Zen meditation, length of telomeres, and the role of experiential avoidance and compassion

Mindfulness refers to an awareness that emerges by intentionally focusing on the present experience in a nonjudgmental or evaluative manner. Evidence regarding its efficacy has been increasing exponentially, and recent research suggests that the practice of meditation is associated with longer leuko...

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Autores: Alda, M., Puebla-Guedea, M., Rodero, B., Demarzo, M., Montero-Marin, J., Roca, M., Garcia-Campayo, J.
Tipo de recurso: artículo
Estado:Versión publicada
Fecha de publicación:2016
País:España
Institución:Universidad de Zaragoza
Repositorio:Zaguán. Repositorio Digital de la Universidad de Zaragoza
OAI Identifier:oai:zaguan.unizar.es:56137
Acceso en línea:http://zaguan.unizar.es/record/56137
Access Level:acceso abierto
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spelling Zen meditation, length of telomeres, and the role of experiential avoidance and compassionAlda, M.Puebla-Guedea, M.Rodero, B.Demarzo, M.Montero-Marin, J.Roca, M.Garcia-Campayo, J.Mindfulness refers to an awareness that emerges by intentionally focusing on the present experience in a nonjudgmental or evaluative manner. Evidence regarding its efficacy has been increasing exponentially, and recent research suggests that the practice of meditation is associated with longer leukocyte telomere length. However, the psychological mechanisms underlying this potential relationship are unknown. We examined the telomere lengths of a group of 20 Zen meditation experts and another 20 healthy matched comparison participants who had not previously meditated. We also measured multiple psychological variables related to meditation practice. Genomic DNA was extracted for telomere measurement using a Life Length proprietary program. High-throughput quantitative fluorescence in situ hybridization (HT-Q-FISH) was used to measure the telomere length distribution and the median telomere length (MTL). The meditators group had a longer MTL (p = 0.005) and a lower percentage of short telomeres in individual cells (p = 0.007) than those in the comparison group. To determine which of the psychological variables contributed more to telomere maintenance, two regression analyses were conducted. In the first model, which applied to the MTL, the following three factors were significant: age, absence of experiential avoidance, and Common Humanity subscale of the Self Compassion Scale. Similarly, in the model that examined the percentage of short telomeres, the same factors were significant: age, absence of experiential avoidance, and Common Humanity subscale of the Self Compassion Scale. Although limited by a small sample size, these results suggest that the absence of experiential avoidance of negative emotions and thoughts is integral to the connection between meditation and telomeres.2016info:eu-repo/semantics/articleinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersionapplication/pdfhttp://zaguan.unizar.es/record/56137reponame:Zaguán. Repositorio Digital de la Universidad de Zaragozainstname:Universidad de ZaragozaInglésinfo:eu-repo/grantAgreement/ES/ISCIII/RD12-0005info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccessoai:zaguan.unizar.es:561372026-05-29T13:59:51Z
dc.title.none.fl_str_mv Zen meditation, length of telomeres, and the role of experiential avoidance and compassion
title Zen meditation, length of telomeres, and the role of experiential avoidance and compassion
spellingShingle Zen meditation, length of telomeres, and the role of experiential avoidance and compassion
Alda, M.
title_short Zen meditation, length of telomeres, and the role of experiential avoidance and compassion
title_full Zen meditation, length of telomeres, and the role of experiential avoidance and compassion
title_fullStr Zen meditation, length of telomeres, and the role of experiential avoidance and compassion
title_full_unstemmed Zen meditation, length of telomeres, and the role of experiential avoidance and compassion
title_sort Zen meditation, length of telomeres, and the role of experiential avoidance and compassion
dc.creator.none.fl_str_mv Alda, M.
Puebla-Guedea, M.
Rodero, B.
Demarzo, M.
Montero-Marin, J.
Roca, M.
Garcia-Campayo, J.
author Alda, M.
author_facet Alda, M.
Puebla-Guedea, M.
Rodero, B.
Demarzo, M.
Montero-Marin, J.
Roca, M.
Garcia-Campayo, J.
author_role author
author2 Puebla-Guedea, M.
Rodero, B.
Demarzo, M.
Montero-Marin, J.
Roca, M.
Garcia-Campayo, J.
author2_role author
author
author
author
author
author
description Mindfulness refers to an awareness that emerges by intentionally focusing on the present experience in a nonjudgmental or evaluative manner. Evidence regarding its efficacy has been increasing exponentially, and recent research suggests that the practice of meditation is associated with longer leukocyte telomere length. However, the psychological mechanisms underlying this potential relationship are unknown. We examined the telomere lengths of a group of 20 Zen meditation experts and another 20 healthy matched comparison participants who had not previously meditated. We also measured multiple psychological variables related to meditation practice. Genomic DNA was extracted for telomere measurement using a Life Length proprietary program. High-throughput quantitative fluorescence in situ hybridization (HT-Q-FISH) was used to measure the telomere length distribution and the median telomere length (MTL). The meditators group had a longer MTL (p = 0.005) and a lower percentage of short telomeres in individual cells (p = 0.007) than those in the comparison group. To determine which of the psychological variables contributed more to telomere maintenance, two regression analyses were conducted. In the first model, which applied to the MTL, the following three factors were significant: age, absence of experiential avoidance, and Common Humanity subscale of the Self Compassion Scale. Similarly, in the model that examined the percentage of short telomeres, the same factors were significant: age, absence of experiential avoidance, and Common Humanity subscale of the Self Compassion Scale. Although limited by a small sample size, these results suggest that the absence of experiential avoidance of negative emotions and thoughts is integral to the connection between meditation and telomeres.
publishDate 2016
dc.date.none.fl_str_mv 2016
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dc.identifier.none.fl_str_mv http://zaguan.unizar.es/record/56137
url http://zaguan.unizar.es/record/56137
dc.language.none.fl_str_mv Inglés
language_invalid_str_mv Inglés
dc.relation.none.fl_str_mv info:eu-repo/grantAgreement/ES/ISCIII/RD12-0005
dc.rights.none.fl_str_mv info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess
eu_rights_str_mv openAccess
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publisher.none.fl_str_mv
dc.source.none.fl_str_mv reponame:Zaguán. Repositorio Digital de la Universidad de Zaragoza
instname:Universidad de Zaragoza
instname_str Universidad de Zaragoza
reponame_str Zaguán. Repositorio Digital de la Universidad de Zaragoza
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