Research on the relaxation response: our current guide
What this page said
The page set out five hypotheses guiding research: that the psychosocial environment is experienced in the biology of the brain so that mind and body form a unity; that psychosocial stress leads to cellular oxidative stress; that severe oxidative stress creates selective disease vulnerability based on genetics; that vulnerability can be expressed as stress factors divided by resiliency components; and that the relaxation response and resiliency training reduce vulnerability and enhance health.
Work was organised into three core programs: human clinical research, mind body neuroimaging and animal behavioural neuroscience. The page reported findings from the clinical program, including a link between lower oxygen consumption and exhaled nitric oxide in people eliciting the response, and an eight-week training that allowed medication reductions in elderly people with systolic hypertension, and listed studies on heart disease, hypertension, epilepsy, bowel disorders, depression and trauma. These are the institute's own research claims, not an independent review.
Key points from the original
- Five stated hypotheses on stress, oxidative stress and resilience.
- Three core programs: clinical, neuroimaging and animal neuroscience.
- Findings and ongoing work listed across heart, blood pressure, pain and mental health.