January 2021

Teymour Younes
How does meditation affect recovery?

Research Question
Does meditation have an effect on recovery? Measured by a pain scale of DOMS among
year 12 students.

Background Information:

For this experiment, all participants will be from year 12 students who will have to jump on
and off a box for 15 mins to induce DOMS. Half the participants will watch a 10 minute
meditation video (​https://youtu.be/ZToicYcHIOU​) while the other half won’t. Recovery will
then be measured over the next few days to investigate the effects of meditation on
recovery.

DOMS or Delayed onset muscle soreness is muscle pain experienced after working out.
This usually takes between 12 to 24 after a workout. Experiencing DOMS occurs when you
have damaged small parts of your muscles through exercise. This can be caused by most
high intensity exercise. A common misconception is that the pain experienced straight after
exercise is DOMS or DOMS related however in reality it is acute muscle soreness which is
caused by the buildup of lactic acid. This also only lasts up to 20 minutes therefore cannot
interfere with the results. DOMS can be measured in a few different ways however they are
mostly subjective for example a questionnaire about pain scale. For these reasons it is
important to have a large sample size.

“Meditation can be defined as a set of techniques that are intended to encourage a

heightened state of awareness and focused attention.” It is a practice that has been around
for thousands of years and has been used for a range of things, from relaxation to improving
immunity. ​This can be achieved through 2 main types of meditation. The first one is
concentrative meditation where you focus on one object while blocking out everything else.
The other is mindfulness meditation which focuses on being aware.
For this experiment we will be using the second type as it is easier to do, with a little
guidance, and therefore would help have more accurate results. This can be done with
relative ease by giving participants a mindfulness meditation video to watch and follow.

Meditation could have an effect on recovery and DOMS as studies have shown that it can
increase blood flow. This increased circulation can help shorten the duration and less the
severity of DOMS. This is the case as increased blood flow to the injured muscles brings
oxygen and nutrients which help repair the tears while the increased blood flow also flushes
away chemical irritants responsible for the pain. However there are no prior studies that
correlate meditation to recovery and DOMS. To show accurate results however, the sample
size required is very high as not all participants will be able to reach a state while meditating
that increases blood circulation, however if this is acheived i believe that meditation will have
an effect on recovery. I believe that if one of the participants meditates after a fixed time and
intensity of workout, he would recover faster then he would have if he didn’t meditate.
Dependent variables:
Recovery time (measured through a pain scale of DOMS)

Independent variables;
Meditation

Controlled variables:
These must be set in place a few days before the start of the study

Sleep
The amount of sleep a participant has will affect their ability to recover therefore to ensure
fair circumstances all participants should have the same amount of sleep. this will also be
the case after the study as it effects recovery

Doping tests
If participants are taking performance enhancing substances it will contaminate the results
and could delegitimize the study therefore any doping test should be administered before the
study.

Nutrition/hydration
If participants are at different levels of nutrition and hydration the ones who are properly
hydrated and nourished will have an advantage over those who are not therefore corrupting
the data, therefore all participants must be on the same food and drink plan for the days
before the study. this will also be the case after the study as it effects recovery

Warm up
The warm up a participant takes before doing the study could have an effect on the level of
pain received from the DOMS. Warming up however is important for the health and safety of
the participants therefore there will be a standard warm up that all participants will have to do

Warm down
The warm down will also have an effect on the severity of DOMS therefore all participants
will have to do the same warm down

Activity mid study

if participants partake in physical activity during the recovery period they will corrupt the
results therefore no participants will be allowed to take part in any sports during the days
where recovery is recorder

Recovery mid study

if participants partake in other forms of recovery during the recovery period eg ice baths,
they will corrupt the results therefore no participants will be allowed to take part in any
alternative ways of recovery during the days where recovery is recorder

Apparatus
● Box for the box jumps
● Mats incase someone falls
Method

1. All participants will be informed that they can pull out of the study at any time
2. All participants will take part in a warm up
3. Following the warm up the participants will do box jumps for 15 minutes to induce
DOMS
4. The participants will then take part warm down
5. Following the warm down the participants will be split into 2 groups, group A(the
meditating group) and group B (the non meditation group)
6. Group a will all watch this video and try to meditate: ​https://youtu.be/ZToicYcHIOU
7. All of the participants will then be sent away
8. 24 hours later each participant will be sent a form via google forms asking them to
rate the pain caused by the DOMS from 1-10
9. The participants will fill out the form as truthfully as possible (Group A will have to
watch the video again before doing so)
10. This will continue for 1 week. At this stage the researchers will have enough data to
draw conclusions.

Safety
Several safety measures will be put in place to ensure the safety of our participants. The first
of which is a warm up to help prevent injuries. Another is mats surrounding the box jump in
case a participant falls. Someone who is licenced at first aid will always be on hand during
the box jumps. Due to covid all government guidelines will have to be followed as well as
other measures such as available hand sanitizer for the participants, spare masks in case
one breaks during exercise, social distancing will have to be followed, and masks will have
to be worn at all times.

Bibliography:

Easy bib stopped working sorry :(

Cherry, Kendra. “How Meditation Impacts Your Mind and Body.” ​Verywell Mind,​
www.verywellmind.com/what-is-meditation-2795927​.

https://www.healthline.com/health/doms

https://www.technogym.com/int/newsroom/5-tips-beat-doms-workout/

https://www.healthimaging.com/topics/cardiovascular-imaging/meditation-increases-blo
od-flow-heart-pet