Meditation

The purpose of this study is to assess the immediate and long-term effects of structured breathing on clinical symptoms related to mental health including anxiety, depression, perceived stress, and sleep quality.

Traditional Chinese medicine is effective for precocious puberty which is mild or moderate, but not effective for the one that is severe and rapidly progressing. Acupuncture can effectively regulate sex hormone levels and ovarian function, promote ovulation, and have therapeutic effect for polycystic ovary syndrome and irregular menstruation. Studies have shown that acupuncture and auricular point compression stimulation is effective for premature thelarche, yet there are few studies on idiopathic precocious puberty. Clinical evidence is still needed to support whether acupuncture point stimulation combined with traditional Chinese Medicine herbs can enhance the effect and prevent the progression into severe or rapidly progressing precocious puberty, hence the study is to be carried out.

Haematological malignancies have several unpleasant consequences on psychological and physical health. Indeed, an important fatigue and reduction of functional capacities appear. Reduction of functional capacities leads to the reduction of autonomy in Acts of Daily Living (ADL) and impact negatively the global Quality of Life (GQoL). Patients who undergo high dose treatment in protected area have higher risks of functional decline. In addition, hospital stay alone in sterile room favours increase of anxiety and depression. Health care strategies are going to integrate and use more of support care as APA and relaxation. Regular APA practice leads to maintain and/or improve physical functioning and psychological well-being. Physical Activity ensures to maintain or develop muscular strength and cardio-respiratory capacities that patients loose if they stay inactive during hospital stay. APA practice participates too in regulation of emotional states. Indeed, it favours positive emotions as self-esteem, self-confidence, satisfaction and pleasure. In the order to limit or reduce anxiety level, relaxation provides an effective response. Maintain functional capacities and reduce negatives emotional states participate to reduce fatigue too. Also, APA associated with relaxation seems to be a good effective support care strategy. The aim of this study is to implement a supervised APA program with entertaining devices as Exergaming and Biofeedback relaxation for patients undergo high dose treatment in protected area. Exergaming consists on exercise and training through fun or recreative situations. Biofeedback device is a relaxation tool that gives feedback on functioning of nervous system in real time. The objective is to leads patients to become aware of their body-information to finally, associate them to sensations and more effectively control them. The objectives of this study are to: 1. To reduce state anxiety level and psychological fatigue impact on GQoL and 2. To Maintain or improve functional capacities and reduce physical fatigue. The main hypotheses are: 1. Each of the three programs leads to the objectives specified above. 2. APA associated with biofeedback relaxation reduce more state anxiety level than APA with Exergaming that is more effective than APA classic. 3. APA with Exergaming and biofeedback practice gender more satisfaction and adhesion than APA classic The program takes place 3 times per week. Each session lasts between 30 and 60 min. Intensity of effort is defined as light to moderate. Participants are assigned to one of the tree groups: 1-APA classic / 2-APA with Exergaming / 3-APA and Biofeedback relaxation. Aerobic activity is performed on a cyclo-ergometer (Groups 1 and 3) classic or exergaming (group 2). At the end of session, patients in relaxation group (Group 3) realise relaxation as recovery whereas other groups rest and stretch. Functional capacities are assessed twice by submaximal tests: at the beginning and directly after APA program, just before hospital discharge. The first session affords to estimate subjects capacities and to create and individualised and adapted programme. The second affords to compare groups themselves and each other. Cardio-respiratory capacity is evaluated by the 2min Walk Test (2WT) and lower limbs muscular strength by the 5 Times Sit to Stand Test (FTSST). State anxiety level and fatigue are assessed by State and Trait Anxiety Inventory-YA (STAI-YA) and Multi-Fatigue Inventory\_20items (MFI-20) respectively. At the inclusion, we complete the profile of individuals with the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS). Adhesion and satisfaction are assessed by feedbacks of participants and by the comparison of the number of planned versus performed sessions.

