TY - JOUR T1 - Meditation: a modulator of the immune response to physical stress? A brief report. JF - British Journal of Sports Medicine JO - Br J Sports Med SP - 255 LP - 257 DO - 10.1136/bjsm.29.4.255 VL - 29 IS - 4 AU - E E Solberg AU - R Halvorsen AU - J Sundgot-Borgen AU - F Ingjer AU - A Holen Y1 - 1995/12/01 UR - http://bjsm.bmj.com/content/29/4/255.abstract N2 - OBJECTIVE: To test the hypothesis that stress reducing techniques such as meditation alter immune responses after strenous physical stress. METHODS: The hypothesis was tested by studying six meditating and six non-meditating male runners in a concurrent, controlled design. After a period of six months with meditation for the experimental group, blood samples were taken immediately before and after a maximum oxygen uptake test (VO2max). RESULTS: The increase in CD8+ T cells after VO2max was significantly less in the meditation group than in the control group (P = 0.04). The amount of CD2+ cells doubled after VO2max, mainly because of a rise in the CD8+ fraction. CONCLUSIONS: Meditation may modify the suppressive influence of strenous physical stress on the immune system. ER -