The Benefits of Meditation.
What Science has Discovered
In 2009 Michael Bond, a consultant with the New Scientist magazine, reported that scientific research over the last two decades has proven the many benefits of meditation. These include improved attention, physical health, psychological wellbeing and increased empathy.
A further article by Andy Coghlan in 2013 reported beneficial genetic changes in those who practice meditation.
This is what they reported:
A further article by Andy Coghlan in 2013 reported beneficial genetic changes in those who practice meditation.
This is what they reported:
Improved Attention
Attention: In 2008 a team led by Antoine Lutz at the Waisman Laboratory for Brain Imaging and Behavior, which is part of the University of Wisconsin-Madison, reported that after three months of training in meditation, volunteers were quicker at picking out different tones among a succession of similar ones, implying their powers of sustained concentration had improved (Journal of Neuroscience, vol 29, p 13418).
Greater Physical Health
Physical Health: Studies have shown meditation to be an effective treatment for eating disorders, substance abuse, psoriasis and in particular for recurrent depression and chronic pain. Last year, psychologist Fadel Zeidan, at Wake Forest University School of Medicine in Winston-Salem, reported that his volunteers noticed a decreased sensitivity to pain after just a few sessions of mindfulness meditation (Journal of Pain, vol 11, p 199).
Enhanced Psychological Well-being
Psychological well-being: Clifford Saron at the Center for Mind and Brain at the University of California, Davis, who is leading the Shamatha project, one of the most comprehensive scientific studies of meditation ever, found that along with enhancing cognitive performance, meditation seems to have an effect on emotional well-being.
A second study from researchers with the Shamatha project, to appear in the journal Emotion, concluded that meditation improves general social and emotional functioning, making study participants less anxious, and more aware of, and better able to manage, their emotions.
The Shamatha project also found that regular meditation practice can lead to a significant increase in the activity of telomerase, an enzyme that protects against cellular ageing and which is suppressed in response to psychological stress. The work appeared in the journal Psychoneuroendocrinology.
A second study from researchers with the Shamatha project, to appear in the journal Emotion, concluded that meditation improves general social and emotional functioning, making study participants less anxious, and more aware of, and better able to manage, their emotions.
The Shamatha project also found that regular meditation practice can lead to a significant increase in the activity of telomerase, an enzyme that protects against cellular ageing and which is suppressed in response to psychological stress. The work appeared in the journal Psychoneuroendocrinology.
Greater Compassion
Compassion: Emotions may also be at the heart of another benefit of meditation. One of the hottest areas in meditation research is whether the practice can enhance feelings towards others. This arose partly because fMRI studies by Antoine Lutz's team at the Waisman Laboratory for Brain Imaging and Behavior, showed that brain circuits linked to empathy and the sharing of emotions - such as the insula and the anterior cingulate cortex - are much more active in long-term meditators than in novices (NeuroImage, vol 47, p 1038).
Important Genetic Benefits
Genetic Benefits: Herbert Benson of the Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston and his colleagues analysed the gene profiles of 26 volunteers – none of whom regularly meditate. After eight weeks performing a meditation technique daily, the volunteers gene profile was analysed again. Clusters of important beneficial genes had become more active and harmful ones less so.
The boosted genes had three main beneficial effects: improving the efficiency of mitochondria, the powerhouse of cells; boosting insulin production, which improves control of blood sugar; and preventing the depletion of telomeres, caps on chromosomes that help to keep DNA stable and so prevent cells wearing out and ageing.
The boosted genes had three main beneficial effects: improving the efficiency of mitochondria, the powerhouse of cells; boosting insulin production, which improves control of blood sugar; and preventing the depletion of telomeres, caps on chromosomes that help to keep DNA stable and so prevent cells wearing out and ageing.
