scholarly journals Effect of Forest Therapy for Menopausal Women with Insomnia

Author(s):  
Hyeyun Kim ◽  
Jayoung Kim ◽  
Hyo Jin Ju ◽  
Bong Jin Jang ◽  
Tae Kyu Wang ◽  
...  

Female hormone changes during menopause can affect the autonomic nervous system, circadian rhythm, and secretion of cortisol/melatonin, resulting in a vulnerability to insomnia. In this light, therapy has been gaining attention as a way to reduce stress hormones by stabilizing the autonomic nervous system. Thus, this study aims to objectively and scientifically analyze the impact of forest therapy in postmenopausal insomnia patients. The forest therapy program lasted 6 days, wherein 35 postmenopausal women performed activities such as trekking, leg massages, stretches, and bathing in warm and cold water. They also underwent serologic tests, participated in polysomnography (PSG), and answered sleep questionnaires before and after the program. Further, a statistical analysis compared the results. Serologic tests showed a significant reduction of cortisol from 10.2 ± 3.79 to 7.75 ± 2.81, while PSGs showed how sleep efficiency increased to 89.3 ± 4.3% (p < 0.01), and how waking after sleep onset reduced to 47.4 ± 22.3 min (p < 0.01). The total sleep time also increased to 428.5 min and sleep latency was 11.1 ± 11.0 min. Despite its limitations, forest therapy could be a good alternative to nonpharmacological treatment for mitigating insomnia in postmenopausal women.

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Garry Elvin ◽  
Paras Patel ◽  
Petia Sice ◽  
Chirine Riachy ◽  
Nigel Osborne ◽  
...  

BACKGROUND Heart rate variability (HRV), or the variation in the time interval between consecutive heartbeats, is a proven measure for assessing changes in autonomic activity. An increase in variability suggests an upregulation of the parasympathetic nervous system (PNS). Music was shown to have an effect on the limbic system, respiratory rate, and blood pressure. However, there have been relatively few empirical investigations on the effect of music on HRV compared to mean heart rate (HR). Also, the majority of studies have been experimental rather than interventional, reporting significant changes in HRV as a function of musical characteristics, such as tempo, genre, and valence. OBJECTIVE The aim of this pilot study is to evaluate the impact of short duration music listening on the autonomic nervous system response of healthy adults. METHODS Six participants (three males and three females) were tested to investigate the effect of listening to music on HR and HRV. Electrocardiographic (ECG) data was recorded at a sampling rate of 1000 Hz using an eMotion Faros 360 device produced by Bittium Biosignals. The data was collected while the participants listened to four pre-selected songs in a random order separated by a relaxation period of 5 minutes. Data was then cleaned and processed through Kubious HRV 2.0 software. Statistical analysis using Wilcoxon signed rank test was carried out for the time and frequency domains. RESULTS For all but one song that is shorter than 3 minutes (song 1), we observed a statistically significant increase in Standard Deviation of the RR intervals (SDRR) (song 1: P=.125, r=.333; song 2: P=.023, r=.575; song 3: P=.014, r=.635; song 4: P=.014, r=.635) and in the Low Frequency (LF) component of the cardiac spectrogram (song 1: P=.300, r=.151; song 2: P=.038, r=.514; song 3: P=.014, r=.635; song 4: P=.014, r=.635) with a large effect size r, indicating increased HRV. No significant change in mean HR was observed (song 1: P=.173 r=-.272; song 2: P=.058, r=-.454; song 3: P=.125, r=-.333; song 4: P=.232. r=-.212). CONCLUSIONS Listening to pre-selected songs of longer duration than 3 minutes 30 seconds is associated with significant increases in HRV measures, especially SDRR and LF. Music thus has the potential to overcome autonomic nervous system (ANS) dysregulation and thereby benefit health and wellbeing.


