Heart rate variability as an indicator of the beneficial effects of Qigong and mindfulness training on the mind–body well-being of cancer survivors

Abstract

Background Cancer-related fatigue (CRF) and fear of recurrence (FOR) are frequently experienced by cancer patients. This study aimed to improve cancer survivors’ CRF, FOR, quality of life (QOL), and heart rate variability (HRV) through Qigong and mindfulness interventions. Methods A quasi-experimental design was adopted, and 125 cancer survivors were recruited using snowball sampling. The participants were assigned to 1 of 3 groups (Qigong, mindfulness, and control) based on their needs and preferences. All groups received 4 h of nutrition education at the pretest (T0). CRF, FOR, and QOL questionnaires and HRV parameters were used as the measurement tools. Data were collected at the pretest (T0), posttest (T1), and follow-up (T2). Results Qigong had a better effect on improving CRF (ΔT1-T0 = − 0.108, ΔT2-T1 = − 0.008) and FOR (ΔT1-T0 = − 0.069, ΔT2-T1 = − 0.150) in the long term, while mindfulness improved QOL (ΔT1-T0 = 0.096, ΔT2-T1 = 0.013) better in the long term. Both Qigong and mindfulness had a short-term effect in improving SDNN (Q: ΔT1-T0 = 1.584; M: ΔT1-T0 = 6.979) and TP (Q: ΔT1-T0 = 41.601; M: ΔT1-T0 = 205.407), but the improvement in LF (Q: ΔT2-T1 = − 20.110; M: ΔT2-T1 = − 47.800) was better in the long term. Conclusion HRV evaluation showed that Qigong and the mindfulness interventions had short-term effects in significantly improving overall physical and mental health, self-emotional regulation, and QOL and relieving fatigue and autonomic dysfunction. HRV may serve as an observational indicator of interventions to improve physical and mental health. The consistent practice of mind-body interventions is the primary means of optimizing overall health and well-being.

Efficacy and underlying mechanisms of Three-circle Post Standing Qigong on insomnia in college students: a four-arm, double-blind, randomized controlled trial protocol

“…EEG data will be preprocessed using the EEG MATLAB toolkit in MATLAB (R2012a, MathWorks, Natick, MA, United States). Power spectrum analysis will be used to measure the EEG, which quanti es the activity in different frequency bands of delta (2-4 Hz), theta (4-8 Hz), alpha1 (8-10.5 Hz), alpha2 (10.5-13 Hz), beta1 (13-20 Hz), beta2 (20-30 Hz), and gamma (30)(31)(32)(33)(34)(35)(36)(37)(38)(39)(40). The relative and absolute power levels of these frequency bands will be evaluated to assess brain activity and the basic neurophysiology of mind adjustment during TCPS.…”

“…Respiratory function measurements, including chest and abdominal amplitudes and movements and respiratory ow rate, will be obtained to clarify the pathophysiology of breath adjustment during TCPS [36,37]. HRV, a sensitive and non-invasive indicator of autonomic nervous activity, will be analyzed using timedomain and frequency-domain parameters [38,39] in combination with blood pressure [40,41] and oxygen saturation [42,43] measures to identify the impact of body and breath adjustments in TCPS on physical function.…”

“…The primary outcomes will be measured using EEG data [24][25][26][27] and Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) scores [28,29] to evaluate central nervous system (CNS) bioelectrical activity and sleep quality, respectively. The secondary outcomes will include Insomnia Severity Index (ISI) scores [30,31], 36-Item Short Form Health Survey Questionnaire (SF-36) scores [32,33], plantar pressure and biomechanical equilibrium [34,35], and physical function including respiratory function [36,37], HRV [38,39], blood pressure [40,41], and blood oxygen saturation [42,43]. All outcomes will be measured at baseline, at eight weeks (at the mid-point of supervised training), and at 14 weeks (at the end of supervised training).…”

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“…Consistent with the results of a review investigating the association between MBSR and HRV [110], i.e., a significant increase in time-domain-based SDNN and RMSDD and frequency-domain-based HF after 8 weeks of positive thinking training. In addition, there are psychological interventions such as meditation therapy [111,112], music therapy [113,114], and stress management [95], all of which have shown to some extent to be beneficial to patients' physical and mental health and to improve their quality of life. The above results suggest that psychological interventions such as orthomolecular therapy can promote vagus activity in cancer patients.…”

Efficacy and underlying mechanisms of three-circle post standing qigong on insomnia in college students: a four-arm, double-blind, randomized controlled trial protocol

“…Respiratory function measurements, including chest and abdominal amplitudes and movements and respiratory flow rate, will be obtained to clarify the pathophysiology of breath adjustment during TCPS [ 36 , 37 ]. HRV, a sensitive and non-invasive indicator of autonomic nervous activity, will be analyzed using time-domain and frequency-domain parameters [ 38 , 39 ] in combination with blood pressure [ 40 , 41 ] and oxygen saturation [ 42 , 43 ] measures to identify the impact of body and breath adjustments in TCPS on physical function.…”