Many studies have shown that heart rate fluctuations are reduced during meditation types that involve slow breathing, according to Shr-Da Wu and Pei-Chen Lo in "Biomedical Research" in October 2008. Breathing alone could be the cause for heart rate fluctuations. However, Wu and Lo found these same outcomes when using Zen meditation, a technique that focuses thoughts inward. Therefore, the breathing alone might not be the only reason for heart rate changes.
Paradox
Since meditation is relaxing and is thought to regulate heart rate, it is surprising that a variety of meditation and relaxation techniques produce active heart states, according to C. Peng and colleagues in 2004 in the "International Journal of Cardiology." Meditation has been shown, instead, to lead to frequents shifts in heart rate, as the researchers explain.
Outcomes
Chinese Chi and Kundalini yoga meditation has been found to cause heart rate to shift frequently in a group of young adults, as cited by Peng and colleagues. Slower breathing also has been found to relate to marked irregular rhythmic flow in parts of the heart, as the researchers note. Peng and the research team found that relaxation and breathing practices lead to heart rate fluctuations.
Other Practices
There is common ground when it comes to meditation and other spiritual-type practices. Evidence supporting the relationship between heart rate fluctuation and Zen meditation was found with a group of monks, as cited by Peng and colleagues. Rosary prayers and yoga mantras produce heart rate fluctuations, as well.
Theory
Mindfulness is one part of a set of integrated practices aimed at helping the individual achieve spiritual freedom by revealing insight into the nature and cause of human suffering, according to Ellisa Epil and colleagues in 2009 in "Longevity, Regeneration, and Optimal Health." Therefore, mindfulness likely influences processes in the body that help regulate stress.
Mechanism
Studies have found that heart rate is linked to low telomeres, which are the structures that cap and protect the ends of chromosomes, according to Epil and colleagues. With age, the cell division of telomeres over time shortens them; this is what is considered to be cellular aging. Telomeres appear to be a predictor of death disease and shorten with chronological age and in people with age-related diseases like diabetes and atherosclerosis, or hardening of the arteries. Mindfulness meditation appears to help regulate processes in the body, such as heart rate, that affect the lifespan of telomeres, according to the researchers.
References
- "Biomedical Research"; Inward-Attention Meditation Increases Parasympathetic Activity: A Study Based on Heart Rate Variability; Shr-Da Wu & Pei-Chen Lo; 2008
- "Longevity, Regeneration, and Optimal Health"; Can Meditation Slow Rate of Cellular Aging?
- "International Journal of Cardiology"; Heart Rate Dynamics During Three Forms of Meditation; C-K Peng et al.; 2004
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