The project
Friday January 24th, 2020

 Scientific assumptions: why meditation?

The WHO defines health as “a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease.” It is now well known and supported by an increasing number of scientific publications the beneficial effect of meditation on emotional, psychological, and physical levels. Through exercises on breathing and relaxation techniques, meditation becomes an important complement to traditional treatment of some diseases, for example those of a psychosomatic nature, and acts on strengthening the immune system that chronic stress threatens.  Our project, which has been active for more than 6 years, has had positive effects on hundreds of participants who have participated in meditation practice and the wellness events we have organized.  We have received positive feedback from participants as well as we found positive effects of meditation in our scientific research.

What is our mission?

Our goals include fostering the dissemination of meditation among the Italian population as well as to produce scientifically relevant data to contribute to the understanding of the effects of meditation on well-being. Our team is composed of people motivated to spread and study the benefits of meditation in its various aspects. Our journey is continually evolving, support and participate in our initiatives, we are waiting for you!

What projects have we carried out?

Through meditation projects aimed at a general audience, we enabled people who did not suffer from problems to experience the benefits of meditation on aspects of psychological life, such as emotional regulation and anxiety management, that affect our daily lives and well-being. Examples of these projects include “Let’s Meditate for Pavia,” “Cremona Meditates,” and “Meditation Pills” in which we developed meditation interventions aimed, respectively, at the population of Pavia, workers in a company, or the entire Italian population subjected to lockdown measures during the COVID-19 pandemic. The people who participated in our projects were offered the opportunity to learn meditation techniques and experience its benefits on psychophysical health quickly and effectively. These projects have been complemented with numerous meditation sessions both in physical locations in the Pavia area and on digital platforms across Italy.  Other projects have focused on the use of meditation as a treatment for problems. In the project “Meditation & Nutrition” our goal has been to help people re-establish a healthier relationship with food and their bodies by providing them with special diets and dietary information as well as a meditation course.  In the project “Meditation & Sleep” we have targeted people with reduced sleep quality or actual sleep disorders and our goal was to help them re-establish healthier and more functional sleep patterns. With “MEDitiamo” addressed to medical students, our aim was to reduce the well-known load of anxiety, depression, burnout, and emotional discomfort which increasingly affects medical students.

What projects are currently underway?

  1. “Meditation for Psycho-physical well-being: neurophysiological and subjective indicators“. We are aiming to conduct a deeper investigation of the effects of meditation on participant’s psychophysical wellbeing. We will test brain activity with electroencephalogram (EEG) and use sensors to measure other physiological indicators such a Heart Rate Variability Rate and Respiration rates. The target population is young adults.
  2. Project of the Italian psychophysical wellbeing. For this project we have partnered with the Mental Health Million Project. The goal of this project has two purposes : 1) to measure the mental wellbeing across different regions of Italy and 2) to collect data that will be analyzed in scientific studies in order to plan future personalized programs that support health. The final Mental Health Quotient assessment will automatically provide a mental wellbeing score defined as a person’s ability to handle life and its various challenges. The responses collected will provide knowledge and insight into the mental wellbeing of the global population! Please click here to participate in Progetto di Benessere Psicofisico Italiano.

Phase 2 of Progetto di Benessere Psicofisico Italiano will be to implement and assess the beneficial causal effect of a composite mindfulness-based social intervention that includes meditation, nutrition, and physical activity. We intend to provide participants the tools to develop their own skills for promoting optimal mental and physical well-being. The use of digital health tools such as personal tracking devices, sensors and mobile apps will be used to measure physiological indicators. The target population is young adults (ages 18-34).

  1. Mindful Aging: Meditation for age-related cognitive decline and psycho-physical well-being. We will investigate the potential beneficial effects of meditation on age-related cognitive decline and new life challenges in older adults. The aim is to test if meditation can offset and enhance functions that decline as a part of the natural aging process and help promote improved psychological wellbeing. The effect of meditation intervention will be measured via assessments that include self -reported questionnaires aimed at evaluating a variety of psychological endpoint (e.g., psychological wellbeing, stress, anxiety, mindfulness etc.), and health related cognitive tasks.

