Buddhist meditation practices, such as Samadhi meditation, form the basis of mindfulness practice, or awareness of the present moment. They are often promoted as ways to achieve mental well-being. However, evidence is beginning to emerge of their adverse effects. Meditation requires intense focus on the breath, which can affect the autonomic nervous system. In what way?
The study, co-authored by Lenka Štěpánková from INPSY, aimed to find out how meditation affects the nervous system. The research team focused on the feeling of nausea and the possible causes of it. They monitored heart rate and blood pressure in people who were trying this form of meditation for the first time. The sample consisted of 57 university students, 42 of whom were women. The average age was 22.6 years.
How does meditation affect the nervous system?
Research findings relate to changes in the autonomic nervous system, specifically in sympathetic and parasympathetic activity. The sympathetic system prepares the body for stress and increases heart rate and blood pressure. Parasympathetic, on the other hand, calms the body and lowers blood pressure. If parasympathetic activity predominates, it can lead to loss of consciousness.
The study results show that meditation can increase the activity of the parasympathetic system in many people and therefore induce a sense of relaxation. However, research also suggests that meditation may have the opposite effect in some people and induce physiological stress. In fact, one-fifth of the participants who experienced more severe nausea showed increased activity in the sympathetic system, which is associated with the stress response.
Another finding is that although nausea increased, participants were not more likely to experience loss of consciousness, which is a blood pressure-based indicator of parasympathetic activity. This suggests that a sharp drop in blood pressure did not cause nausea.
The key finding of this study is that meditation caused significant symptoms of nausea in one in five people who tried it for the first time. The authors, therefore, stress the need for future research into meditation to be based on a comprehensive understanding of the effects of different meditation practices. Although meditation is often perceived as a cost-effective method involving many benefits for the body and mind, it is important to consider possible adverse reactions.
Recommended citation:
Kotherová, S., Cigán, J., Štěpánková, L., Vyskočilová M., Littnerová, S., Ejova, A. & Sepši, M. (2024). Adverse Effects of Meditation: Autonomic Nervous System Activation and Individual Nauseous Responses During Samadhi Meditation in the Czech Republic. Journal of Religion and Health. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10943-024-02024-5
Translated using DeepL.
