Hypertension
Conditions
Brief summary
This pilot study is designed to test effects of a single session of meditative movement (Tai Chi Easy) on older adults' blood pressure, perceptions of connection, mood, and oxytocin levels.
Detailed description
Endogenous oxytocin (the cuddle hormone) is associated with lowering blood pressure (BP), suggesting that finding ways to increase oxytocin even in the absence of social connection, may be beneficial. Meditative movement emphasizing breath, meditative state and flow-inducing movements holds potential for reducing BP, improving mood and releasing oxytocin. In a single-group pilot study we exposed 21 OAs with mild-moderate hypertension to a 50-minute Tai Chi Easy (TCE) (simplified Tai Chi/Qigong) session, collecting BP, saliva samples for oxytocin, and psychosocial measures (connection, mood) pre/post intervention.
Interventions
BEHAVIORALTai Chi Easy
A meditative movement practice that includes simple qigong movement/breath practices and single, repeated tai chi movements taught to generate a meditative state and flow
Sponsors
Arizona State University
Study design
Allocation
NA
Intervention model
SINGLE_GROUP
Primary purpose
PREVENTION
Masking
NONE
Intervention model description
Meditative movement practice: Tai Chi Easy
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
ALL
Age
55 Years to 80 Years
Healthy volunteers
Yes
Inclusion criteria
* Age 55-80 --BP above 120/80 -
Exclusion criteria
* having a neurologic disorder such as Parkinson's, seizure disorder, multiple sclerosis, Alzheimer's disease * answered yes to one or more questions on the Physical Activity Readiness Questionnaire (PAR-Q). The PAR-Q is a seven-question assessment that determines one's readiness, safety and ability to engage in physical activity and is safely validated for older adults
Design outcomes
Primary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Change in Blood Pressure | Change from baseline (pre-intervention) blood pressure to immediately after the 50-minute intervention | Using blood pressure cuff, conducting two consecutive readings of systolic and diastolic |
Secondary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Change in Profile of Mood States; Short Form | Change from pre-intervention mood to immediately post-50-minute intervention point | Using only subscales for depression and tension, 14 items with response format 0-4, reporting mean of responses, range 0-4 with higher scores indicating higher levels of depression and tension. |
| Change in perception of Connection (this is not a published scale, no formal name, created for this study) | Change from pre-intervention to immediately after the 50-minute intervention | Two items assessing perception of connection with others and connection with self, score range |
| Change in Salivary Oxytocin | Change from pre-intervention to immediately after the 50-minute intervention | Saliva collection pre and post-intervention |
Other
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Flow State Scale | immediately after the intervention | Used to assess perceptions of the experience of flow while performing the Tai Chi Easy intervention. 36 items, Score range 36-80, high scores indicate greater sense of flow. |
| Meditative Movement Inventory | immediately after the intervention | Scales that assess the experience of meditative state and breath focus during intervention, 11 items, score range 11-66 (or reported as a mean of the scores on the scale, then 1-6 range), with higher numbers indicating less breath focus and meditative state. |
| The De Jong Gierveld Loneliness Scale | pre-intervention only | 6 items each scored either 0 (not at all) 1 (somewhat lonely) or 2 (more lonely), score is computed as a mean across items, range 0-6 with higher scores indicating more loneliness |
Countries
United States
Outcome results
None listed