Meditation Strategies, Attention, and Mobility in Older Adults

Western University, Canada

Status: Completed

Conditions: Mobility Limitation

Treatments: Behavioral: Acoustic music; Behavioral: Guided focused attention

Study type: Interventional

Funder types: Other

Identifiers

NCT03417635

110598

Details and patient eligibility

About

Approximately 30% of community-dwelling older adults experience one or more falls per year, resulting in injuries, loss of independence, and reduced quality of life. While there are known physiological risk factors for falls, including poor balance and altered gait patterns, it is now recognized that impaired cognitive functioning is also a risk factor for falls. Within the broad construct of cognition, one specific domain that has been focused on in the falls literature is attention. The literature suggests that improving attention in those at-risk for falls may reduce older adult's risk of falling.

Full description

The current study aims to investigate the impact of meditation strategies on measures of attention and electrical signals in the brain in older adults. Investigators will recruit older adults who are living in the community. Participants will be assigned to one of two groups: 1) guided focused attention group, or 2) music group (control group). All participants will complete three in-person sessions per week and then be encouraged to practice independently on the other days in the week, for a total of four weeks.The current study focuses on focused attention meditation strategies, as it is recommended for beginner-level meditators. This will include training to be able to focus on one's breathing for 20 minute sessions. Focused attention meditation has been found to increase levels of executive functioning and attention. Participants will complete mobility and cognitive assessments at both the beginning and end of the intervention. These will be completed in the retirement homes for convenience. Participants will also attend an in-lab session to complete electroencephalogram (EEG) testing at both timepoints.

Enrollment: 43 patients

Sex: All

Ages: 60+ years old

Volunteers: Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Inclusion criteria

1. minimum 60 years of age,
2. minimum completed high school,
3. must be comfortable writing and reading English,
4. be able to walk independently,
5. must be right-handed (for EEG analysis),
6. score 6+/8 on the instrumental activities of daily living scale,
7. score >24/30 on the Mini-Mental Status examination.

Exclusion criteria

To be included, participants must NOT:

1. have a diagnosis of neurodegenerative disease,
2. have a diagnosis of cognitive impairment (e.g., MCI),
3. have a diagnosis of a psychiatric condition,
4. have had a concussion in the last 12 months,
5. have had a stroke,
6. have musculoskeletal or joint disease,
7. experience dizziness or loss of balance,
8. have visual, auditory, or somatosensory impairment, or
9. a recent history (past 2 years) of regular meditation practice (1 or more times per week) or include a meditation component in their religious practice.

Trial design

Primary purpose: Treatment

Allocation: Randomized

Interventional model: Parallel Assignment

Masking: None (Open label)

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43 participants in 2 patient groups

Guided focused attention

Experimental group

Description:

Participants will take part in a guided focused attention practice led by the researcher. This will include strategies used in meditations where participants focus on their breathing. More specifically, they will be instructed to close their eyes and focus on the sensation of breathing in one area of the body for the entire session. They will be given reminders throughout the session to remain on task (focusing on the breath) and not to let their thoughts wander. Participants will be asked to either sit on a chair or cushion on floor to ensure they are comfortable to sit still for the session, but not so much that they might fall asleep.

Treatment:

Behavioral: Guided focused attention

Acoustic music

Active Comparator group

Description:

Participants will be instructed to listen to a prepared soothing acoustic music track. The sessions will be led by a researcher. Participants will be asked to close their eyes and relax while listening to the music. Participants will be asked to sit on a chair or cushion on floor to ensure they are comfortable to sit still for the session, but not so much they might fall asleep This group is used as active control group to control for socialization in group settings and any effects of consciously relaxing for the meetings.

Treatment:

Behavioral: Acoustic music