Abstract 12055: Immediate Effect of Yoga Based Om-Meditation on Heart Rate Variability During Different Phases of Menstruation

Abstract

Introduction: Stress may play a role in causing menstrual irregularities predisposing to increased risk for cardiovascular disease (CVD). Stress and cyclic variations in endogenous hormone levels during the menstrual cycle (MC) may affect heart rate variability (HRV), a measure of cardiac autonomic function (CAF) and mental stress. Strategies that reduce stress and improve HRV may prevent menstrual irregularities and thus CVD. We evaluated the effect of yoga-based OM-meditation on HRV during different phases of MC in young healthy females. Methods: A non-randomized controlled study was conducted on healthy young females (n=20) with normal menstrual cycle. Meditation group subjects (n=10) practiced Om-meditation while control group subjects (n=10) relaxed quietly for 10 minutes. Each subject received an intervention thrice during menstrual, proliferative and secretory phase. Data was collected before and immediately after every intervention. BMI, blood pressure (BP), heart rate (HR) and HRV were measured. Frequency domain method was used for an analysis of HRV. Results: The mean age of participants was 19.2±0.79 and 19.3±0.82 years; and mean period of MC was 31.1±2.76 and 30.3±2.4 days in meditation and control group respectively. There was no change in the baseline values of BMI, BP and HR between two groups and were within normal range. Between group analysis (ANCOVA) of HRV spectrum showed that Om-meditation had significantly decreased low frequency (LF) component of HRV (p<0.05) and LF/HF ratio (p<0.05); and increased high frequency (HF) component (p<0.05) of HRV during all the three phases of MC. Conclusion: These results suggest that practice of Om-meditation for 10 minutes can induce beneficial changes in HRV by reducing sympathetic activity and shifting autonomic balance towards parasympathetic dominance. Om-meditation may reduce mental stress and optimize CAF during different phases of MC. However, this needs an evaluation in a larger trial.