The Impact of Vedic Chanting Intervention on Sustained Attention and Working Memory

Abstract

Various spiritual practices enable us to encounter our inner dimensions, giving us the essence of life and existence. One such spiritual practice, the chanting of Veda Mantras, can be considered as a form of concentrative meditation and it requires focus, sustenance of attention and application of memory. Along with available evidence of the utility of chanting in structural changes seen in the brain and the development of different aspects of our personality and lifestyle, importance to the effect of chanting Mantras from a cognitive perspective should also be considered as an aspect of study. In order to test the same, 40 people (aged 30-60 years) who had innate interest in Vedic chanting were requested to participate and were randomly divided into two groups- experimental and control. An intervention was provided for one month duration to chant Medha Suktam, a mantra that focuses on both memory and attention. Various tests measuring verbal WM, visual WM and visual sustained attention were conducted on the participants both before and after the intervention. Testing the control group was intended to address the factor of practice effect. Both between-group and within-group comparisons were conducted statistically through independent sample and paired sample t-tests respectively. The effect of intervention on cognitive functions were shown through improvement in verbal WM and visual SA substantially through obtained test significance. Hence this study can be used as a foundation to explore more into the interventional application of Vedic chanting, which could be used in large to prevent the onset or development of various neuropsychiatric disorders.