Meditation has been linked to improved brain health and lower brain age. Brain age has been successfully estimated from structural MRI and more recently, EEG Sleep data using Brain Age Index (BAI) derived by machine learning algorithms. Patients with significant neurological or psychiatric disease exhibit a mean excess BAI of about 4 years. Higher BAI is a predictor of mortality. Long term meditation has been associated with lower Brain Age in MRI studies. However, the EEG sleep measure of Brain Age has not been reported in meditators. This project aims to quantify the progressive impact of meditation on brain age. If established objectively, meditation-based interventions could offer safe, affordable and accessible solutions to promote younger and healthier brains and will have invaluable health and financial implications. The goal of this project is twofold: 1. In alignment with the recent NCCIH emphasis, we propose this study to combine neuroimaging with other non-neural modalities to delineate the impact of meditation on brain health and overall physiology and to identify objective neural biomarkers to assess meditation-based interventions which could be further used in clinical applications. 2. It is estimated that by 2050, an unprecedented 18% of the world's population will be above 65 years of age. According to the National Institute on Aging (NIA), aging is the most significant risk factor of many chronic conditions including age-related neurodegenerative diseases, which severely impact the quality of life, healthcare and social costs. The total healthcare cost of Alzheimer's disease in 2020 was estimated at $305 billion and expected to rise to $1 trillion soon. NIA's 5 year strategy highlights the crucial need to better understand the aging brain and develop interventions to address age-related neurological conditions. The study intervention is a multi-component 21-minute meditation called Shambhavi Mahamudra Kriya. It is taught at the Inner Engineering program offered by non-profit Isha Foundation as online as well as in-person formats. It incorporates a combination of different breathing patterns and meditative components. The intervention training provides precise, step by step and easy to follow instructions on how to perform this practice. Performed in a seated posture, this is a simple, safe and accessible intervention that requires no previous experience of meditation. The intervention selected for this study was shown to significantly reduce perceived stress, enhance self-reported general well-being, improve positive emotions, mindfulness, sleep, engagement, relationships and may promote enhanced Heart Rate Variability and Sympathovagal balance. The control group will be selected to be age, gender and education level matched with the intervention group and will be asked to continue their daily routine.

Breathing exercises offer numerous benefits for individuals with chronic airway diseases, such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), asthma and bronchiectasis. These exercises help improve respiratory function, reduce symptoms, and enhance the overall quality of life.Techniques such as diaphragmatic breathing, incentive spirometer and pursed lip breathing help patients use their lungs more effectively. Breathing exercises can enhance lung function by increasing the efficiency of the respiratory muscles and improving ventilation. Asthma is a chronic inflammatory disorder of the airways classified as intermittent or persistent (mild, moderate or severe), according to the presence of diurnal and nocturnal symptoms, necessity of medication, frequency of exacerbation, physical activity limitations and pulmonary function. All of these symptoms deteriorate in the patient's quality of life and psychological well-being and restrict daily living physical activities (DLPA). Asthma symptoms experienced during daily living physical activities (DLPA) or the fear of triggering symptoms may keep asthmatic subjects from engaging in physical exercise, and the patients tend to be less physically active and less conditioned than healthy individuals. In addition, asthmatic patients have higher levels of anxiety and depression that have been shown to be associated with an increased number of exacerbations and the diagnosis of severe asthma. These psychosocial disorders can modify the respiratory breathing pattern, which leads to irregular breathing, frequent sighing, and predominant thoracic breathing. These irregular breathing patterns increase the number of respiratory (breathlessness, chest tightness and pain) and non-respiratory symptoms (anxiety, dizziness and fatigue). Recent Global Initiative for Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease guidelines (GOLD) underline the importance of pulmonary rehabilitation (PR) as a part of an integrative multidisciplinary approach regardless of the stage of disease

Feeding Your Demons (FYD) is a secular contemplative practice inspired by the Tibetan Buddhist tradition, integrating elements of mindfulness, compassion, and symbolic visualization. The practice offers a guided process through which individuals face internal difficulties-referred to as "demons"-and transform them through acceptance and self-compassion. This study aims to evaluate the effectiveness of FYD compared to a mindfulness meditation intervention. It is a randomized controlled trial (RCT) with two parallel groups. A total of 122 adult women will participate. Participants will be randomly assigned to either the FYD group or the control group. Both interventions will be delivered online over eight weeks. Variables assessed include psychological well-being, body image, body acceptance, mindfulness, compassion, and self-deconstruction. Assessments will be conducted before and after the intervention, and at a six-month follow-up. Statistical analyses will include intra- and intergroup comparisons using repeated measures analysis of variance. Parametric or non-parametric tests will be applied depending on the assumptions met. Relationships between variables will also be analyzed through correlations. Effect sizes will be calculated to estimate the magnitude of observed changes. The significance level will be set at p \< .05, with a 95% confidence interval. This study adopts a mixed-methods approach, combining quantitative assessments with qualitative interviews conducted with a subgroup of participants. Although the data are collected complementarily, their analysis and dissemination may be conducted separately or integratively, depending on the specific goals of each research phase.

