Dr. Larry Berkelhammer

Dr. Larry Berkelhammer

The purpose of this blog and the entire website is to provide evidence-based information on how to live a vibrant, meaningful life while living with chronic health challenges or other life challenges.

Every Tuesday I post a new, very brief video from my presentations or interviews. Every Friday this Q&A column appears.

Here is this week’s question:

THIS WEEK’S QUESTION:  Continuation of answer about breathing for health

ANSWER:   Researchers studying heart rate variability (HRV) in meditators have found that forms of meditation utilizing conscious breathing practices improve HRV, parasympathetic activity, and gas exchange. For example, in one controlled trial, they studied thirty-five meditators and seventy matched controls, and found that meditation improved cardiovascular function. They analyzed the HRV measures from the R-R intervals (time between two R-waves on an EKG reading). They concluded that meditation may have different effects on health depending on the frequency of the resonant peak that each meditator can achieve, which may relate both to the individual’s physiology and the individual’s method of practice. The possible effects include resetting the baroreflex sensitivity, increasing sympathetic tone, and improving efficiency of gas exchange.

 This website is offered as a free public service, supplying information that has been found helpful to certain people living with chronic health challenges or issues related to wellbeing. No treatment is offered on this website. The advice is general, and may or may not apply to your individual situation, and is not a substitute for psychotherapy or medical treatment.

What questions do you have about living a life of mindfulness-based mastery or about the relationship between the mind and health or wellbeing?

Just scroll down and type your question in the comment box below. An answer to your specific question may not appear in this column. The reason for that is I wait until I get a certain number of related questions, then I pick one that covers them all and I answer that one. People attending my presentations asked most of the questions appearing in this column, and I repeat them here so you may benefit.

 

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