• Chong Guan Ng, Kiah Tian Lai, Seng Beng Tan, Ahmad Hatim Sulaiman, and Nor Zuraida Zainal.
• 1 Department of Psychological Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University Malaya , Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia .
• J Palliat Med. 2016 Sep 1; 19 (9): 917-24.

BackgroundPalliative cancer patients suffer from high levels of distress. There are physiological changes in relation to the level of perceived distress.ObjectiveTo study the efficacy of 5 minutes of mindful breathing (MB) for rapid reduction of distress in a palliative setting. Its effect to the physiological changes of the palliative cancer patients was also examined.MethodsThis is a randomized controlled trial. Sixty palliative cancer patients were recruited. They were randomly assigned to either 5 minutes of MB or normal listening arms. The changes of perceived distress, blood pressure, pulse rate, breathing rate, galvanic skin response, and skin surface temperature of the patients were measured at baseline, after intervention, and 10 minutes post-intervention.ResultsThere was significant reduction of perceived distress, blood pressure, pulse rate, breathing rate, and galvanic skin response; also, significant increment of skin surface temperature in the 5-minute MB group. The changes in the 5-minute breathing group were significantly higher than the normal listening group.ConclusionFive-minute MB is a quick, easy to administer, and effective therapy for rapid reduction of distress in palliative setting. There is a need for future study to establish the long-term efficacy of the therapy.

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