Stress response in long-term Buddhist meditation practitioners
Status: finished
Funding: Cogito Foundation (Switzerland), Swiss National Science Foundation
Summary
The main objective of this research project was to investigate whether long-term practitioners of Buddhist meditations show an attenuated response to social stress compared to non-meditators. To quantify stress reactivity, we used a combination of self-report measures and physiological assessments (salivary cortisol, an index of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis, and heart rate variability associated with the activity of the parasympathetic nervous system).
To complement the objective assessments, we conducted semi-structured interviews, allowing us to compare the experience of stress in mediators and meditation-naive participants.
In both arms of the study, we explored the potential mechanisms underlying the stress-attenuating effects of Buddhist meditation, such as cognitive appraisals, self-conscious emotions and cognitions, and emotion regulation.
Publications
Gamaiunova, L., Brandt, P. Y., Bondolfi, G., & Kliegel, M. (2019). Exploration of psychological mechanisms of the reduced stress response in long-term meditation practitioners. Psychoneuroendocrinology, 104, 143-151.https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psyneuen.2019.02.026
Gamaiunova, L., Brandt, P.-Y. & Kliegel, M. (2021). Contemplative Training and Psychological Stress: An Analysis of First-person Accounts. Mindfulness, 2034–2049. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12671-021-01661-1