Potential benefits of Qi Gong meditation in quantifiable physiology: A five-year longitudinal observation

Abstract

Qi Gong is a mind-and-body intervention to improve health and relieve disease conditions, which has been practiced for thousands of years. Lack of quantitative measures to monitor the quality and progress of Qi Gong practice has hindered the high-quality study to evaluate its health benefits. To develop such quantitative measures, vital sign changes in Qi Gong meditation practice of a single individual were monitored for 5 years by wearable devices. This retrospective and exploratory analysis revealed significant changes in blood oxygen saturation, pulse rate, respiration rate, and perfusion index in response to Qi Gong practice and physiological adaptation to its long-term training. Among the physiological changes in vital signs, a physiological state with a significant 2-fold increase in pulse-respiration rate ratio was detected during Qi Gong meditation while the ratios were maintained at 4 under resting, sleeping, and mild cycling conditions. This is an inaugural report of a five-year longitudinal observation of this kind. Once validated in a well-designed cohort study, these non-invasive and easily obtained vital signs may be used as biomarkers to assess the adherence to breathing control during Qi Gong practice and can be applied to quantify the quality of Qi Gong practice in clinical trials with Qi Gong intervention.