Beneficial effects of OM chanting on depression, anxiety, stress and cognition in elderly women with hypertension

• Author Details:   
• Arati Amin
• Sai Sailesh Kumar
• Archana Rajagopalan
• Supriya Rajan
• Soumya Mishra
• Udaya Kumar Reddy

---

Background: According to Upanishads, Om is the name or symbol of God. It is the combination of three letters, namely, A, U, and M and it is the syllable of the past, the present, and the future. Om is the force behind all thoughts and chanting or thinking about Om will cause quiet mental state.
Objective: The present study was undertaken to assess the effectiveness of Om chanting on depression, anxiety, stress and cognition in elderly women with hypertension.
Materials and Methods: A total of 40 Elder women (age 50–60 years) with diagnosed hypertension were included in the present study after obtaining written, voluntary, informed consent. Participants with blood pressure values of 120–179/?109 mmHg were enrolled. After selection of the participants, baseline values were recorded and they were randomly assigned into two groups randomly by random numbers generated by computer. Intervention group participants performed Om chanting once in a day at 7:30 daily at Sattva cultural space for six months under the supervision of yoga teacher.
Results: Results are presented in Table 1 and 2. Pre intervention depression, anxiety, stress and MMSE scores and blood pressure and pulse rate were not significant between the groups. However, following by six months of Om chanting, systolic and diastolic pressure, pulse rate, depression, anxiety, stress decreased significantly. MMSE scores improved significantly followed by Om chanting.
Conclusion: The practice of Om chanting in a traditional way can be used as one of the powerful means in calming down the mind, enhancing memory. We recommend further detailed studies for further supporting traditional Om chanting and to recommend it to include in our daily life style.

Keywords: Om chanting, Stress, Memory, Depression, Anxiety, Hypertension