Effects of Heartfulness Meditation Practices on Control of Alz-heimer’s Disease: A Comprehensive Review
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Abstract
Background: Progressive stress levels, aging and less care on mental health among adults lead to a decline in neurophysiological functioning and diminish the performance of working memory. Regular practice of meditation through Heartfulness will enhance mental health and thereby considerably reduce the risks of Alzheimer’s disease.
Methods: This review article was carried out from the literature available on databases such as PubMed, MEDLINE, Web of Science and Research Gate until May 2020. A qualitative analysis of the impact of Heartfulness meditation on people with chronic insomnia, students of different age groups, Heartfulness meditation practitioners and caregivers were summarized.
Results: From the survey results of selected 10 articles, it has been observed that the people who were practicing meditation through Heartfulness gain emotional wellness, joy, sound sleep pattern and reduction of stress, tension and anger. Moreover, the level of brain waves of the practitioners, especially alpha and delta activities in the brain were increased and there was a tremendous change in neuroplasticity among the practitioners.
Conclusion: Regular practice of meditation through Heartfulness improves the cognitive ability of the practitioners, with improved neurophysiological functions and suppresses the risks of Alzheimer’s diseases.
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3. Jagust WJ, Bandy D, Chen K, et al (2010). The Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative positron emission tomography core. Alzheimers Dement, 6(3):221-29.
4. Ma M, Dorstyn D, Ward L, Prentice S (2018). Alzheimers’ disease and caregiv-ing: a meta-analytic review comparing the mental health of primary carers to con-trols. Aging Ment Health, 22(11):1395-1405.
5. Gilleard CJ (2000). Is Alzheimer's disease preventable? A review of two decades of epidemiological research. Aging Ment Health, 4(2):101-18.
6. Gibbor L, Yates L, Volkmer A, Spector A (2021). Cognitive stimulation therapy (CST) for dementia: a systematic review of qualitative research. Aging Ment Health, 25(6): 980-90.
7. Sandoz M, Démonet JF, Fossard M (2014). Theory of mind and cognitive processes in aging and Alzheimer type dementia: a systematic review. Aging Ment Health, 18(7):815-27.
8. Agrawal Y, Smith PF, Rosenberg PB (2020). Vestibular impairment, cognitive decline and Alzheimer’s disease: balancing the evidence. Aging Ment Health, 24(5):705-8.
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13. Iyer RB, Iyer BN (2019). The impact of heartfulness-based elective on middle school students. Am J Health Behav, 43(4):812-23.
14. Thimmapuram J, Pargament R, Sibliss K, et al (2017). Effect of heartfulness medita-tion on burnout, emotional wellness, and telomere length in health care profession-als. J Community Hosp Intern Med Perspect, 7(1):21-7.
15. Thimmapuram J, Yommer D, Tudor L, et al (2020). Heartfulness meditation improves sleep in chronic insomnia. J Community Hosp Intern Med Perspect, 10(1):10-5.
16. Gupta P, Kumar A, Mundluru J, et al (2018). Studying the effect of Heartfulness Medi-tation on Brain Activity. 11th I@Q Confer-ence Proceedings, https://doi.org/10.24908/iqurcp.10470
17. Arya NK, Singh K, Malik A, Mehrotra R (2018). Effect of Heartfulness cleaning and meditation on heart rate variability. Indian Heart J, 70 Suppl 3(Suppl 3):S50-S55.
18. Amarnath GR, Prasanthi J, Sharma N, et al (2017). Efficacy of heartfulness medita-tion in moderating vital parameters-A comparison study of experienced and new meditators. Int J Med Res Health Sci, 6(7):70-8.
19. Downe S, Finlayson KW, Lawrie TA, et al (2019). Qualitative Evidence Synthesis (QES) for Guidelines: Paper 1–Using qualitative evidence synthesis to inform guideline scope and develop qualitative findings statements. Health Res Policy Syst, 17(1):76.
20. Barnett-Page E, Thomas J. (2009). Methods for the synthesis of qualitative research: a critical review. BMC Med Res Methodol, 9:59.
21. Raja Amarnath G, Sekhar Karumuri S, Prasanthi J, et al (2017). Impact of Heart-fulness Meditation Master class on Re-ducing Stress in College Students - A Prospective Observational Study. Int J Re-cent Sci Res, 8(8):19493-98.
