10 Scientific benefits Of Meditation
We all have heard that “meditation is good for you”. But
good in what terms? Is that just reports from people doing it for 10 years, or
are there good scientific studies showing specific benefits that I care about?
Meditation
has given me a Terabithia. I have created a clearing of calm and tranquility
that I can enter into within seconds whenever I feel the need. I have a refuge
no matter where I am or what I am doing.
The worries of the world no longer
threaten me.
Except this mental place isn’t imaginary, and it isn’t
populated with trolls and wild creatures – it is as real as the world we live
in.
Since starting my meditation habit, my brain has literally
been rewired for happiness, peace and success. Here are just a few of the benefits:
- I rarely become angry.
- I find happiness in unexpected places.
- I form deeper relationships and build friendships more easily.
By far the largest benefit, however, is that a deep, serene
calm and peace is slowly permeating into every area of my life.
At first meditating felt unusual – like I was stepping out
of normal life and doing something that most people find strange. I soon
realized, however, that this wasn’t true – millions of people meditate and many
successful people attribute part of their success to meditation.
Here are ten scientifically proven ways meditation rewires
your brain for happiness, peace and success.
Meditation
Reduces Stress:
Stress reduction is one of the most common reasons people
try meditation. Feeling
the weight of the world on your shoulders? Meditation is incredibly effective
at reducing stress and anxiety. One study found that mindfulness
and zen
type meditations significantly reduce stress when practiced over a period of
three months.
Normally, mental and physical stress cause increased levels
of the stress hormone
cortisol. This produces many of the harmful effects of stress, such as the
release of inflammation-promoting chemicals called cytokines.
These effects can disrupt sleep, promote depression and
anxiety, increase blood pressure and contribute to fatigue and cloudy thinking.
In an eight-week study, a meditation style called
"mindfulness meditation" reduced the inflammation response caused by
stress.
Research has shown that meditation may also improve symptoms
of stress-related conditions, including irritable bowel syndrome, post-traumatic
stress disorder and fibromyalgia
Note:
Many styles of meditation can
help reduce stress. Meditation can also reduce symptoms in people with
stress-triggered medical conditions.
Meditation
improves your focus, attention, and ability to work under stress:
A study led by Katherine MacLean of the University of
California suggested that during and after meditation training, subjects were
more skilled at keeping focus, especially on repetitive and boring tasks.
Another study demonstrated that even with only 20 minutes a
day of practice, students were able to improve their performance on tests of
cognitive skill, in some cases doing 10 times better than the group that did
not meditate. They also performed better on information-processing tasks that
were designed to induce deadline stress.
In fact, there is evidence that meditators had thicker
prefrontal cortex and right anterior insula, and also to the effect that
meditation might offset the loss of cognitive ability with old age.(5,6)
Meditation
practices help regulate mood and anxiety disorders:
Less stress translates to less anxiety.
For example, an eight-week study of mindfulness meditation
helped participants reduce their anxiety.
It also reduced symptoms of anxiety disorders, such as
phobias, social anxiety, paranoid thoughts, obsessive-compulsive behaviors and
panic attacks (0)
Another study indicates that the practice of “Open
Monitoring Meditation” (such as Vipassana), reduces the grey-matter density in
areas of the brain related with anxiety and stress. Mediators were more able to
“attend moment-to-moment to the stream of stimuli to which they are exposed and
less likely to ‘get stuck’ on any one stimulus. ”
“Open
Monitoring Meditation” involves non-reactively monitoring the content of
experience from moment-to-moment, primarily as a means to recognize the nature
of emotional and cognitive patterns.
Meditation may also help control job-related anxiety in
high-pressure work environments. One study found that a meditation program
reduced anxiety in a group of nurses
Note:
Meditation may also help
control job-related anxiety in high-pressure work environments. One study found
that a meditation program reduced anxiety in a group of nurses
Meditation increases your sense of well-being:
Feeling a little disconnected from those around you? Try
compassion meditation,Or want to fill
your life with happiness and energy? Mindfulness meditation increases your
psychological functioning and in the process improves your sense of well-being.
