For Publishers
DiscoveryMetadataPeer reviewHostingPublishing
For Researchers
JoinPublishReviewCollect
Register
Blog
About
Search
Advanced search
My ScienceOpen
Search
For Publishers
For Researchers
Blog
About
18
views
61
references
 Top references
cited by
4
    
0 reviews
 Review
0
comments
 Comment
0
recommends
+1 Recommend
0 collections
    0
    shares
      55
      similar
       All similar
      • Record: found
      • Abstract: found
      • Article: found
      Is Open Access

      Relaxation or Regulation: The Acute Effect of Mind-Body Exercise on Heart Rate Variability and Subjective State in Experienced Qi Gong Practitioners

      Read this article at

      ScienceOpenPublisher
          There is no author summary for this article yet. Authors can add summaries to their articles on ScienceOpen to make them more accessible to a non-specialist audience.

          Abstract

          Mind-body exercises such as Yoga or Qi Gong have demonstrated a wide range of health benefits and hold great promise for employment in clinical practice. However, the psychophysiological mechanism underlying these effects remains unclear. Theoretical frameworks highlight regulation as a characteristic and specific mechanism of mind-body exercise for which empirical evidence is scarce. To investigate the exact nature of this mechanism, we tracked acute changes in autonomic nervous system (ANS) activity and subjective state over a common form of mind-body exercise (Qi Gong). Heart rate variability (HRV) and subjective state were assessed in 42 Qi Gong practitioners from China and Germany during a standard moving Qi Gong exercise (Baduanjin). Relaxation in supine position prior and after the exercise served as a control condition to Qi Gong and to assess changes before and after the exercise. Following Qi Gong, all practitioners reported significantly increased subjective calmness and perceived body activation, attentional focus, and subjective vitality. On the physiological level, a significant decrease of parasympathetic modulation and increase in heart rate indicated a pattern of moderate general physiological activation during Qi Gong. A significant increase in overall RR-interval modulation and cardiac coherence during Qi Gong were indicative of a mechanism of active regulation. Examination of the RR-interval trajectories revealed a rhythmic pattern of ANS activation and deactivation in sync with activating and relaxing segments of the exercise. Significant changes in subjective state, not on the physiological level, before and after the exercise were observed. Significant associations between Qi-Gong-specific beliefs, age, cultural background, and experiential and physiological measures demonstrated the complexity of mind-body exercises as multicomponent interventions. Overall, this study highlights moderate general physiological activation, exercise-dependent rhythmic ANS modulation, and induction of a characteristic state of eutonic calmness as potential psychophysiological mechanisms underlying the health benefits of mind-body exercise.

          Related collections

          Most cited references61

          • Record: found
          • Abstract: found
          • Article: found
          Is Open Access

          An Overview of Heart Rate Variability Metrics and Norms

          Fred Shaffer, J. Ginsberg (2017)
          Healthy biological systems exhibit complex patterns of variability that can be described by mathematical chaos. Heart rate variability (HRV) consists of changes in the time intervals between consecutive heartbeats called interbeat intervals (IBIs). A healthy heart is not a metronome. The oscillations of a healthy heart are complex and constantly changing, which allow the cardiovascular system to rapidly adjust to sudden physical and psychological challenges to homeostasis. This article briefly reviews current perspectives on the mechanisms that generate 24 h, short-term (~5 min), and ultra-short-term (<5 min) HRV, the importance of HRV, and its implications for health and performance. The authors provide an overview of widely-used HRV time-domain, frequency-domain, and non-linear metrics. Time-domain indices quantify the amount of HRV observed during monitoring periods that may range from ~2 min to 24 h. Frequency-domain values calculate the absolute or relative amount of signal energy within component bands. Non-linear measurements quantify the unpredictability and complexity of a series of IBIs. The authors survey published normative values for clinical, healthy, and optimal performance populations. They stress the importance of measurement context, including recording period length, subject age, and sex, on baseline HRV values. They caution that 24 h, short-term, and ultra-short-term normative values are not interchangeable. They encourage professionals to supplement published norms with findings from their own specialized populations. Finally, the authors provide an overview of HRV assessment strategies for clinical and optimal performance interventions.
          Article 0 comments Cited 1131 times – based on 0 reviews     Review now
            Bookmark
            • Record: found
            • Abstract: found
            • Article: not found

            A meta-analysis of heart rate variability and neuroimaging studies: implications for heart rate variability as a marker of stress and health.

