Author(s): Natalia Rubio, Camille Bruner, Adam Arnett, Arianna Nelson, Kennedy Albee, James Pemberton
Mentor(s): Kristina Oldroyd
Institution UVU
Combining dance fitness practice with meditation can enhance parasympathetic tone and stress resilience. Electrodermal Activity (EDA) is a physiological signal used to describe sweat production in the skin. The activity of sweat glands is exclusively controlled by the sympathetic nervous system (SNS), making EDA one of the most suitable measures of SNS activity. By analyzing EDA following a stimulus, researchers can reliably assess a participant's level of arousal in reaction to that stimulus. This study examines the long-term outcome of fitness and meditation on stress resilience as measured by EDA and self-reported emotion ratings. Participants were recruited from a dance fitness and meditation class. Following consent procedures, participants were connected to the Biopac MP160 equipment system to gather EDA data. After baseline activities, both high and low stress experimental procedures were completed. Specifically, participants learned 16 measures of a dance routine as demonstrated by an instructor via video (medium stress). Participants practiced the dance with music three times with the video’s assistance. Finally, participants performed the dance independently for the high stress portion of the protocol. After dancing, participants engaged in a five-minute meditation session for the low stress portion of the protocol. Following each epoch, participants completed self-report questionnaires of emotional arousal. It is hypothesized that individuals with extended involvement (6+ months) in dance and meditation practice will display lower levels of EDA following the high and low stress tasks and will demonstrate a quicker return to baseline than participants who have been engaged for less time. It is also anticipated that participants who have engaged in a dance and meditation practice for at least six months will demonstrate decreased self-reported emotion ratings following each epoch of the study. These findings would suggest greater autonomic flexibility and resilience. This study advances the psychological literature in several ways. First, this study could demonstrate that dance fitness and mindfulness may promote emotional regulation necessary to control reactivity to negatively charged stimuli in our daily lives and improve well-being. Second, our findings may expand the understanding of how integrated mind-body practices affect autonomic flexibility and stress resilience, offering new insights into interventions that are more dynamic and accessible to people. Finally, if dance fitness and meditation could reliably improve EDA and resilience, it could serve as a basis for wellness programs aimed at enhancing mental health, broadening available preventive mental health care.