This study is conducted as a non-clinical substudy within the DESTRESS research program (Decreasing preoperative stress to prevent postoperative delirium and postoperative cognitive decline in cardiac surgical patients: A randomized controlled trial on relaxation interventions via virtual reality and binaural beats; NCT05036538). In contrast to the main clinical trial, which investigates cardiac surgical patients, this study focuses on non-clinical adult participants who are not undergoing medical or surgical treatment and are not enrolled as patients of the Kerckhoff-Clinic Bad Nauheim (Germany). The purpose of this substudy is to examine the effects of relaxation interventions under controlled conditions, independent of disease-related, perioperative, or pharmacological confounding factors. The results are intended to provide a reference framework for interpreting and contextualizing findings from the clinical DESTRESS trial. Participants are randomly assigned to one of five experimental conditions: (1) natural soundscapes, (2) natural soundscapes combined with binaural beats, (3) virtual reality-based natural environments, (4) virtual reality-based natural environments combined with binaural beats, or (5) a control condition without any relaxation intervention. Each participant completes a single session lasting approximately 30 minutes. During the intervention or control condition, physiological parameters, including heart rate variability and electrodermal activity, are continuously recorded using non-invasive sensors. Neurocognition and subjective stress levels are assessed using standardized tests and self-report questionnaires administered before and after the session. This study aims to evaluate the feasibility, acceptability, and preliminary efficacy of virtual reality- and audio-based relaxation interventions in a non-clinical population. The findings are expected to contribute to a better understanding of the mechanisms and generalizability of stress-reduction approaches and to inform the interpretation of outcomes in the overarching DESTRESS research program.

Laporoscopic cholecystectomy (LC) is the most commonly used method for the treatment of cholecystitis, one of the most common diseases of the digestive system. In addition to its advantages such as low risk of complications and usually requiring less than 24 hours of hospitalization, shoulder pain develops in approximately 35-80% of patients after LC. After LK, patients' lungs may be affected due to factors such as intraoperative general anesthesia, mechanical ventilation support, carbon dioxide (CO2) pneumoperitoneum administration, anesthetic drugs and patient positioning, and patients experience shoulder pain, especially with CO2 pneumoperitoneum administration. In patients undergoing LK, shoulder pain felt throughout the thorax causes spasm and restriction of movement in the muscles assisting respiration and an increase in intercostal tone. This leads to a decrease in the amount of air filling the lungs, accumulation of secretions, pneumonia, decreased functional residual volume and increased risk of atelectasis. For this reason, it is necessary to evaluate the respiratory system in patients undergoing LK as in all surgical interventions and to monitor pulmonary functions (FVC, FEV1, FEV1/FCV) to evaluate the deterioration in lung functions and to control pain with pharmacologic and non-pharmacologic methods. One of the respiratory exercises that nurses can apply independently in the removal of CO₂, improvement of respiratory functions and pain control after surgery is the 4-7-8 breathing technique. This technique has been proven to have positive contributions in pain control, and its easy application, reliability and non-invasiveness make its use widespread. This study was planned as a randomized controlled clinical trial to determine the effect of 4-7-8 breathing technique on shoulder pain and pulmonary function tests after LK. A sample of 96 patients will be randomly assigned to the study and control groups. The study group will be administered the 4-7-8 breathing technique after LK, while the control group will be given routine care of the ward. Shoulder pain and pulmonary function tests will be measured in the first 24 hours and at discharge. The data obtained will be analyzed by appropriate statistical methods.