            Julian Thayer, Fredrik Åhs, Mats Fredrikson … (2012)
            The intimate connection between the brain and the heart was enunciated by Claude Bernard over 150 years ago. In our neurovisceral integration model we have tried to build on this pioneering work. In the present paper we further elaborate our model and update it with recent results. Specifically, we performed a meta-analysis of recent neuroimaging studies on the relationship between heart rate variability and regional cerebral blood flow. We identified a number of regions, including the amygdala and ventromedial prefrontal cortex, in which significant associations across studies were found. We further propose that the default response to uncertainty is the threat response and may be related to the well known negativity bias. Heart rate variability may provide an index of how strongly 'top-down' appraisals, mediated by cortical-subcortical pathways, shape brainstem activity and autonomic responses in the body. If the default response to uncertainty is the threat response, as we propose here, contextual information represented in 'appraisal' systems may be necessary to overcome this bias during daily life. Thus, HRV may serve as a proxy for 'vertical integration' of the brain mechanisms that guide flexible control over behavior with peripheral physiology, and as such provides an important window into understanding stress and health. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
            Article 0 comments Cited 415 times – based on 0 reviews     Review now
              Bookmark
              • Record: found
              • Abstract: found
              • Article: not found

              Expert and exceptional performance: evidence of maximal adaptation to task constraints.

              K. A. Ericsson, A Lehmann (1996)
              Expert and exceptional performance are shown to be mediated by cognitive and perceptual-motor skills and by domain-specific physiological and anatomical adaptations. The highest levels of human performance in different domains can only be attained after around ten years of extended, daily amounts of deliberate practice activities. Laboratory analyses of expert performance in many domains such as chess, medicine, auditing, computer programming, bridge, physics, sports, typing, juggling, dance, and music reveal maximal adaptations of experts to domain-specific constraints. For example, acquired anticipatory skills circumvent general limits on reaction time, and distinctive memory skills allow a domain-specific expansion of working memory capacity to support planning, reasoning, and evaluation. Many of the mechanisms of superior expert performance serve the dual purpose of mediating experts' current performance and of allowing continued improvement of this performance in response to informative feedback during practice activities.
              Article 0 comments Cited 356 times – based on 0 reviews     Review now
                Bookmark
                All references

                Author and article information

                Contributors
                Florens Goldbeck: (View ORCID Profile)
                Gorden Sudeck: (View ORCID Profile)
                Journal
                Title: Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine
                Abbreviated Title: Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine
                Publisher: Hindawi Limited
                ISSN (Electronic): 1741-4288
                ISSN (Print): 1741-427X
                Publication date Created: June 8 2021
                Publication date (Print): June 8 2021
                Volume: 2021
                Pages: 1-14
                Affiliations
                [1 ]Lab for Psychophysiology and Optical Imaging, Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University Hospital Tübingen, Calwerstraβe 14, Tübingen 72076, Germany
                [2 ]Department for Traditional Chinese Sports, Shanghai University of Sport, Changhai Road 399, Shanghai 200438, China
                [3 ]Department of Psychology, Division of Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy, Eberhard-Karls University Tübingen, Schleichstraße 4, Tübingen 72076, Germany
                [4 ]LEAD Graduate School & Research Network, University of Tübingen, Gartenstraße 29, Tübingen 72074, Germany
                [5 ]Institute of Sports Science, Department of Education & Health Research, Eberhard-Karls University Tübingen, Wächterstraβe 67, Tübingen 72074, Germany
                Article
                DOI: 10.1155/2021/6673190
                SO-VID: 14c3428b-3bc1-4374-9d57-701b4fb72c35
                Copyright © © 2021
                License:

                https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

                History

                Data availability:

                Comments

                Comment on this article

                scite_

                Similar content55

                See all similar

                Cited by4

                See all cited by

                Most referenced authors706

                See all reference authors