rest.
Scientists suggest mindfulness can improve sleep because it may reduce stress in the brain and increase relaxation for users.
It can also lower levels of inflammation, which has similarly being linked to feelings of being more relaxed.
As many as 50 to 70 million Americans are thought to struggle to get the recommended eight hours, leaving them open to a host of health risks including heart disease, struggle focusing and even high blood pressure.
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