22. Thimmapuram JR, Grim R, Bell T, et al (2019). Factors influencing work-life bal-ance in physicians and advance practice clinicians and the effect of heartfulness meditation conference on burnout. Glob Adv Health Med, 8:2164956118821056.
23. Amarnath GR, Marimuthu SR, Jenitha S, et al (2018). Impact of Heartfulness Medita-tion on Reducing Stress in Nursing Stu-dents: A Prospective Observational Study. Int J Med Res Health Sci, 7(1):98-109.
24. Yamini K (2016). A Study on the Impact of a Meditation Based Self-Development Program on Emotional Wellbeing, and Selected Competencies of College Stu-dents, Heartfulness Institute, Sahaj Marg Spirituality Foundation. https://www.sahajmarg.org/newsletter/sahajsandesh/2016.35
25. Amarnath R, Verma G, Jenitha S, et al (2017). Improving sleep quality through heartfulness meditation-technical aspects and benefits. Int J Health Sci Res, 7(5):368-81.
26. Kamlesh P. Creating mental well-being for one and all. Available from: https://www.daaji.org/creating-mental-well-being-for-one-and-all/ (Accessed date 07.07.2020).
27. Tao K, Zheng W (2018). Structural damage location and evaluation model inspired by memory and causal reasoning of the hu-man brain. Struct Control Health Monit, 25:e2249.
28. Kim H, Sim SH (2019). Automated peak picking using region‐based convolutional neural network for operational modal analysis. Struct Control Health Monit, 26:e2436.
29. Sri Ramachandra Murthy V (1979). Neuro-physiological basis of Raja Yoga in the light of Sahaj Marg. Shahjahanpur: Shri Ram Chandra Mission, pp.:198-199.
30. Karamodin AK, Kazemi HH (2010). Semi-active control of structures using neuro predictive algorithm for MR dampers. Structural Control and Health Monitor-ing. Struct Control Health Monit, 17(3):237-53.
2. Bayer TA, Wirths O (2010). Intracellular ac-cumulation of amyloid-Beta-a predictor for synaptic dysfunction and neuron loss in Alzheimer's disease. Front Aging Neuro-sci, 2:8.
3. Jagust WJ, Bandy D, Chen K, et al (2010). The Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative positron emission tomography core. Alzheimers Dement, 6(3):221-29.
4. Ma M, Dorstyn D, Ward L, Prentice S (2018). Alzheimers’ disease and caregiv-ing: a meta-analytic review comparing the mental health of primary carers to con-trols. Aging Ment Health, 22(11):1395-1405.
5. Gilleard CJ (2000). Is Alzheimer's disease preventable? A review of two decades of epidemiological research. Aging Ment Health, 4(2):101-18.
6. Gibbor L, Yates L, Volkmer A, Spector A (2021). Cognitive stimulation therapy (CST) for dementia: a systematic review of qualitative research. Aging Ment Health, 25(6): 980-90.
7. Sandoz M, Démonet JF, Fossard M (2014). Theory of mind and cognitive processes in aging and Alzheimer type dementia: a systematic review. Aging Ment Health, 18(7):815-27.
8. Agrawal Y, Smith PF, Rosenberg PB (2020). Vestibular impairment, cognitive decline and Alzheimer’s disease: balancing the evidence. Aging Ment Health, 24(5):705-8.
9. O’Shaughnessy NJ, Chan JE, Bhome R, et al (2021). Awareness in severe Alz-heimer’s disease: a systematic review. Ag-ing Ment Health,25(4):602-12.
10. Pandya SP (2019). Meditation Program En-hances Self-efficacy and Resilience of Home-based Caregivers of Older Adults with Alzheimer’s: A Five-year Follow-up Study in Two South Asian Cities. J Geron-tol Soc Work, 62(6):663-81.
11. Pandya SP (2020). Older Adults Who Medi-tate Regularly Perform Better on Neuro-psychological Functioning and Visual Working Memory Tests: A Three-month Waitlist Control Design Study with a Co-hort of Seniors in Assisted Living Facili-ties. Exp Aging Res, 46(3):214-35.
12. Moher D, Shamseer L, Clarke M, et al (2015). Preferred reporting items for sys-tematic review and meta-analysis proto-cols (PRISMA-P) 2015 statement. Syst Rev, 4(1):1.
