Intensive Meditation and Migraines: Effects on Health and Well Being

Johns Hopkins University

Status: Completed

Conditions: Chronic Daily Headache

Treatments: Behavioral: Vipassana Meditation

Study type: Interventional

Funder types: Other

Identifiers

NCT00663585

RR023266

NA_00016428

Details and patient eligibility

About

Participants completing training in intensive meditation and continuing frequent practice for one year would experience reduced frequency, duration and severity of headaches along with improved awareness of the triggers of their symptoms, improved quality of life and mental health, improved heart rate variability, and reduced inflammation.

Enrollment: 36 patients

Sex: All

Ages: 18 to 75 years old

Volunteers: No Healthy Volunteers

Inclusion and exclusion criteria

Inclusion Criteria:

• Chronic Daily Headache, defined as a headache at least 15 days of the month, of which at least 8 are migraines.

Exclusion Criteria:1.

• Severe depression, anxiety, panic attacks, psychosis or dementia that may interfere with ability to participate in a 10 day course
• Active alcoholism on screening or use of illicit drugs within the last 3 months
• Already completed a 10 day course
• Actively involved in another form of meditation over the past 6 months
• Women who are pregnant, planning pregnancy during trial period, or lactating.

Trial design

Primary purpose: Treatment

Allocation: Randomized

Interventional model: Parallel Assignment

Masking: None (Open label)

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36 participants in 2 patient groups

1

Experimental group

Description:

Structured Intervention Group

Treatment:

Behavioral: Vipassana Meditation

2.Comparison group

Active Comparator group

Description:

Unstructured comparison group

Treatment:

Behavioral: Vipassana Meditation