The purpose of this study was to examine the effectiveness of a neuro-meditation program to support nurses during the COVID-19 pandemic. Forty-five nurses were classified into three groups based on their systolic blood pressure: normotensive, hypertensive and control. Using a parallel, randomly controlled design across a 4-week period, 10 × 30-min sessions using the Rebalance© Impulse were completed. Sleep was assessed by wrist actigraphy and subjective sleep questionnaires; perceived sleep quality, Ford Insomnia Response to Stress Test questionnaire and the Spiegel (...) Sleep Quality questionnaire. Blood pressure, resting heart rate, mean heart rate, heart rate variability index, cortisol, and alpha-amylase were also measured. Statistical analysis was completed using factorial ANOVA. Sleep improved in the G-hyp group; SSQ ; perceived sleep quality ; sleep efficiency and fragmentation index. In the G-nor group, sleep was improved to a lesser extent; perceived sleep quality. A significant time–group interaction was reported in resting heart rate, systolic blood pressure, and diastolic blood pressure with these measures being significantly reduced in the G-hyp group. RMSSD increased in the G-nor group. This initial evidence suggests that neuro-meditation reduces excessive sympathetic activity, promoting enhanced sleep quality and autonomic control during periods of increased work-related stress.Clinical Trial RegistrationThe study was conducted at Bioesterel, Sophia-Antipolis, France as a clinical trial: Neuro-meditation improves sleep quality, https://www.drks.de/ui_data_web/DrksUI.html?locale=en, DRKS00025731. (shrink)

Meditation is an umbrella term for a number of mental training practices designed to improve the monitoring and regulation of attention and emotion. Some forms of meditation are now being used for clinical intervention. To accompany the increased clinical interest in meditation, research investigating the neural basis of these practices is needed. A central hypothesis of contemplative neuroscience is that meditative states, which are unique on a phenomenological level, differ on a neurophysiological level. To identify the electrophysiological correlates of meditation (...) practice, the electrical brain activity of highly skilled meditators engaging in one of six meditation styles was recorded. A mind-wandering task served as a control. Lempel–Ziv complexity showed differences in nonlinear brain dynamics during meditation compared with mind wandering, suggesting that meditation, regardless of practice, affects neural complexity. In contrast, there were no differences in power spectra at six different frequency bands, likely due to the fact that participants engaged in different meditation practices. Finally, exploratory analyses suggest neurological differences among meditation practices. These findings highlight the importance of studying the electroencephalography correlates of different meditative practices. (shrink)