 

Other initiatives

Finally, some of our other initiatives have been aimed at spreading scientific theories along with practical application of meditation. These include our “Neuroscience of Meditation” course held at the University of Pavia, where meditation experts and researchers gave lectures on the brain mechanisms involved in meditation. Also, for dissemination purposes, we held video conferences featuring meditation experts such as Daniel Lumera and Immaculata De Vivo. Not to leave anything out, we also dealt with art, organizing an exhibition at the University of Pavia that hosted some of the most distinguished representatives of the Quantum Creativity movement.

Where?
All our initiatives were held with the participation of the University of Pavia and the support of UNIVERSITITIAMO. Most of our in-presence meditation meetings are held at the beautiful “Aula del 400” (Piazza L. Da Vinci, 6, Pavia).

Results
The results of our scientific studies show that the meditation interventions we conducted among the population are causally associated with improvements in participants’ psychological functioning and well-being.

Scientific publications:

1) Short-Term Meditation Training Fosters Mindfulness and Emotion Regulation: Pilot Study: https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2020.558803/full

2) Boosting psychological well-being through a social mindfulness-based intervention in the general population: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/17/22/8404/htm

3) Mindfulness meditation training in an occupational setting: Effects of a 12-weeks mindfulness-based intervention on wellbeing: https://content.iospress.com/articles/work/wor210510

4)  Online Short-Term Mindfulness-Based Intervention During COVID-19 Quarantine in Italy: Effects on Wellbeing, Stress, and Anxiety: https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2022.914183/full

5) Improving stress management, anxiety, and mental well-being in medical students through an online Mindfulness-Based Intervention: a randomized study. In review

6) Beneficial effects of an online mindfulness-based intervention on sleep quality in Italian poor-sleepers during the COVID-19 pandemic: a randomized trial. In review

Links:

Facebook: www.facebook.com/MeditiamoInsiemePavia

Instagram: www.instagram.com/meditiamoinsieme

YouTube: Scienza Meditazione

Email: scienzaemeditazione@gmail.com

 

Goals

Step 1: 3.500 euro

Completion of the project “Let’s meditate for Pavia” and publishing the study results:
https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/17/22/8404/htm

Step 2: 5.000 euro

Completion of the project “Cremona Meditates” and publishing the study results:
https://content.iospress.com/articles/work/wor210510

Step 3: 9.000 euro

Development of “Meditation and Nutrition” course, completion of the project “Meditation Pills” and publishing the study results:
https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2022.914183/full

Step 4: 14.000 euro

Completion of the projects “Meditation and Sleep” e “MEDitiamo” and the results of the studies waiting for publication.

Step 5: 25.000 euro

Organization and development of the projects “Meditation for Psycho-physical well-being: neurophysiological and subjective indicators” and “Project of the Italian psychophysical wellbeing”, including data analysis and elaboration of results.

Video

Media Gallery

Rewards

50 euro

Spilla personalizzata con il logo del progettoSpilla personalizzata con il logo del progetto

100 euro

Maglietta personalizzata con il logo del progetto

500 euro

Ringraziamento nella pubblicazione

Team

Visualizza CV

Luisa Bernardinelli

Prof. | Founder

Luisa Bernardinelli

Prof. | Founder
Head of Medical and Genomic Statistics Unit, Department of Brain and Behavioral Sciences, University of Pavia Complete CV
Visualizza CV

Salvatore Bruno

Trainer di meditazione

Salvatore Bruno

Trainer di meditazione
Naturopath and counsellor at the Istituto di Psicosintesi in Milan Complete CV
Visualizza CV

