Episodic Memory in Later Life: Benefits of Prayer and Meditation. (March 2020)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Lekhak, Nirmala; Bhatta, Tirth R.; Zauszniewski, Jaclene A.
• Other Names: Southard Mary Elaine guest-editor.
• Is Part Of: Journal of holistic nursing. Volume 38:Number 1(2020)
• Page Start: 30
• Page End: 40
• Publication Date: 2020-03
• Subjects: older adults -- meditation/mindfulness -- healing modalities -- prayer -- memory; Holistic nursing -- Periodicals; Nursing -- Periodicals; Médecine holistique; 610.73
• DOI: 10.1177/0898010119898547
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0898-0101

Abstract

Purpose: To examine the effects of prayer and meditation on the episodic memory of older adults.Design: Secondary analysis of Health and Retirement Study (HRS).Method: Drawing from a subsample of HRS ( n = 1, 135), this study utilized generalized estimating equation regression models to examine the effects of meditation and prayer on changes in episodic memory of older adults over time.Findings: Findings show a statistically significant positive effect of the use of prayer (0.50, p < .05) on episodic memory score at baseline. We also observed a slight gain in episodic memory over time for older adults who used prayer (0.04, p = .05). Meditation was not found to have a statistically significant effect on changes in memory in later life.Conclusion: This study illustrates the benefits of prayer in preserving memory and provides much needed empirical basis for community-level interventions to enhance memory in later life.