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. 2024 Jan;131(1):247-270.
doi: 10.1037/rev0000453. Epub 2023 Dec 25.

Deep rest: An integrative model of how contemplative practices combat stress and enhance the body's restorative capacity

Alexandra D Crosswell  1 , Stefanie E Mayer  1 , Lauren N Whitehurst  2 , Martin Picard  3 , Sheyda Zebarjadian  4 , Elissa S Epel  1
Affiliations

Deep rest: An integrative model of how contemplative practices combat stress and enhance the body's restorative capacity

Alexandra D Crosswell et al. Psychol Rev. 2024 Jan.

Abstract

Engaging in contemplative practice like meditation, yoga, and prayer, is beneficial for psychological and physical well-being. Recent research has identified several underlying psychological and biological pathways that explain these benefits. However, there is not yet consensus on the underlying overlapping physiological mechanisms of contemplative practice benefits. In this article, we integrate divergent scientific literatures on contemplative practice interventions, stress science, and mitochondrial biology, presenting a unified biopsychosocial model of how contemplative practices reduce stress and promote physical health. We argue that engaging in contemplative practice facilitates a restorative state termed "deep rest," largely through safety signaling, during which energetic resources are directed toward cellular optimization and away from energy-demanding stress states. Our model thus presents a framework for how contemplative practices enhance positive psychological and physiological functioning by optimizing cellular energy consumption. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Visual Representation of the State of Deep Rest Note. The deep rest state necessitates first that external safety is signaled from the physical and social environment. When this need is met, then a person may more easily enter a contemplative practice. During the practice, the mind’s threat-inducing thoughts are quieted, creating a sense of safety, peace, calm, and contentment, a state we label psychological safety. In a reciprocal relationship, the state of psychological safety and the contemplative practices themselves initiate a parasympathetically dominant nervous system state via slowed and rhythmic breathing rate. When safety is perceived at the physical, social, and psychological levels, deep rest follow. Energetic resources shift away from maintaining a threat state of high sympathetic nervous system activity, toward restorative activities within cells, enabling cellular optimization processes. Thus, when the mind and body are in this state of deep rest, cellular optimization ensues. ATP = adenosine triphosphate. See the online article for the color version of this figure.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Model of Allostatic Mind Body States Note. Specific physiological states are plotted on a Y-axis of autonomic nervous system (ANS) dominance, where equal dominance is set at 0 (black line) on the Y-axis. Sympathetic nervous system (SNS) dominant states are represented with circles placed above the X-axis and parasympathetic nervous system (PNS) dominant states are represented with circles below the axis. The X-axis represents the degree to which restorative biological processes are engaged, with allostatic states further to the right indicating greater restoration. Acute stress is shown as the high SNS dominant state (red circle). The moderate threat (orange circle) is SNS dominant though less so than acute stress (orange circle). Rest is when SNS and PNS activity are equally balanced (yellow circle). Deep rest is defined by PNS dominance (blue circle). The grey shaded area indicates that when PNS is dominant, enhanced cellular restoration begins. The dotted line represents our hypothesized average daily arousal levels for typical adults in the Western modernized world of working age. Of note, positive arousal states, such as extreme excitement or joy, can induce subtle short-term arousal that may be similar to an SNS dominant state, and positive physiological stressors (hormetic stress) can create short-term acute stress followed by recovery states that may be restorative (these are not shown in the figure). See the online article for the color version of this figure.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Hierarchy of Biological Functions Based on Contextual Demands and States of Arousal Note. This figure represents a hierarchy of biological needs that depends on energy resources deployed among cells and across the body. At the bottom of the hierarchy are basic needs for surviving in the present moment, such as repairing acute damage (e.g., proteins) and maintaining physical integrity (e.g., membrane potential), as well as responding to acute threats. Once those needs are met, then the organism can devote energy toward the next level of need—preparing for coming environmental demands; this process is also termed predictive regulation or allostasis (Bobba-Alves, Juster, & Picard, 2022). If this level does not consume all energy resources, then energy can finally be used toward optimizing. In other words, once cellular and physiological systems are working well, and there are no threats to take care of or plan for, then energy is directed toward cellular restoration. Each level of the hierarchy is associated with a different allostatic state, as indicated in the figure with italicized text. See the online article for the color version of this figure.
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