A stroke is a common and potentially serious condition that affects 130,000 people each year in France. It is the second leading cause of major cognitive disorders after Alzheimer's disease. Hemineglect is a frequently observed cognitive impairment following a stroke. The individual becomes unable to orient themselves or respond to stimuli appearing in the contralesional hemispace. Hemineglect occurs in approximately 25-30% of stroke patients, with the right hemisphere being affected in 90% of cases. Despite potential spontaneous recovery within the first 2 to 3 months post-stroke, neglect tends to persist chronically. One-third of patients suffer from long-term neglect. The condition is more severe after a right-sided lesion. The functional impact is significant, particularly when considering the anosognosia and anosodiaphoria often associated with it. Rehabilitation stays are longer for patients with neglect, and autonomy in daily activities is reduced. Neglect leads to poorer functional outcomes after a stroke, making it a critical factor to address in a patient's rehabilitation program. The goal of rehabilitation is to reduce impairments, improve activity limitations and participation restrictions secondary to hemineglect, and achieve functional progress beyond what is possible through spontaneous recovery. Since no single rehabilitation method for neglect is superior to another, it is currently recommended to combine multiple approaches. The top-down approach is based on intention and conscious effort. This technique is among the first used for neglect rehabilitation and remains widely used today. The goal is to help the patient become aware of their neglectful behavior. The bottom-up approach relies on more automatic mechanisms of action and aims to modulate the spatial reference system through passive sensory manipulations or visuomotor adaptation. The use of virtual reality in stroke rehabilitation promotes plasticity and neural reorganization. In the field of hemineglect, several studies have examined the effects of virtual reality using top-down and/or bottom-up approaches and have shown significant functional improvements. In the case of multisensory stimulation, delivering different stimuli to the same side of space and at the same time increases neuronal activity, leading to a stronger clinical response than unisensory stimulation. The VirtySens® multisensory travel capsule is an immersive virtual reality technique. This total immersion is achieved through the simultaneous stimulation of four out of the five senses. Firstly, vision and hearing are stimulated by a virtual reality headset that projects high-definition films. Smell is activated through the release of micro-droplets of fragrances synchronized with the imagery. Finally, touch is stimulated by warm and cold airflows that enhance the various scenes presented. The investigators emit the hypothesis that the VirtySens® capsule, immersive virtual reality combining multisensory stimulation via four of the five senses and training in visual scanning, introduced in rehabilitation, allows to significantly reduce the functional impact of hemineglect in the adult victim of a right cerebral infarction dating less than 3 months. To respond to these research objectives, the investigators will carry out a pilot study in Single Case Experimental Design (SCED). The experimentation will take place in mainland France within La Musse hospital. The recruitment of 3 subjects will be necessary for the realization of this study. The study will consist of repeated evaluation and rehabilitation sessions. Evaluations will be conducted at La Musse Hospital by an occupational therapist. The purpose of the evaluation sessions is to measure the impact of hemineglect on autonomy. This measurement will be performed using the Catherine Bergego Scale, which will be completed by both the patient and the occupational therapist. Evaluation sessions will last approximately 45 minutes and will take place once a week for 10 to 12 weeks. After 3 to 5 weeks of evaluations, the patient will participate in three weekly rehabilitation sessions, each lasting 45 minutes, over a 5-week period. These sessions will be individual and conducted by an occupational therapist. Each session will follow a similar structure: review of the previous session, explanation of the current session, a 15-minute multisensory experience using virtual reality, followed by a review of the session, particularly focusing on tolerance.

The study will be conducted using a prospective crossover design. Patients with Parkinson's disease will complete two EMST sessions, each at 75% of maximum expiratory pressure (MEP), separated by a two-week interval. One EMST session will include feedback via the SpiroGym mobile application, while the other will be performed without feedback. The order of these conditions will be randomly assigned. Primary hypothesis 1. Visual feedback provided by the SpiroGym application during expiratory training will result in greater muscle activation, as measured by surface electromyography (sEMG), compared with training without visual feedback. Secondary hypotheses 2. Visual feedback during expiratory training will lead to greater expiratory performance, reflected by higher noise intensity recorded by the SpiroGym application, than training without visual feedback. 3. Participants will report lower perceived difficulty and higher motivation to perform expiratory training exercises when visual feedback is provided than when it is absent.