Immediate Effects of OM Meditation on Heart Rate Variability as a Stress Index During Different Phases of Menstruation: A Quasi-Experimental Pilot Study
Introduction: Stress alters normal reproductive function, causing menstrual disorders up to infertility in females. Psychological stress is the most common lifestyle factor found to be associated with menstrual disorders among late adolescence and young adults. Yoga-based OM-meditation has been...
| Main Authors: | , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
JCDR Research and Publications Private Limited
2023-09-01
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| Series: | Journal of Clinical and Diagnostic Research |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.jcdr.net/articles/PDF/18387/63888_CE[Ra1]_F[SK]_QC(SHK_IS)_PF1(AKA_KM)_PFA(AKA_KM)_PN(KM).pdf |
| Summary: | Introduction: Stress alters normal reproductive function,
causing menstrual disorders up to infertility in females.
Psychological stress is the most common lifestyle factor found to
be associated with menstrual disorders among late adolescence
and young adults. Yoga-based OM-meditation has been shown
to reduce stress, but its effect on managing stress during different
phases of menstruation in young females is not known.
Aim: To evaluate if short-term practice of OM-meditation could
induce a beneficial modulation in Heart-Rate Variability (HRV), a
measure of stress index during various phases of the menstrual
cycle in young females.
Materials and Methods: A quasi-experimental study was
conducted on 20 healthy young females with a normal menstrual
cycle, aged between 18-25 years, and pursuing a medicine course
at Shri BM Patil Medical College, Karnataka, India, from March 2020
to December 2021. Meditation group participants (n=10) practiced
OM-meditation, while control group participants (n=10) relaxed
quietly for 10 minutes. Each subject received an intervention thrice
during the menstrual, proliferative, and secretory phases. Data was
collected before and immediately after every intervention. Body
Mass Index (BMI), Blood Pressure (BP), Heart Rate (HR), and HRV
were measured. Distribution of data, within-group and betweengroup analysis was done. ANCOVA (Analysis of covariance) was
used to determine the differences between groups.
Results: Total 20 participants, n=10 in each, Meditation and
control group, mean age of participants was 19.2±0.79 and
19.3±0.82 years, and the mean period of MC was 31.1±2.76 and
30.3±2.4 days in the meditation and control groups, respectively.
There was no change in the baseline values of BMI, BP, and HR
between the two groups, and they were within the normal range.
Between-group analysis (ANCOVA) of HRV spectrum showed
that OM-meditation had significantly decreased the LowFrequency (LF) component of HRV (p<0.05) and LF/HF ratio
(p<0.05), and increased the High-Frequency (HF) component
(p<0.05) of HRV during all three phases of MC.
Conclusion: The practice of OM-meditation for 10 minutes
reduced sympathetic activity and shifted autonomic balance
towards parasympathetic dominance. These changes suggest
that OM-meditation can reduce mental stress and optimise
autonomic regulation during different phases of MC. However,
this needs evaluation in a larger trial. |
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| ISSN: | 2249-782X 0973-709X |