scholarly journals Acceptance lowers stress reactivity: Dismantling mindfulness training in a randomized controlled trial

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Emily K Lindsay ◽  
Shinzen Young ◽  
Joshua M Smyth ◽  
Kirk Warren Brown ◽  
J. David Creswell
Keyword(s):  
Blood Pressure ◽  
Emotion Regulation ◽  
Social Stress ◽  
Stress Reactivity ◽  
Controlled Trial ◽  
Stress Test ◽  
Mindfulness Training ◽  
Trier Social Stress Test ◽  
Present Moment ◽  
Regulation Mechanism

Objective: Mindfulness interventions, which train practitioners to monitor their present-moment experience with a lens of acceptance, are known to buffer stress reactivity. Little is known about the active mechanisms driving these effects. We theorize that acceptance is a critical emotion regulation mechanism underlying mindfulness stress reduction effects. Method: In this three-arm parallel trial, mindfulness components were dismantled into three structurally equivalent 15-lesson smartphone-based interventions: (1) training in both monitoring and acceptance (Monitor+Accept), (2) training in monitoring only (Monitor Only), or (3) active control training (Coping control). 153 stressed adults (mean age = 32 years; 67% female; 53% white, 21.5% black, 21.5% Asian, 4% other race) were randomly assigned to complete one of three interventions. After the intervention, cortisol, blood pressure, and subjective stress reactivity were assessed using a modified Trier Social Stress Test. Results: As predicted, Monitor+Accept training reduced cortisol and systolic blood pressure reactivity compared to Monitor Only and control trainings. Participants in all three conditions reported moderate levels of subjective stress.Conclusions: This study provides the first experimental evidence that brief smartphone mindfulness training can impact stress biology, and that acceptance training drives these effects. We discuss implications for basic and applied research in contemplative science, emotion regulation, stress and coping, health, and clinical interventions.

scholarly journals Acceptance lowers stress reactivity: Dismantling mindfulness training in a randomized controlled trial

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Emily K Lindsay ◽  
Shinzen Young ◽  
Joshua M Smyth ◽  
Kirk Warren Brown ◽  
J. David Creswell
Keyword(s):  
Blood Pressure ◽  
Emotion Regulation ◽  
Social Stress ◽  
Stress Reactivity ◽  
Controlled Trial ◽  
Stress Test ◽  
Mindfulness Training ◽  
Trier Social Stress Test ◽  
Present Moment ◽  
Regulation Mechanism

Objective: Mindfulness interventions, which train practitioners to monitor their present-moment experience with a lens of acceptance, are known to buffer stress reactivity. Little is known about the active mechanisms driving these effects. We theorize that acceptance is a critical emotion regulation mechanism underlying mindfulness stress reduction effects. Method: In this three-arm parallel trial, mindfulness components were dismantled into three structurally equivalent 15-lesson smartphone-based interventions: (1) training in both monitoring and acceptance (Monitor+Accept), (2) training in monitoring only (Monitor Only), or (3) active control training (Coping control). 153 stressed adults (mean age = 32 years; 67% female; 53% white, 21.5% black, 21.5% Asian, 4% other race) were randomly assigned to complete one of three interventions. After the intervention, cortisol, blood pressure, and subjective stress reactivity were assessed using a modified Trier Social Stress Test. Results: As predicted, Monitor+Accept training reduced cortisol and systolic blood pressure reactivity compared to Monitor Only and control trainings. Participants in all three conditions reported moderate levels of subjective stress.Conclusions: This study provides the first experimental evidence that brief smartphone mindfulness training can impact stress biology, and that acceptance training drives these effects. We discuss implications for basic and applied research in contemplative science, emotion regulation, stress and coping, health, and clinical interventions.

scholarly journals Measuring stress reactivity in the home: Preliminary findings from a version of the Trier Social Stress Test (TSST-H) appropriate for field-based research

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Meriah Lee DeJoseph ◽  
Eric D. Finegood ◽  
Cybele Raver ◽  
Clancy B. Blair
Keyword(s):  
Blood Pressure ◽  
Social Stress ◽  
Stress Reactivity ◽  
Stress Test ◽  
High Stress ◽  
Preliminary Evidence ◽  
Trier Social Stress Test ◽  
Alpha Amylase ◽  
Autonomic Response ◽  
Initial Assessment

