Positive Health Online

Abstract

CROSSWELL and COLLEAGUES, (1)Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of California, San Francisco.; (2)Department of Psychology, University of Kentucky; (3)Department of Psychiatry, Division of Behavioral Medicine, College of Physicians and Surgeons, Columbia University Irving Medical Center.; (4)Department of Counseling Psychology, University of Denver present an integrative model of how contemplative practices combat stress and enhance the body's restorative capacity.

Background

Engaging in contemplative practice like meditation, yoga, and prayer, is beneficial for psychological and physical well-being.

Methodology

Recent research has identified several underlying psychological and biological pathways that explain these benefits. However, there is not yet consensus on the underlying  overlapping physiological mechanisms of contemplative practice benefits.

Results

In this article, we integrate divergent scientific literatures on contemplative practice interventions, stress science, and mitochondrial biology, presenting a unified biopsychosocial model of how contemplative practices reduce stress and promote physical health. We argue that engaging in contemplative practice facilitates a restorative state termed "deep rest," largely through safety signaling, during which energetic resources are directed toward cellular optimization and away from energy-demanding stress states.

Conclusion

Our model thus presents a framework for how contemplative practices enhance positive psychological and physiological functioning by optimizing cellular energy consumption. (PsycInfo Database Record  (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).

References

Crosswell AD(1), Mayer SE(1), Whitehurst LN(2), Picard M(3), Zebarjadian S(4),  Epel ES(1). Deep rest: An integrative model of how contemplative practices combat stress and enhance the body's restorative capacity. Psychol Rev.;131(1):247-270. DOI: 10.1037/rev0000453 . Epub 2023 Dec 25. Jan 2024.

Comment

The authors’ model presents a framework for how contemplative practices enhance positive psychological and physiological functioning by optimizing cellular energy consumption.