Reiki practice can help resolve a variety of physical and emotional problems, including insomnia, stress, depression, anxiety, and pain.
For example, research suggests that Reiki may reduce anxiety, stress, and pain in people undergoing surgery. According to a study published in the March-April 2017 issue of holistic nursing practice Among the patients who underwent knee replacement surgery, researchers divided the 46 patients into three groups. One group received three or four 30-minute Reiki treatments during their hospital stay. The second group received the same number of placebo (sham) Reiki sessions. The third group received neither Reiki nor fake Reiki. All groups also received standard medical care. The researchers found that the group that received Reiki experienced significant reductions in pain, blood pressure, breathing rate, and anxiety before and after surgery, which were significantly greater than in the other groups.
Reiki may also improve your mood and sleep. A previous study found that college students who received six 30-minute Reiki sessions reported greater improvements in stress, mood, and sleep (particularly those with high anxiety or depression) than a control group. .
Other research suggests that Reiki and other forms of energy therapy may help cancer patients control pain and improve anxiety levels.
Miles explains that the main benefit of Reiki (which leads to many other benefits) is stress relief. “Our bodies cannot heal if they are constantly under stress.”
Reiki can help release your body from the stresses of everyday life, reducing tension and returning you to a relaxed state. Once in this state, your body is better able to repair the damage caused by stress, injury, and illness. “Reiki works by helping people experience deep relaxation. [may] Our own natural healing processes are strengthened and accelerated because the body is less stressed and can focus on healing itself,” says Maute.
For example, past research has shown that a single Reiki session can shift the autonomic nervous system (which controls things like heartbeat and breathing) from the sympathetic nervous system, a primitive part of the nervous system that we don’t fully consciously control. indicates that it may be useful. Miles explains that we move from a parasympathetic-dominant state, or “fight or flight” state, to a parasympathetic-dominant state, or “rest and digest” state.
The brain is constantly processing information in an area called the hypothalamus, which sends signals to other parts of the body via the autonomic nervous system to stimulate or relax various functions such as heart rate, blood pressure, breathing, and digestion. I’ll let you do it. to Harvard Health.
When you experience a stressor, such as a lack of sleep, a conflict with a friend, or even exercise, your sympathetic nervous system responds by releasing hormones like epinephrine, which increase your heart rate and blood pressure (the fight-or-flight response). According to Britannica, the body is prepared to deal with potential danger. However, if the body is under constant stress (or activated by previous, more severe stressful experiences, such as trauma and resulting PTSD), this response shifts to overreaction. and can cause problems, including an increased risk of heart disease, according to a previous article. .
“A parasympathetic-dominant state is the state we should be living in,” says Miles. And Reiki helps support the autonomic nervous system toward a state of safety, rest, recovery, and peace.
In a previous study, 21 healthcare professionals suffering from burnout (a work-related mental health condition characterized by mental exhaustion, emotional isolation, and a decreased sense of personal accomplishment) I received a 30-minute Reiki session with an experienced therapist, as well as a 30-minute placebo treatment with an inexperienced therapist that mimicked a Reiki treatment. He performed the two treatments one week apart. Participants were randomly assigned treatment order and were not informed which treatment they would receive during which session.
The researchers measured heart rate variability, or the variation in the time between each heartbeat, to gauge how the nervous system responded to the treatment.
A low score indicates little beat-to-beat variation, and the sympathetic or fight-or-flight functions of your nervous system may be overactive, indicating high stress levels. A high score, on the other hand, means there is more heart-to-beat variation and the parasympathetic, or rest-and-digest, component of your nervous system is operating in a higher gear.
Researchers found that heart rate variability increased after a Reiki session. This suggests (using highly quantifiable physiological measurements) that Reiki helped relax a stressed nervous system.
Keep in mind that Reiki is a type of complementary therapy, according to the NCCIH. This means that it is intended to work alongside other medical and therapeutic techniques, not as a replacement. “Reiki balances the entire system, so it can be beneficial in any situation,” Miles says, but it can also be used as an alternative to other treatments prescribed by a health care provider or as a substitute for medical advice. It should not be used against the contrary.
