Meditation Helps Medical Professionals to Cope with COVID Stress
Written By : Dr. Nandita Mohan
Medically Reviewed By : Dr. Kamal Kant Kohli
Published On 2022-09-12 03:45 GMT | Update On 2022-09-12 03:45 GMT
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During the past year and a half of the COVID crisis, Medical professionals have been hit hard by the pandemic- related stress and burnout. Initially, there was uncertainty regarding the cure for the disease, causing anxiety in general. Then there was stress caused by overwork from continuously dealing with incoming patients and long, consistent work shifts through day and night.
To overcome this issue,an open-label single-arm trial was done where the researchers assessed changes in sleep, heart rate variability (HRV), and vitals before and after a 4-day online breath meditation workshop among 41 Medical Practioners at a tertiary care hospital in northern India during COVID-19 pandemic.
Outcomes were assessed at baseline and after the 4-day workshop using a ballistocardiography-based contactless health monitoring device. The workshop was conducted online.
The results of the trial showed that there was a highly significant increase seen in total sleep duration and duration of deep sleep, rapid eye movement sleep, as well as light sleep. However, no significant change was observed in breath rate, total time awake, or in the low-frequency by high-frequency spectrum of heart rate variability .
Hence, the researchers concluded that four days of online breath meditation workshop did improve sleep and heart rate variability among Medical professionals, strengthening the fact that yoga and meditation can help induce psychophysical relaxation and prove to be an effective tool to combat stress and sleep deprivation. As the stakeholders in patient care, that is, the Medical professionals if they are healthy, it will further improve patient care and reduce the chance of medical errors.
Reference: Pathania M, Bhardwaj P, Bahurupi YA, et al. Effect of 4-day Online Breath Meditation Workshop on Ballistocardiography-based Sleep and Cardiac Health Assessments among Medical Professionals of a Tertiary Care Hospital in North India during COVID-19. J Assoc Physicians India
2022;70(9):49–56.
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