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Implications of Tamarkoz® on Stress, Emotion, Spirituality and Heart Rate

Sponsor
Loma Linda University (Other)
Overall Status
Completed
CT.gov ID
NCT03489148
Collaborator
(none)
103
Enrollment
1
Location
3
Arms
5.4
Actual Duration (Months)
19.1
Patients Per Site Per Month

Study Details

Study Description

Brief Summary

Depression, anxiety, hopelessness, poor sleep quality, somatic pain, high risk of substance abuse, and suicide ideation are positively correlated with perceived stress. Spirituality and positive emotions have profound, positive impacts on health and reduce perceived stress. The current study is an exploration of Tamarkoz®, a Sufi practice that is a method to concentrate, as a pathway by which spirituality and positive emotions effect perceived stress. Tamarkoz® incorporates physical, emotional, and spiritual aspects of an individual. In its current form, it includes Movazaneh® which is movement balancing developed by the Sufi Master, Professor Nader Angha. Movazaneh® movements direct concentration of the mind to a state of collectiveness and activates electromagnetic centers in the body, which are said to develop spirituality in an individual. A national survey of college students indicated that over 80% have interest in spiritual development.

Participants were recruited from the University of California, Berkeley for an 18-week quasi-experimental study with pretest-posttest and follow-up in three groups. Assessments were conducted with blood pressure, heart rate, the 10-item perceived stress scale, the 38-item dispositional positive emotions scale, and the 16-item daily spiritual experiences scale in a Tamarkoz® group, a wait-list control, and a third group utilizing the campus health center's stress management resources. Blood pressure and heart rate measurements were taken by the researcher using a validated home monitoring device. Additionally, all participants provided 3 diurnal saliva samples to determine changes in salivary immunoglobulin A and salivary cortisol. All data were collection was through non-evasive procedures and were assessed at baseline, end of the school semester (12 weeks) and 18 weeks.

Participants, diverse university students, had no prior exposure to Tamarkoz®.

Condition or Disease Intervention/Treatment Phase
  • Behavioral: Tamarkoz®
  • Behavioral: Stress management resources
 N/A

Detailed Description

This study is quasi-experimental, waitlist control group design with pretest-posttest. It consisted of three groups: (a) the intervention group who learned Tamarkoz® Sufi meditation practices, (b) a second group of students who utilized self-care stress management resources at the Tang University Health Services Center, and (c) a third group who was the waitlist control group who did not receive Tamarkoz® and did not use the stress management resources at the Tang Center for the duration of the study.

The design is represented in the following diagram. NR O(a) XT O(b) O(d) NR O(d) XS O(e) O(g) NR O(g) O(h) O(i)

XT represents twelve weeks of Tamarkoz® training and XS represents twelve weeks of Tang Center stress management techniques. Each O represents one of three measurements in each group: (a) at baseline, (b) 12 weeks later, immediately after the intervention ends, and (c) six weeks post-intervention. The intervention group met twice a week for two and a half hours total for three months. One day of the week, they met for theoretical teachings of Sufism, and for the second day in the week they met to learn Tamarkoz® techniques. The self-care stress management group used the campus resources for stress management as needed for themselves.

