Physiology
Practicing compassion has been shown to not only improve mental but also physical wellbeing. It can reduce blood pressure, heart-rate variability, and the physical symptoms of stress.
KEY PAPERS
- All Post
- Physiology
Compassion interacts with social support to buffer against physiological reactivity to stress
Is compassion for others stress buffering? Consequences of compassion and social support for physiological reactivity to stress.
2010Cosley, B. J., McCoy, S. K., Saslow, L. R., & Epel, E. SJournal of Experimental Social Psychology
Self-compassion suppresses threat and pain neural responses when dealing with one’s own failures
Neurophysiological and behavioural markers of compassion
Compassion is associated with better parasympathetic regulation (as measured via heart rate variability)
The compassionate vagus: A meta-analysis on the connection between compassion and heart rate variability
2020Di Bello, Maria & Carnevali, Luca & Petrocchi, Nicola & Thayer, Julian & Gilbert, Paul & Ottaviani, CristinaNeuroscience and Biobehavioural Reviews
Brief compassionate interventions can improve parasympathetic regulation