Stress induction paradigms are essential tools for studies investigating psychobiological mechanisms linking stress reactivity with mental and physical health outcomes, especially among youth growing up in high-stress contexts such as poverty. However, standardized stress paradigms aimed at measuring stress reactivity are limited to laboratory settings and have mostly been conducted in small samples of convenience. The aim of the current study is to present a version of the Trier Social Stress Test (TSST) adapted for administration in participants’ homes appropriate for administration in large-scale, population-based samples. We address issues related to the feasibility of administration and present preliminary evidence of the validity of the home-based TSST (TSST-H) in a subsample (n = 100) of adolescents (12-13 years) participating in the Family Life Project (N = 1,292). Measures of stress physiology included salivary cortisol, alpha amylase, and blood pressure, assessed at baseline, 5 minutes post, 20 minutes post, and 40 minutes post task. Importantly, administration of the TSST-H procedure was successful among 93% of our sample after accounting for participant refusals and significant distractions in the home. We also found preliminary evidence that the TSST-H elicited an autonomic response, reflected by statistically significant increases in salivary alpha amylase and diastolic blood pressure post task. Our initial assessment indicates that the TSST-H can be effectively implemented in field based settings with hard to reach populations.

scholarly journals Effects of Aerobic Exercise on Cortisol Stress Reactivity in Response to the Trier Social Stress Test in Inpatients with Major Depressive Disorders: A Randomized Controlled Trial

2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (5) ◽  
pp. 1419
Author(s):  
Markus Gerber ◽  
Christian Imboden ◽  
Johannes Beck ◽  
Serge Brand ◽  
Flora Colledge ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Exercise Training ◽  
Aerobic Exercise ◽  
Social Stress ◽  
Stress Reactivity ◽  
Controlled Trial ◽  
Stress Test ◽  
Trier Social Stress Test ◽  
Aerobic Exercise Training ◽  
Cortisol Response ◽  
Cortisol Reactivity

Physical activity is associated with a favourable (blunted) cortisol stress reactivity in healthy people. However, evidence from experimental study and with psychiatric patients is missing. This study examines whether exercise training impacts on cortisol stress reactivity in inpatients with major depressive disorder (MDD). These new insights are important because the stress reactivity of healthy people and patients with severe symptoms of depression might differ. Methods: The study was designed as a randomized controlled trial (trial registration number: NCT02679053). In total, 25 patients (13 women, 12 men, mean age: 38.1 ± 12.0 years) completed a laboratory stressor task before and after a six-week intervention period. Nine samples of salivary free cortisol were taken before and after the Trier social stress test (TSST). Fourteen participants took part in six weeks of aerobic exercise training, while 11 patients were allocated to the control condition. While the primary outcome of the study was depressive symptom severity, the focus of this paper is on one of the secondary outcomes (cortisol reactivity during the TSST). The impact of aerobic exercise training was examined with a repeated-measures analysis of variance. We also examined the association between change in depression and cortisol response via correlational analysis. Cortisol reactivity did not change from baseline to post-intervention, either in the intervention or the control group. Participation in six weeks of aerobic exercise training was not associated with participants’ cortisol reactivity. Moreover, depressive symptom change was not associated with change in cortisol response. Aerobic exercise training was not associated with patients’ stress reactivity in this study. Because many patients initially showed a relatively flat/blunted cortisol response curve, efforts might be needed to find out which treatments are most efficient to promote a normalization of HPA axis reactivity.

Stress system dysfunction revealed by integrating reactivity of stress pathways to psychological stress in lean and overweight/obese men

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sisitha Udara Jayasinghe ◽  
Sarah Janet Hall ◽  
Susan Jane Torres ◽  
Anne Isabella Turner
Keyword(s):  
Blood Pressure ◽  
Systolic Blood Pressure ◽  
Diastolic Blood Pressure ◽  
Psychological Stress ◽  
Hpa Axis ◽  
Social Stress ◽  
Blood Pressure Response ◽  
Stress Test ◽  
Trier Social Stress Test ◽  
Stress System