Study Design

Study Type:
Interventional
Actual Enrollment :
103 participants
Allocation:
Non-Randomized
Intervention Model:
Parallel Assignment
Intervention Model Description:
Participants were recruited from the University of California, Berkeley for an 18-week quasi-experimental study with pretest-posttest and follow-up in three groups. Assessments were conducted with blood pressure, heart rate, the 10-item perceived stress scale, the 38-item dispositional positive emotions scale, and the 16-item daily spiritual experiences scale in a Tamarkoz® group, a wait-list control, and a third group utilizing the campus health center's stress management resources. Blood pressure and heart rate measurements were taken by the researcher using a validated home monitoring device. Additionally, all participants provided 3 diurnal saliva samples to determine changes in salivary immunoglobulin A and salivary cortisol. All data were collection was through non-evasive procedures and were assessed at baseline, end of the school semester (12 weeks) and 18 weeks.Participants were recruited from the University of California, Berkeley for an 18-week quasi-experimental study with pretest-posttest and follow-up in three groups. Assessments were conducted with blood pressure, heart rate, the 10-item perceived stress scale, the 38-item dispositional positive emotions scale, and the 16-item daily spiritual experiences scale in a Tamarkoz® group, a wait-list control, and a third group utilizing the campus health center's stress management resources. Blood pressure and heart rate measurements were taken by the researcher using a validated home monitoring device. Additionally, all participants provided 3 diurnal saliva samples to determine changes in salivary immunoglobulin A and salivary cortisol. All data were collection was through non-evasive procedures and were assessed at baseline, end of the school semester (12 weeks) and 18 weeks.
Masking:
Single (Care Provider)
Masking Description:
The Tamarkoz® class instructor was not informed about which of her students from the class was participating in the study.
Primary Purpose:
Prevention
Official Title:
Implications of Tamarkoz® on Reducing Stress and Heart Rate, and Increasing Positive Emotions, Spirituality
Actual Study Start Date :
Aug 24, 2015
Actual Primary Completion Date :
Feb 4, 2016
Actual Study Completion Date :
Feb 4, 2016

Arms and Interventions

Arm Intervention/Treatment
Experimental: Tamarkoz®

A Sufi method to focus, called Tamarkoz®. Participants had met in class twice a week for two and a half hours total for three months. One day of the week, they met for theoretical teachings of Sufism, and for the second day in the week they met with a Tamarkoz® instructor to learn meditation techniques.

Behavioral: Tamarkoz®
Tamarkoz® techniques includes six key elements: clearing the mind, breathing exercises, Movazeneh® (movement and balance exercises), deep relaxation, and visualization.
Active Comparator: Stress Management Resources

The self-care stress management group used the campus resources such as counseling, health-coaching, health and wellness groups, use of an automated massage chair, and online reading materials for stress management as needed for themselves.

Behavioral: Stress management resources
Use of the campus health center's stress management resources such as counseling, health-coaching, health and wellness groups, use of an automated massage chair, pet-an-animal a week, and online reading material about self-care for stress management.
No Intervention: Waitlist

The waitlist control group did not receive Tamarkoz® and did not use the stress management resources on campus for the duration of the study.

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcome Measures

  1. Perceived stress scale [Change between baseline and 18 weeks]

    The scale measures the degree to which one perceives situations in one's life as stressful on a Likert Scale of 0 to 4 with 0 indicating never, and 4 indicating very often. Higher scores indicate higher levels of perceived stress.

Secondary Outcome Measures

  1. Salivary Immunoglobulin A (SIgA) in Saliva [Change between baseline and 18 weeks]

    Analysis of saliva drool analysis of salivary immunoglobbulin A immune cell. Lab will analyze the saliva. Normal levels of SIgA have not been determine.

Eligibility Criteria

Criteria

Ages Eligible for Study:
18 Years to 30 Years
Sexes Eligible for Study:
All
Accepts Healthy Volunteers:
Yes
Inclusion Criteria:
  • University of California, Berkeley students between the ages of 18-30 years
Exclusion Criteria:

  • work third shifts

  • diabetes

  • post-traumatic stress disorder

  • liver disease

  • autoimmune diseases

  • severe depression that resists treatment or impacts ability to function

  • schizophrenia

Contacts and Locations

Locations

Site City State Country Postal Code
1 University of California, Berkeley Berkeley California United States 94720

Sponsors and Collaborators

  • Loma Linda University

Investigators

  • Principal Investigator: Nasim Bahadorani, DrPH, Loma Linda University
  • Study Chair: Jerry W Lee, PhD, Loma Linda University

Study Documents (Full-Text)

None provided.

More Information

Additional Information:

Publications

Responsible Party:
Loma Linda University
ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier:
NCT03489148
Other Study ID Numbers:
  • 5150225
First Posted:
Apr 5, 2018
Last Update Posted:
Apr 5, 2018
Last Verified:
Apr 1, 2018
Individual Participant Data (IPD) Sharing Statement:
Yes
Plan to Share IPD:
Yes
Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated Drug Product:
No
Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated Device Product:
No
Keywords provided by Loma Linda University
Stress
Relaxation
Health promotion

Study Results

No Results Posted as of Apr 5, 2018