Brain ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 143 (8) ◽  
pp. 2437-2453
Author(s):  
Pauline E Schneeberger ◽  
Fanny Kortüm ◽  
Georg Christoph Korenke ◽  
Malik Alawi ◽  
René Santer ◽  
...  

Abstract In pleiotropic diseases, multiple organ systems are affected causing a variety of clinical manifestations. Here, we report a pleiotropic disorder with a unique constellation of neurological, endocrine, exocrine, and haematological findings that is caused by biallelic MADD variants. MADD, the mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) activating death domain protein, regulates various cellular functions, such as vesicle trafficking, activity of the Rab3 and Rab27 small GTPases, tumour necrosis factor-α (TNF-α)-induced signalling and prevention of cell death. Through national collaboration and GeneMatcher, we collected 23 patients with 21 different pathogenic MADD variants identified by next-generation sequencing. We clinically evaluated the series of patients and categorized the phenotypes in two groups. Group 1 consists of 14 patients with severe developmental delay, endo- and exocrine dysfunction, impairment of the sensory and autonomic nervous system, and haematological anomalies. The clinical course during the first years of life can be potentially fatal. The nine patients in Group 2 have a predominant neurological phenotype comprising mild-to-severe developmental delay, hypotonia, speech impairment, and seizures. Analysis of mRNA revealed multiple aberrant MADD transcripts in two patient-derived fibroblast cell lines. Relative quantification of MADD mRNA and protein in fibroblasts of five affected individuals showed a drastic reduction or loss of MADD. We conducted functional tests to determine the impact of the variants on different pathways. Treatment of patient-derived fibroblasts with TNF-α resulted in reduced phosphorylation of the extracellular signal-regulated kinases 1 and 2, enhanced activation of the pro-apoptotic enzymes caspase-3 and -7 and increased apoptosis compared to control cells. We analysed internalization of epidermal growth factor in patient cells and identified a defect in endocytosis of epidermal growth factor. We conclude that MADD deficiency underlies multiple cellular defects that can be attributed to alterations of TNF-α-dependent signalling pathways and defects in vesicular trafficking. Our data highlight the multifaceted role of MADD as a signalling molecule in different organs and reveal its physiological role in regulating the function of the sensory and autonomic nervous system and endo- and exocrine glands.


2018 ◽  
Vol 28 (1) ◽  
pp. 31-35
Author(s):  
Martynas Gedminas ◽  
Lukas Neimanas ◽  
Dinas Vaitkaitis ◽  
Nedas Jasinskas ◽  
Viktoras Šaferis ◽  
...  

Study objective. Heart rate variability (HRV) is an objective, easy-to-obtain parameter that can be used to monitor person’s balance of autonomous nervous system, which in turn decides one’s ability to cope with stress. HRV has been used extensively in professional athletes and the military with the purpose of performance optimisation and burnout prevention. The aim of our study was to investigate the balance of EM residents’ autonomic nervous system, as indicated by fluctuations in day-to-day HRV readings, and the feasibility of short relaxation techniques to increase their stress-resilience. Methods. We conducted a two-month long prospective cross-over double blinded randomized study. Computer randomization was used to divide the EM residents into intervention (A) and control (B) groups. Controls were instructed to listen to a 12 min. relaxation audio file every morning, while the intervention group was equipped with a 12 min. guided meditation that combined rhythmic breathing and attention focusing techniques. After one month, crossover of the interventions took place. Results. After pooling pre-shift and post-shift HRV data, we identified differences of statistical significance with post-shift HRV readings being higher (p=0.028, p&lt;0,05). Individual HRV trend analysis showed significant fluctuations in day-to-day HRV readings. We could not identify the impact of short relaxation techniques on the EM residents HRV trends. Conclusion. Our findings suggest the lack of autonomic nervous system balance among EM residents, as indicated by big fluctuations in their day-to-day HRV trends. During the course of the study, the HRV reading fluctuations did not stabilise, indicating the limited use of our selected short relaxation techniques to increase residents’ stress resilience. We also identified paradoxical findings of higher post-shift HRV readings which could true be due to unique population in the setting of EM.


