Key result
A resort visit, whether for a structured wellness program or an unstructured vacation, significantly increased low-frequency heart rate variability (β = 1.48) in healthy adults.
Why the study?
Approaches to maintaining wellness vary from vacations to structured wellness retreats, but their effects on continuous physiological metrics remained to be examined.
Does a structured Ayurvedic wellness retreat improve heart rate variability and salivary cortisol levels compared to an unstructured vacation in healthy adults?
RCT (n=112)
Open-label
1:2 ratio
No
Does a structured Ayurvedic wellness retreat improve heart rate variability and salivary cortisol levels compared to an unstructured vacation in healthy adults?
Effect estimate: β = 1.48 (95% CI 1.23-1.82)
p-value: p=<0.001
Continuous wearable monitoring demonstrated that taking a resort vacation significantly improves heart rate variability regardless of participation in a structured wellness program, highlighting the utility of personalized physiological tracking.
Short resort stays may increase HRV in healthy adults; leaves open whether structured Ayurvedic programs confer added benefit over unstructured vacations.
There are many approaches to maintaining wellness, including taking a simple vacation to attending highly structured wellness retreats, which typically regulate the attendee’s personal time and activities. In a healthy English-speaking cohort of 112 women and men (aged 30-80 years), this study examined the effects of participating in either a 6-day intensive wellness retreat based on Ayurvedic medicine principles or unstructured 6-day vacation at the same wellness center setting. Heart rate variability (HRV) was monitored continuously using a wearable ECG sensor patch for up to 7 days prior to, during, and one-month following participation in the interventions. Additionally, salivary cortisol levels were assessed for all participants at multiple times during the day. Continual HRV monitoring data in the real-world setting was seen to be associated with demographic (HRVALF:βAge =0.98[CI=0.96-0.98], FDR < .001) and physiological characteristics (HRVPLF:β=0.98[CI=0.98-1], FDR=.005) of participants. HRV features were also able to quantify known diurnal variations ( HRVLF/HF:βACT:night vs early-morning=2.69[SE=1.26], FDR < .001) along with notable inter- and intra- person heterogeneity in response to intervention. A statistically significant increase in HRVALF (β = 1.48 [SE=1.1], FDR < .001 ) was observed for all participants during the resort visit. Personalized HRV analysis at an individual level showed a distinct individualized response to intervention, further supporting the utility of using continuous real-world tracking of HRV at an individual level to objectively measure responses to potentially stressful or relaxing settings.
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Pratap et al. (2020) conducted an RCT in Healthy individuals (n=112). Structured wellness retreat (Perfect Health Program) vs. Unstructured vacation (RELAX) was evaluated on Change in low-frequency heart rate variability (HRVALF) during resort visit (β = 1.48, 95% CI 1.23-1.82, p=<0.001). A resort visit, whether for a structured wellness program or an unstructured vacation, significantly increased low-frequency heart rate variability (β = 1.48) in healthy adults.
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