While the patterns of response within the sympatho-adrenal medullary (SAM) system and hypothalamo-pituitary adrenal (HPA) axis are interesting and important in their own accord, the overall response to acute psychological stress involves reactivity of both pathways We tested the hypothesis that consideration of the integrated response of these pathways may reveal dysregulation of the stress systems that is not evident when considering either system alone. Age matched lean and overweight/obese men were subjected to a Trier Social Stress Test and reactivity of the SAM system (salivary alpha amylase, systolic blood pressure, diastolic blood pressure and heart rate) and the HPA axis (salivary cortisol) were measured. Relative reactivity of SAM system and HPA axis was calculated as the ratio between the measures from each pathway. While analysis of reactivity of individual stress pathways showed no evidence of dysfunction in overweight/obese compared with lean men, analysis of HPA/SAM reactivity revealed significantly lower cortisol over systolic blood pressure (CoSBP) and cortisol over diastolic blood pressure (CoDBP) reactivity in overweight/obese compared with lean men. Other measures of HPA/SAM reactivity and all measures of SAM/HPA reactivity were unaltered in overweight/obese compared with lean men. These findings suggest that the cortisol response per unit of blood pressure response is blunted in men with elevated adiposity. Further, these findings support a notion of a coordinated overall approach to activation of the stress pathways with the degree of activation in one pathway being related to the degree of activation of the other.

scholarly journals Sex Differences in Stress Reactivity to the Trier Social Stress Test in Virtual Reality

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Qing Liu ◽  
Wenjuan Zhang
Keyword(s):  
Heart Rate ◽  
Virtual Reality ◽  
Sex Differences ◽  
Social Stress ◽  
Stress Reactivity ◽  
Electrodermal Activity ◽  
Stress Test ◽  
Young Male ◽  
Trier Social Stress Test ◽  
Stress Group

Abstract Background: The aim of the present study is to investigate the sex differences in stress reactivity to the Trier Social Stress Test (TSST) in a virtual reality(TSST-VR). Methods: Healthy young male (n = 30) and female (n = 30) undergraduates were randomly assigned to a psychosocial stress protocol (TSST) condition or to a non-stressful control condition (Placebo-TSST) under VR. Electrodermal activity (EDA), heart rate (HR) and heart rate variability (HRV) were measured throughout the study. The subjective scales of stress and emotion were also conducted. Results: The results showed that after VR, the stress group reported higher stress perceptions than the non-stress group. Compared with females, the males stronger EDA and higher HRV before the VR, and lower HR during VR as well as higher HRV after VR. The correlation between subjective and objective reactivity demonstrated that HRV during VR was negatively correlated to depression and negative affect. The HRV after VR was negatively correlated to the positive coping but was positively correlated to the depression. Conclusions: These findings suggest that the TSST-VR could be used as an available tool for testing gender differences to social stress induction in experimental settings. Compared with females, males were more sensitive to stress.

scholarly journals Developmental changes in hypothalamus–pituitary–adrenal activity over the transition to adolescence: Normative changes and associations with puberty

2009 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
pp. 69-85 ◽  
Author(s):  
Megan R. Gunnar ◽  
Sandi Wewerka ◽  
Kristin Frenn ◽  
Jeffrey D. Long ◽  
Christopher Griggs
Keyword(s):  
Social Stress ◽  
Stress Reactivity ◽  
Stress Test ◽  
Pubertal Development ◽  
Trier Social Stress Test ◽  
Cortisol Reactivity ◽  
Sympathetic Modulation ◽  
Pituitary Adrenal Axis ◽  
Depressed Symptoms ◽  
Child Depressive Symptoms

AbstractHome baseline and laboratory stressor (Trier Social Stress Test for Children) measures of salivary cortisol were obtained from 82 participants (40 girls) aged 9, 11, 13, and 15 years. Measures of pubertal development, self-reported stress, parent reports of child depressive symptoms and fearful temperament, and cardiac measures of sympathetic and parasympathetic activity were also obtained. Significant increases in the home cortisol baselines were found with age and pubertal development. Cortisol stress reactivity differed by age group with 11-year-olds and 13-year-old boys showing blunted reactivity and 9-year-olds, 13-year-old girls, and 15-year-olds showing significant cortisol reactions. Cortisol reactivity correlated marginally with sexual maturation. Measures of sympathetic activity revealed increased sympathetic modulation with age. Higher sympathetic tone was associated with more fearful temperament, whereas greater cortisol reactivity was associated with more anxious and depressed symptoms for girls. The importance of these findings for the hypothesis that puberty-associated increases in hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal axis activity heightens the risk of psychopathology is discussed.

scholarly journals Trier Social Stress Test Elevates Blood Pressure, Heart Rate, and Anxiety, But a Singing Test or Unsolvable Anagrams Only Elevates Heart Rate, among Healthy Young Adults

