Investigating the effect of meditation (relaxation) exercises on cognitive abilities and maintaining stability in inactive elderly people

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

1 Physical Education Expert, Physical Education Department, Student Assistant, Qom University of Medical Sciences, Iran

2 Assistant Professor of Education, Qom Province

3 Master of Science in Leisure and Recreational Sports Management, Visiting University Lecturer

Abstract

Background and Aims: The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of meditation exercises on cognitive abilities and stability maintenance in inactive elderly people.
Materials and Methods: In a quasi-experimental study, 16 inactive elderly people (mean age 72±6 years) from Qom province in 1403 were selected through convenience and purposeful sampling and randomly assigned to two meditation exercise groups (n=8) and control (n=8). In this study, the mindfulness intervention protocol of Di Petrillo, Kaufman, Glass, and Arenkov (2009) was taught in six sessions, each session lasting 1 to 1.5 hours over a period of three weeks. The Spreitzer Psychological Empowerment Scale (1995) was used to assess cognitive empowerment data, and the Stork Static Balance Test (Johnson and Nelson, 1991) and the Podcialdo and Richardson Dynamic Balance Test (Pdc) were used to assess balance performance.
Results: Data were analyzed using analysis of covariance at a significance level of P<0.05. The results showed that meditation exercises resulted in a non-significant improvement in static and dynamic balance in inactive elderly people (p<0.05). Meditation exercises were also associated with a non-significant improvement in cognitive abilities in inactive elderly people (p<0.05).
Conclusion: It seems that three weeks of meditation exercises can provide cognitive and motor benefits for inactive elderly people, however, longer periods of this intervention may be more effective.
Keywords: Exercises, meditation, cognitive, maintaining stability, elderly, inactive

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Functional Research in Sport Psychology
Volume 1, Issue 3 - Serial Number 3
September 2024
Pages 1-12

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