V R Damerla, K Madhavan, S Mittal, M Pathania, A Kumar, S Sharma, V Gupta, P Pothu, R Pillai, T Nesbitt, P Sharma, V Bhatia, P Matreja, D B Wolf, B D Goldstein, L Dajak, H Medley, D L McCluskey, K Patel, N Patterson
Short-term, daily audible repetition of the Hare Krishna Mantram is a promising non-pharmacological approach to improving heart rate variability, brain executive function, self-regulation, and relaxation capacity among novice practitioners. These findings support the potential of Audible Mantram Repetition to manage chronic stress, cognitive function, and restore autonomic balance.
OBJECTIVES: Chronic stress, widely acknowledged as a cause of lifestyle-related diseases, is associated with impaired relaxation capacity, reduced heart rate variability, and diminished emotional resilience and self-regulation. This study investigated the effects of short-term daily audible repetition of the Hare Krishna Mantram on heart rate variability, psychological resilience, and cognitive processing among novice practitioners in a university health care setting.
METHODS: This is a randomized three-group study of healthy, meditation-naïve participants in a health care setting (mean age 26.63 years). All participants (n=39) engaged in audible repetition of the Hare Krishna Mantram for 30 minutes daily for 4 weeks. After a two-week washout period, some participants (n=13) switched to a placebo/sham mantram for 4 weeks, and others (n=12) practiced silent contemplative practice daily for 4 weeks. Heart rate variability parameters were recorded weekly using HeartMath emWave Pro sensors. At intake and the end of each phase, cognitive processing was assessed using an 8-channel Nihon Kohden EEG system (P300), executive function via the Color Stroop test, and self-regulation via psychological measures.
RESULTS: The Hare Krishna Mantram phase showed statistically significant improvements in heart rate variability (P < .0001), P300 latency (P = .0052) and amplitude (P = .0370), Stroop task average neutral (P = .0012) and emotional (P = .0096) reaction times, and self-regulation scores (P < .0001). The sham phase and, to a lesser degree, during silent contemplative practice, showed significant changes in heart rate variability; however, these effects were not evident in cognitive and self-regulation measures.
CONCLUSION: Short-term, daily audible repetition of the Hare Krishna Mantram is a promising non-pharmacological approach to improving heart rate variability, brain executive function, self-regulation, and relaxation capacity among novice practitioners. These findings support the potential of Audible Mantram Repetition to manage chronic stress, cognitive function, and restore autonomic balance.