2019 ◽  
Vol 25 (1) ◽  
pp. 3-19 ◽  
Author(s):  
Genevieve Young-Southward ◽  
Cassandra Svelnys ◽  
Ruchika Gajwani ◽  
Michelle Bosquet Enlow ◽  
Helen Minnis

Child maltreatment may affect autonomic nervous system (ANS) responsivity, and ANS responsivity may influence the impact of child maltreatment on later outcomes including long-term mental/physical health. This review systematically evaluated the evidence regarding effects of maltreatment on ANS responsivity in children and examined how ANS responsivity may influence the association between maltreatment and psychopathology, with attention to relevant developmental issues. We searched the literature for relevant studies using Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines. We searched five electronic databases, performed key word searches in relevant journals, hand searched reference sections of relevant articles, and contacted experts in the field. Articles were extracted according to inclusion criteria and their quality assessed. The search produced 1,388 articles; 22 met inclusion criteria. Most of the studies suggested blunted cardiovascular responsivity generally and sympathetic activation specifically in response to stress in maltreated children compared to nonmaltreated children. Findings around vagal responsivity and skin conductance were mixed. Limited evidence was found for ANS responsivity as a moderator or mediator of psychopathology risk among maltreated children. Maltreatment may be associated with blunted sympathetic activation in stressful situations. Differences in ANS responsivity may influence psychopathology risk among maltreated children. Further research is needed to confirm the nature and magnitude of such effects.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Garry Elvin ◽  
Paras Patel ◽  
Petia Sice ◽  
Chirine Riachy ◽  
Yilun Shang ◽  
...  

BACKGROUND Heart rate variability (HRV), or the variation in the time interval between consecutive heartbeats, is a proven measure for assessing changes in autonomic activity. An increase in variability suggests an upregulation of the parasympathetic nervous system (PNS). Music was shown to have an effect on the limbic system, respiratory rate, and blood pressure. However, there have been relatively few empirical investigations on the effect of music on HRV compared to mean heart rate (HR). Also, the majority of studies have been experimental rather than interventional, reporting significant changes in HRV as a function of musical characteristics, such as tempo, genre, and valence. OBJECTIVE The aim of this pilot study is to evaluate the impact of short duration music listening on the autonomic nervous system response of healthy adults. METHODS Six participants (three males and three females) were tested to investigate the effect of listening to music on HR and HRV. Electrocardiographic (ECG) data was recorded at a sampling rate of 1000 Hz using an eMotion Faros 360 device produced by Bittium Biosignals. The data was collected while the participants listened to four pre-selected songs in a random order separated by a relaxation period of 5 minutes. Data was then cleaned and processed through Kubious HRV 2.0 software. Statistical analysis using Wilcoxon signed rank test was carried out for the time and frequency domains. RESULTS For all but one song that is shorter than 3 minutes (song 1), we observed a statistically significant increase in Standard Deviation of the RR intervals (SDRR) (song 1: P=.125, r=.333; song 2: P=.023, r=.575; song 3: P=.014, r=.635; song 4: P=.014, r=.635) and in the Low Frequency (LF) component of the cardiac spectrogram (song 1: P=.300, r=.151; song 2: P=.038, r=.514; song 3: P=.014, r=.635; song 4: P=.014, r=.635) with a large effect size r, indicating increased HRV. No significant change in mean HR was observed (song 1: P=.173 r=-.272; song 2: P=.058, r=-.454; song 3: P=.125, r=-.333; song 4: P=.232. r=-.212). CONCLUSIONS Listening to pre-selected songs of longer duration than 3 minutes 30 seconds is associated with significant increases in HRV measures, especially SDRR and LF. Music thus has the potential to overcome autonomic nervous system (ANS) dysregulation and thereby benefit health and wellbeing.


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