Gabriella Bottini

Professoressa Ordinaria di Neuroscienze Cognitive | Founder

Gabriella Bottini

Professoressa Ordinaria di Neuroscienze Cognitive | Founder
Gabriella Bottini è Professoressa Ordinaria di Neuroscienze Cognitive presso il Dipartimento di Scienze del Sistema Nervoso e del Comportamento dell'Università di Pavia e Direttrice del Centro di Neuropsicologia Cognitiva dell’ASST Grande Ospedale Metropolitano Niguarda di Milano. È delegata con responsabilità per le attività di Terza Missione di Ateneo dell'Università di Pavia.
Autrice di più di 150 studi pubblicati su riviste scientifiche internazionali (Science, Nature, Brain, Neurology, Cortex, Current Biology, etc.), i suoi interessi di ricerca riguardano i disturbi neuropsicologici associati a lesioni cerebrali o patologie neurodegenerative, soprattutto negli ambiti della rappresentazione corporea, della consapevolezza motoria, del senso di appartenenza corporea (body ownership) e dell’integrazione sensori-motoria. Inoltre, ha condotto studi sperimentali su partecipanti sani per sviluppare modelli cognitivi della rappresentazione del corpo. Infine, è interessata all'interazione tra le neuroscienze e il diritto e le loro implicazioni su pazienti con malattie neurologiche o psichiatriche.
Visualizza CV

Francesco Bubbico

Responsabile dei progetti e responsabile della comunicazione

Francesco Bubbico

Responsabile dei progetti e responsabile della comunicazione
PhD student in "Psychology, Neuroscience and Data Science at the University of Pavia"
Complet CV
Visualizza CV

Teresa Fazia

Organizzazione della ricerca, analisi statistica dei dati.

Teresa Fazia

Organizzazione della ricerca, analisi statistica dei dati.
Post-doc Fellowship, Department of Brain and Behavioral Sciences, University of Pavia Complete CV
Visualizza CV

Lisa Catanzaro

Organizzazione della ricerca, comunicazione.

Lisa Catanzaro

Organizzazione della ricerca, comunicazione.
PhD student in "Psychology, Neuroscience and Data Science at the University of Pavia"
Complet CV
Visualizza CV

Gerardo Salvato

Disegno dello studio e interpretazione dei risultati

Gerardo Salvato

Disegno dello studio e interpretazione dei risultati
I am a cognitive neuroscientist, psychologist-neuropsychologist and psychotherapist who holds the position of assistant professor at the Department of Brain and Behavioral Sciences at the University of Pavia.
Since 2015, I have worked as a research consultant at ASST Grande Ospedale Metropolitano Niguarda in Milan, where my research activity is mainly based. I mainly study how the brain represents the space and body in healthy and pathological populations, and the contribution of multisensory integration that allows us to maintain a coherent sense of the self. I have published several articles in prestigious international journals (e.g., Human Brain Mapping, The Lancet Neurology, NeuroImage: Clinical, Current Biology, Current Opinion in Neurology and Cortex). I am author of more than 42 papers. I have received two major grants: one from the European Commission (Horizon 2020) (as co-investigator) and one from the Italian Ministry of Health (as principal investigator). In addition to my ability to attract funding, one of the greatest strengths of my scientific activity is its multidisciplinary breath, which is enhanced by my profound curiosity about the brain and behaviour.
Visualizza CV

Andrea Nova

Analisi statistica dei dati

Andrea Nova

Analisi statistica dei dati
PhD student in ‘Psychology, Neuroscience and Data Science’ at the University of Pavia.
Andrea Nova è laureato in Biostatistica presso l’Università Milano-Bicocca. Attualmente svolge un dottorato di ricerca in Data Science in Biomedicine presso l’Università di Pavia dove si occupa di statistica medica e genetica.
Precedentemente ha svolto il lavoro di Biostatistico presso una Contract Research Organization (CRO).
Visualizza CV

Giancarlo Caimi

Collaboratore per i progetti: Pillole di Meditazione, Meditazione e Sonno, MEDitiamo

Giancarlo Caimi

Collaboratore per i progetti: Pillole di Meditazione, Meditazione e Sonno, MEDitiamo
Complet CV
Visualizza CV