Yoga and tai chi have been found to do this also – according to studies, they
have significant therapeutic effects and increase quality of life when
practiced regularly..
Meditation reduces risk of heart diseases and
stroke:
More people die of heart diseases in the world
than any other illness.
In a study published in late 2012, a group of
over 200 high-risk individuals was asked to either take a health education
class promoting better diet and exercise or take a class on Transcendental
Meditation. During the next 5 years researchers accompanying the participants
found that those who took the meditation class had a 48% reduction in their
overall risk of heart attack, stroke and death.
They noted that meditation “significantly reduced
risk for mortality, myocardial infarction, and stroke in coronary heart disease
patients. These changes were associated with lower blood pressure and
psychosocial stress factors.”
There are also other researches pointing out
similar conclusions, about related health conditions.
Source:Time Magazine,Health
center
Promotes Emotional Health:
Some forms of meditation can also lead to an improved
self-image and more positive outlook on life.
Two studies of mindfulness meditation found decreased
depression in over 4,600 adults One study followed 18 volunteers as they
practiced meditation over three years. The study found that participants
experienced long-term decreases
in depression.
Inflammatory chemicals called cytokines, which are released
in response to stress, can affect mood, leading to depression. A review of
several studies suggests meditation may reduce depression by decreasing these inflammatory chemicals.
Another controlled study compared electrical activity
between the brains of people who practiced mindfulness meditation and the
brains of others who did not. Those who meditated showed measurable changes in
activity in areas related to positive thinking and optimism.
Meditation
may make you live longer:
Telomeres are an essential part of human cells that affect
how our cells age. Though the research is not conclusive yet, there is data
suggesting that “some forms of meditation may have salutary effects on telomere
length by reducing cognitive stress and stress arousal and increasing positive
states of mind and hormonal factors that may promote telomere maintenance.”
Source: Wiley
Online Library
Reduce
Age-Related Memory Loss:
Improvements in attention and clarity of thinking may help
keep your mind young.
Kirtan Kriya is a method of meditation that combines a
mantra or chant with repetitive motion of the fingers to focus thoughts. It
improved participants' ability to perform memory tasks in multiple studies of
age-related memory loss (1)
Furthermore, a review of 12 studies found that multiple
meditation styles increased attention, memory and mental quickness in older volunteers
(2)
In addition to fighting normal age-related memory loss,
meditation can at least partially improve memory in patients with dementia. It
can also help control stress and improve coping in those caring for family
members with dementia.
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Meditation improves
relationships:
Want to strengthen your relationships? Meditation has been
shown to better your ability to relate to others. How? It improves your ability
to empathize, and it hones your ability to pick up on cues indicating how
others are feeling. Meditation also increases your emotional stability, making
you less likely to be influenced by any negative people in your life.
Another study points out that the development of positive
emotions through compassion builds up several personal resources, including “a
loving attitude towards oneself and others, and includes self-acceptance,
social support received, and positive relations with others”, as well as
“feeling of competence about one’s life” and includes “pathways thinking,
environmental mastery, purpose in life, and ego-resilience”(3)
Improves
Sleep:
Nearly half the population will struggle with insomnia at
some point.
One study compared two mindfulness-based meditation programs
by randomly assigning participants to one of two groups. One group practiced
meditation, while the other didn't.
Participants who meditated fell asleep sooner and stayed
asleep longer, compared to those who didn't meditate(4)
Becoming skilled in meditation may help you control or
redirect the racing or "runaway" thoughts that often lead to
insomnia.
Additionally, it can help relax your body, releasing tension
and placing you in a peaceful state in which you're more likely to fall asleep.
Note:
A variety of meditation
techniques can help you relax and control the "runaway" thoughts that
can interfere with sleep. This can shorten the time it takes to fall asleep and
increase sleep quality.
Things to Remember:
- Meditation is something everyone can do to improve their mental and emotional health.
- You can do it anywhere, without special equipment or memberships.
- Alternatively, meditation courses and support groups are widely available.
- There's a great variety of styles too, each with different strengths and benefits.
- Trying out a style of mediation suited to your goals is a great way to improve your quality of life, even if you only have a few minutes to do it each day.
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