Meditation News and Research

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The term meditation refers to a variety of techniques or practices intended to focus or control attention. Most of them are rooted in Eastern religious or spiritual traditions. These techniques have been used by many different cultures throughout the world for thousands of years.

Today, many people use meditation outside of its traditional religious or cultural settings as a form of mind-body medicine. Many claims have been made about its value in promoting or improving health and wellness.

Immersive VR interventions effective in reducing pain and distress among cancer patients

Immersive virtual reality-;digital technology that allows a person to experience being physically present in a non-physical world-;seems to ease the pain and distress felt by patients with cancer, suggests a pooled data analysis of the available evidence published in BMJ Supportive & Palliative Care.

16 Oct 2023

Virtual reality can help calm caregivers of surgery-bound children

Virtual reality (VR) may be an effective and reliable tool to alleviate the anxiety experienced by most parents or caregivers when their child undergoes surgery, according to research presented at the ANESTHESIOLOGY® 2023 annual meeting.

15 Oct 2023

Cancer patients and oncologists support complementary therapies, but communication gap exists

Patients and oncologists are supportive of complementary therapies, such as nutrition counseling, exercise, massage, and mediation, for cancer treatment, according to a new survey conducted on behalf of the Healing Works Foundation.

12 Oct 2023

School-based mindfulness program helps minoritized adolescents develop healthy coping skills

Educational programs that promote mental and physical health can help young people - particularly in environments of chronic stress and trauma exposure - learn healthy coping strategies, avoid risky behaviors, and succeed in school.

26 Sep 2023

Study examines the benefit of adding yoga therapy as a complementary treatment for heart failure

Previous studies have shown that yoga therapy and lifestyle modifications have improved heart failure patients' quality of life and enhanced their cardiovascular function.

26 Sep 2023

Editorial proposes an innovative systems medicine approach to address clinician burnout

A new editorial published in the Heart and Mind journal proposes an innovative systems medicine approach to address the epidemic of clinician burnout and holistically improve clinician mental health and wellbeing (Heart and Mind: September 18, 2023. | DOI: 10.4103/hm.HM-D-23-00013, published ahead of print).

22 Sep 2023

Shape-shifting ball uses haptic feedback to help people manage mental health

A soft ball that 'personifies' breath, expanding and contracting in synchronicity with a person's inhalations and exhalations, has been invented by a PhD student at the University of Bath in the UK.

31 Aug 2023

The Mediterranean diet and mindfulness practice during pregnancy can improve child neurodevelopmental outcomes

Mediterranean diet abidance and mindfulness-based stress reduction during pregnancy effectively improves pediatric neurodevelopment.

28 Aug 2023

SIO and ASCO recommend mindfulness-based interventions for anxiety, depression in cancer patients

The Society for Integrative Oncology (SIO) and the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) formally recommend mindfulness-based interventions (MBIs) and other integrative therapies to manage anxiety and depression symptoms in adults living with cancer.

16 Aug 2023

Kundalini yoga may be beneficial for older women with Alzheimer's risk factors

Kundalini yoga, a form of yoga that focuses on breathing, meditation, and mental visualization, appeared beneficial for older women who had risk factors for Alzheimer's disease and concerns about episodes of memory decline, according to a UCLA Health study.

26 Jul 2023

Study describes the scope and integration of music therapy program within UH medical centers

A new study from University Hospitals (UH) Connor Whole Health describes the scope and integration of their music therapy program within10 UH medical centers.

14 Jul 2023

UCSF's new pain clinic in Walnut Creek offers hope for children with chronic pain

Each year, too many kids in the East Bay suffer needlessly from pain related to long-term serious illness, including migraines, joint and abdominal pain, sickle cell anemia and more. A new UCSF Health pain clinic in Walnut Creek is opening to provide relief.

11 Jul 2023

In-person mindfulness courses may help prevent mental health problems

Adults who voluntarily take part in mindfulness courses are less likely to experience symptoms of anxiety and depression for at least six months after completing the programs, compared to adults who do not take part, a new analysis pooling data from 13 studies has confirmed.

10 Jul 2023

Illuminating how children inherit parents’ stressful experiences

Most of us learned in high school that people get half their genes from their father and half from their mother. That's true, but it turns out the way parents contribute to their offspring's genetics is more complicated—and more intriguing.

27 Jun 2023

Mediterranean diet in pregnancy: A recipe for reduced stress and improved sleep

A Mediterranean diet intervention during pregnancy reduces maternal stress and anxiety levels, improves sleep quality, and increases the cortisone/cortisol ratio. These findings highlight the positive impact of dietary changes on maternal well-being during gestation.

4 Jun 2023

Sleep-disordered breathing in cognitively unimpaired amyloid-positive individuals may exacerbate neurodegeneration in medial temporal lobe subregions

A new study investigated the link between SDB severity and the volume of medial temporal lobe (MTL) substructures. In addition, it also evaluated the association between SDB and MTL subregions volumes with episodic memory performance.

2 Jun 2023

Can adherence to the Mediterranean diet reduce gestational stress and anxiety in pregnant women?

Researchers investigated the influence of structured Mediterranean diet intervention on the anxiety and stress levels.

1 Jun 2023

Nuffield Health’s 2023 Healthier Nation Index highlights an increase in mental health transparency at work

A new survey of 8,000 UK adults has highlighted an increase in mental health transparency in the workplace.

22 May 2023

Interventions for individual healthcare workers may help reduce work-related stress up to a year later

Interventions aimed at reducing work-related stress for individual healthcare workers may lead to improvements in how people cope with stress up to a year later.

12 May 2023

Differences in genetics, lifestyle factors likely have unique effects on CVD risk in Asian Americans

Asian Americans have significant differences in genetics, socioeconomic factors, culture, diet, lifestyle, health interventions and acculturation levels based on the Asian region of their ancestry that likely have unique effects on their risk for heart disease and Type 2 diabetes, according to a new American Heart Association scientific statement published today in the Association's flagship, peer-reviewed journal Circulation.

8 May 2023