AJP - Regulatory, Integrative and Comparative Physiology, Vol 256, Issue 3 632-R638, Copyright © 1989 by American Physiological Society
Metabolic rate, respiratory exchange ratio, and apneas during meditation
J. Kesterson and N. F. Clinch
Department of Physiology, Maharishi International University, Fairfield, Iowa 52556.
We tested the hypothesis that a drop in metabolic rate (MR) causes the
apneas observed in some subjects during transcendental meditation (TM). We
measured O2 consumption (VO2) and CO2 production (VCO2) in three groups of
experienced meditators and one group of nonmeditating controls.
Measurements were made before, during, and after TM for the meditators and
before, during, and after eyes-closed relaxation for the nonmeditating
controls. The three groups of meditators consisted of 1) those showing
little change in the frequency of ventilation (f) with meditation, 2) those
showing a marked decline in f, and 3) those showing numerous apneas and a
marked fall in f. There were significant trial effects but no group or
interaction effects for the decline in VO2. Thus we concluded that a drop
in MR is not the cause of the apneas. However, there were significant trial
and interaction effects for the changes in VCO2 and the respiratory
exchange ratio (R), with a significant drop in R for the meditators but not
for the controls. We report additional evidence and speculate that the drop
in R is a consequence of mild hypoventilation.