Psych ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
pp. 171-183
Author(s):  
Isabelle K. Sequeira ◽  
Addie S. Longmire ◽  
Naomi J. McKay
Keyword(s):  
Blood Pressure ◽  
Heart Rate ◽  
Stress Response ◽  
Social Stress ◽  
Stress Test ◽  
Trier Social Stress Test ◽  
Psychological Stressors ◽  
Elevated Systolic Blood Pressure ◽  
Males And Females ◽  
Elevated Heart Rate

The Trier Social Stress Test (TSST) is a psychosocial stressor that effectively stimulates the stress response but is labor and time intensive. Although other psychological stressors are often used experimentally, none are known to comparably elevate stress. Two stressors that may potentially elevate stress are a singing task (ST) and unsolvable anagrams, but there are not enough data to support their effectiveness. In the current experiment, 53 undergraduate males and females (mean age = 21.9 years) were brought into the laboratory, and baseline blood pressure, heart rate, self-rated anxiety, and salivary cortisol were recorded. Then, participants were randomly assigned to one of three stress conditions: TSST (n = 24), ST (n = 14), or an unsolvable anagram task (n = 15). Stress measures were taken again after the stressor and during recovery. The TSST significantly elevated systolic blood pressure, diastolic blood pressure, heart rate, and self-rated anxiety from pre-stress levels, replicating its stress-inducing properties. However, the ST and unsolvable anagrams only elevated heart rate, indicating that these methods are not as able to stimulate physiological or psychological stress. Overall, results indicate that out of these three laboratory stressors, the TSST clearly engages the stress response over the ST or unsolvable anagrams.

scholarly journals The late positive potentials evoked by negative emotional pictures predict autonomic responses to an acute psychosocial stressor in healthy adults

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hongxia Duan ◽  
Zhuxi Yao ◽  
Liang Zhang ◽  
Nils Kohn ◽  
Jianhui Wu
Keyword(s):  
Stress Responses ◽  
Social Stress ◽  
Stress Reactivity ◽  
Stress Test ◽  
Healthy Adults ◽  
Trier Social Stress Test ◽  
Psychosocial Stressor ◽  
Autonomic Responses ◽  
Increased Risk ◽  
Negative Stimuli

Individuals vary substantially in their response to an acute stressor. Identifying the factors contributing to these individual differences in stress reactivity is of particular interest but still remains largely unknown in the stress and resilience domain. The present study aimed to investigate whether and how brain reactivity to negative stimuli during a non-stressful state could predict autonomic and neuroendocrine stress responses to an acute psychosocial stressor in healthy adults. To address this issue, fifty-two healthy young adults were recruited to view negative or neutral pictures while their electroencephalogram was recorded during a non-stressful state on the first experimental day. On the second experimental day, their autonomic and neuroendocrine responses to the Trier Social Stress Test (TSST) were measured. Results showed that increased late positive potential (LPP) to negative relative to neutral pictures was significantly associated with higher heart rate response but not with the cortisol response to acute social stress. These results implicate greater neural reactivity to negative stimuli as a physiological marker of heightened acute autonomic responses. These findings may help identify individuals who are at increased risk of developing negative outcomes under stress.

scholarly journals Investigation of the Stress and Sleep Physiology Correlates of Next-Day Memory for Details of a Social Stressor Testing Environment

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ryan Bottary ◽  
Sarah M. Kark ◽  
Ryan T. Daley ◽  
Dan Denis ◽  
Tony J. Cunningham ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Social Stress ◽  
Stress Reactivity ◽  
Stress Test ◽  
Nrem Sleep ◽  
Trier Social Stress Test ◽  
Stress Hormone ◽  
Testing Environment ◽  
Stressful Environment ◽  
Sleep Physiology ◽  
Testing Room

AbstractDespite evidence which demonstrates that psychosocial stress interacts with sleep to modulate memory, research that has examined next-day memory for the stressful environment itself has not accounted for post-stressor sleep. Here, participants completed the Trier Social Stress Test or a matched control task with psychophysiological monitoring and stress hormone assays. After a 24-hour delay that included overnight polysomnographically-recorded sleep, memory for objects in the testing room was assessed by having participants draw the testing room from the previous day from memory. As expected, stressed participants mounted greater psychophysiological and stress hormone responses to the stressor than participants in the control condition. However, there was only weak evidence that stress reactivity and post-encoding sleep interacted to modulate memory for testing room details. Instead, NREM sleep physiology on the night following testing room encoding was positively associated with memory for testing room details, though this association occurred in the control, but not stressed, participants.

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