Effect of Heartfulness Meditation on Stress Biomarkers, Burnout and Well-Being: A Randomized Controlled Study

Abstract

The rise in mental health conditions and stress has attracted global attention. Non-pharmacological and traditional approaches like meditative practices are showing promising results. Therefore, the aim of the study was to evaluate the effect of Heartfulness meditation on stress biomarkers, burnout, and well-being. A double-arm prospective randomized controlled study was carried out on 100 participants aged between 18 and 24 years, experiencing moderate to high perceived stress as assessed by the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS-10). These participants were randomized into a study group (meditation) and control group (sham meditation). An intervention of Heartfulness meditation was carried out daily for 12 weeks. Psychometric analysis was carried out to study burnout (exhaustion, cynicism and professional efficacy) and well-being using the standard validated questionnaires- Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI) and WHO-Well-being Index (WHO-WBI). Biochemical analysis was also carried out to study psychological stress (serum cortisol), and oxidative stress (serum nitrate/nitrite and serum malondialdehyde (MDA) at baseline and post-intervention. Statistical analysis was carried out using the IBM SPSS software version 26.0. p values < 0.05 were considered statistically significant. A significant increase in serum nitrate/nitrite levels, professional efficacy, and well-being, and a significant decrease in measures such as exhaustion, cynicism, and cortisol levels were observed in the study group than the control group post-intervention. A significant negative correlation was also observed between serum MDA and well-being, whereas a positive correlation was observed between MDA and cortisol. The findings from this research suggest the role of Heartfulness meditation in reducing stress and burnout along with improving the well-being of an individual. Therefore, Heartfulness meditation can be used as a potential tool to improve mental health and well-being. However, future studies with a larger number of samples are needed to strengthen our findings. Trial Registration: Clinical Trial Registry of India: CTRI/2023/10/058,423 (https://ctri.nic.in/Clinicaltrials/pmaindet2.php?EncHid=ODIyOTA=&Enc=&userName=CTRI/2023/10/058423).

Keywords: biomarkers; cortisol; heartfulness meditation; mental health; oxidative stress; randomized controlled trial; stress; well‐being.