13. Iyer RB, Iyer BN (2019). The impact of heartfulness-based elective on middle school students. Am J Health Behav, 43(4):812-23.
14. Thimmapuram J, Pargament R, Sibliss K, et al (2017). Effect of heartfulness medita-tion on burnout, emotional wellness, and telomere length in health care profession-als. J Community Hosp Intern Med Perspect, 7(1):21-7.
15. Thimmapuram J, Yommer D, Tudor L, et al (2020). Heartfulness meditation improves sleep in chronic insomnia. J Community Hosp Intern Med Perspect, 10(1):10-5.
16. Gupta P, Kumar A, Mundluru J, et al (2018). Studying the effect of Heartfulness Medi-tation on Brain Activity. 11th I@Q Confer-ence Proceedings, https://doi.org/10.24908/iqurcp.10470
17. Arya NK, Singh K, Malik A, Mehrotra R (2018). Effect of Heartfulness cleaning and meditation on heart rate variability. Indian Heart J, 70 Suppl 3(Suppl 3):S50-S55.
18. Amarnath GR, Prasanthi J, Sharma N, et al (2017). Efficacy of heartfulness medita-tion in moderating vital parameters-A comparison study of experienced and new meditators. Int J Med Res Health Sci, 6(7):70-8.
19. Downe S, Finlayson KW, Lawrie TA, et al (2019). Qualitative Evidence Synthesis (QES) for Guidelines: Paper 1–Using qualitative evidence synthesis to inform guideline scope and develop qualitative findings statements. Health Res Policy Syst, 17(1):76.
20. Barnett-Page E, Thomas J. (2009). Methods for the synthesis of qualitative research: a critical review. BMC Med Res Methodol, 9:59.
21. Raja Amarnath G, Sekhar Karumuri S, Prasanthi J, et al (2017). Impact of Heart-fulness Meditation Master class on Re-ducing Stress in College Students - A Prospective Observational Study. Int J Re-cent Sci Res, 8(8):19493-98.
22. Thimmapuram JR, Grim R, Bell T, et al (2019). Factors influencing work-life bal-ance in physicians and advance practice clinicians and the effect of heartfulness meditation conference on burnout. Glob Adv Health Med, 8:2164956118821056.
23. Amarnath GR, Marimuthu SR, Jenitha S, et al (2018). Impact of Heartfulness Medita-tion on Reducing Stress in Nursing Stu-dents: A Prospective Observational Study. Int J Med Res Health Sci, 7(1):98-109.
24. Yamini K (2016). A Study on the Impact of a Meditation Based Self-Development Program on Emotional Wellbeing, and Selected Competencies of College Stu-dents, Heartfulness Institute, Sahaj Marg Spirituality Foundation. https://www.sahajmarg.org/newsletter/sahajsandesh/2016.35
25. Amarnath R, Verma G, Jenitha S, et al (2017). Improving sleep quality through heartfulness meditation-technical aspects and benefits. Int J Health Sci Res, 7(5):368-81.
26. Kamlesh P. Creating mental well-being for one and all. Available from: https://www.daaji.org/creating-mental-well-being-for-one-and-all/ (Accessed date 07.07.2020).
27. Tao K, Zheng W (2018). Structural damage location and evaluation model inspired by memory and causal reasoning of the hu-man brain. Struct Control Health Monit, 25:e2249.
28. Kim H, Sim SH (2019). Automated peak picking using region‐based convolutional neural network for operational modal analysis. Struct Control Health Monit, 26:e2436.
29. Sri Ramachandra Murthy V (1979). Neuro-physiological basis of Raja Yoga in the light of Sahaj Marg. Shahjahanpur: Shri Ram Chandra Mission, pp.:198-199.
30. Karamodin AK, Kazemi HH (2010). Semi-active control of structures using neuro predictive algorithm for MR dampers. Structural Control and Health Monitor-ing. Struct Control Health Monit, 17(3):237-53.
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| Issue | Vol 50 No 12 (2021) | |
| Section | Review Article(s) | |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.18502/ijph.v50i12.7925 | |
| Keywords | ||
| Alzheimer’s disease Heartfulness meditation Qualitative research Literature | ||
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How to Cite
1.
Arunachalam K, Chandran KS. Effects of Heartfulness Meditation Practices on Control of Alz-heimer’s Disease: A Comprehensive Review. Iran J Public Health. 2021;50(12):2427-2438.