Ludovica Bonanno

Collaboratrice per i progetti: Meditazione e Sonno, MEDitiamo

Ludovica Bonanno

Collaboratrice per i progetti: Meditazione e Sonno, MEDitiamo
Complet CV
Visualizza CV

Riccardo Facchini

Collaboratore per i progetti: Meditazione e Sonno, MEDitiamo

Riccardo Facchini

Collaboratore per i progetti: Meditazione e Sonno, MEDitiamo
Funzionario nel settore finanziario, è da oltre dieci anni attivista per i diritti umani in due organizzazioni non governative (Amnesty International e Terre des Hommes Italia). Appassionato di misticismo, Yoga e filosofie orientali, sta attualmente conducendo studi sulla Psicosintesi.

Backers

  1. MICRODATA GROUP SRL
  2. Grotteria Rosa
  3. Pulvirenti Federica
  4. Romani Angela
  5. NICOLETTA FURLOTTI
  6. Monica Maggi
  7. Angelica Attivissimo
  8. SPALLAROSSA FRANCA
  9. ORTU GRAZIELLA
  10. Castoldi Cristina
  11. REALI ROBERTA
  12. MARTA VAILATI
  13. MORASCA MARIA PIA ROSALBA
  14. BARILANI SONIA
  15. Panigada Sonia
  16. Sara Zanelli
  17. Grotteria Rita
  18. Filice Irma
  19. MORANI ILARIA
  20. Oldani Maria Teresa
  21. Basso Dora Franca
  22. Fedrigoli Daniela
  23. Cartasegna Cristina
  24. BIANCHI BARBARA
  25. Elisabetta Tamburin
  26. RAMAZZINI DANIELE
  27. NICOLETTA FURLOTTI
  28. ORTU GRAZIELLA
  29. VERA PESCUMA
  30. REALI ROBERTA
  31. SCOTTI ADRIANA
  32. MARIA TERESA ZANOCCO
  33. MORANI ILARIA
  34. MORASCA MARIA PIA ROSALBA
  35. OGGIONI CINZIA
  36. RAMAZZINI DANIELE
  37. BIANCHI BARBARA
  38. Stefania Carletti
  39. ELEONORA BENTIVOGLIO
  40. PESCUMA SARA
  41. MAGNANI MARA
  42. SARA SALVANESCHI
  43. SPALLAROSSA FRANCA
  44. BANDERA MARIA GRAZIA
  45. BRAMBILLA MELANIA
  46. REALI ROBERTA
  47. Grotteria Rosa
  48. Pescuma Vera
  49. Carletti Stefania
  50. Panigada Sonia
  51. Silva Emilia
  52. Basso Dora Franca
  53. Tomasi Paola
  54. Morasca Maria Pia Rosalba
  55. Morani Ilaria
  56. MARTA VAILATI
  57. Braga Paola
  58. Albertini Chiaretta
  59. Romani Angela
  60. Margiotta Anna
  61. Boerci Roberto
  62. Buccellati Laura
  63. Grotteria Rita
  64. Palermo Piergiorgio
  65. Seri Isalia
  66. Fedrigoli Daniela
  67. Angelica Attivissimo
  68. RAMAZZINI DANIELE
  69. BIANCHI BARBARA
  70. ZURLO SILVANA
  71. VALMADRE ALICE
  72. Spallarossa Franca
  73. Rita Grotteria
  74. Palermo Piergiorgio
  75. Vailati Marta
  76. Pescuma Vera
  77. Olivieri Silvana
  78. Buccellati Laura
  79. Stefani Clara
  80. Grotteria Rosa
  81. Silva Emilia
  82. Maria Grazia Bandera
  83. Scotti Adriana
  84. Reali Roberta
  85. Ramazzini Daniele
  86. Panigada Sonia
  87. Oldani Maria Teresa
  88. Nicoletta Furlotti
  89. Morasca Maria Pia Rosalba
  90. Margiotta Anna
  91. Magnani Mara
  92. Gori Stefania
  93. Gelmetti Carmela
  94. Fraternali Marco
  95. Ferrario Jasmine
  96. Fedrigoli Daniela
  97. Crosta Marta
  98. Cartasegna Cristina
  99. Basso Dora Franca
  100. Angelica Attivissimo
  101. Cardani Elisa
  102. Romani Angela
  103. BIanchi Barbara
  104. Ciambarella Orazia
  105. Anna Margiotta
  106. Paola Rossi
  107. Laura Vanelli
  108. Luca Orlando Calandra
  109. Jasmine Ferrario
  110. M. Teresa Oldani
  111. RAFFAELLA ARNALDI SCARSINI
  112. Roberta Reali
  113. Cristina Cartasegna
  114. NICOLETTA FURLOTTI
  115. MICRODATA SERVICE S.R.L.
  116. ANONIMO
  117. ANONIMO
  118. ANONIMO
  119. Manuela Ponzo
  120. Lussignoli Stefano
  121. VALERIA BIANCHI
  122. MARTA VAILATI
  123. MARCO FRATERNALI
  124. ILARIA MORANI
  125. Rita Grotteria
  126. Palermo Piergiorgio
  127. DORA FRANCA BASSO
  128. DANIELE RAMAZZINI
  129. Universitiamo RICCARDI
  130. Fabrizio Anna Chiara
  131. Poncia Laura
  132. Genovese Luigi Di Renzo Adele
  133. Porcaro Sabina Angela Bonan
  134. INTERACTIVITY DI LEONESIO ANGELISA RICCARDI
  135. Genovese Fabiola RICCARDI
  136. Margiotta Anna RICCARDI
  137. Cerri Silvia RICCARDI
  138. Ganzu Assunta Rosaria RICCARDI
  139. Barchi Alessandro Maestri
  140. Rizzi Giada
  141. Buccellati Laura
  142. Bozzarelli Federica
  143. Monica Venturino RICCARDI
  144. Dal Grande Antonella
  145. Melendez Francisco Javier Rola RICCARDI
  146. Bandera Emiliana Mirra Sergio
  147. Francesca Carcano Casali RICCARDI
  148. Lazzari Elena RICCARDI
  149. Castoldi Cristina RICCARDI
  150. Seri Isalia RICCARDI
  151. Lovagnini Elena RICCARDI
  152. Vailati Marta Zanocco
  153. Massari Anna RICCARDI
  154. Morda Giovanna RICCARDI
  155. Panceri Castellini Baldissera RICCARDI
  156. Zingali Francesca RICCARDI
  157. Giorgio Amati RICCARDI
  158. Piacenza Fabio RICCARDI
  159. Robone Maria G. RICCARDI
  160. Panigada Sonia RICCARDI
  161. Donatella Cerutti Claudia Cabrini
  162. Bandiera Cinzia Marchesi Vitto
  163. LUISA BERNARDINELLI
  164. VINCENZINA NOLA
  165. ISABELLA BREGA
  166. UNIVERSITIAMO RICCARDI
  167. Patrizia Romano
  168. Branzoni Andrea Maggi Monica
  169. Dina Petelko
  170. Silvia Murru
  171. Damiano Grassi
  172. Patrizia Zaffino
  173. Simona Carla Maggi
  174. Marzia Mamoli
  175. Laura Dalla Tezza
  176. Edoardo Soana
  177. Nicoletta Letteri
  178. Francesca Baccino
  179. Dora Franca Basso
  180. Chiara Brocchetta
  181. Anna Klyuchko
  182. Paola De Marziani
  183. Stefano Morini
  184. Mara Magnani
  185. Lucilene Bellomi
  186. Ilaria Morani
  187. Loretta Cassani
  188. Anonymous
Show All

Contact

Do you want to know more? Contact the Research Leader!

Your Name (required)

Your Email (required)

Subject

Your Message

I accept the terms and privacy policy.