8 things to know about the health benefits of meditation

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Meditation is a mind and body practice with a long history of being used to increase physical calm and relaxation, improve psychological balance, cope with illness, and strengthen health. physical and mental health. Here are 8 things to know about what the science says about meditation for your health.

1. What we know about the science of meditation

1.1. Meditation almost certainly increases our attention

It should come as no surprise that meditation affects attention, as many meditation practices focus on this skill. And in fact, researchers have found that meditation helps combat habituation — the tendency to stop paying attention to new information in our environment. Other studies have found that mindfulness meditation can reduce distractions and improve our problem-solving abilities.
These benefits may apply to people with attention deficit disorder. While there have been some promising small-scale studies, especially with adults, we need larger randomized controlled trials to understand how meditation can be combined with other methods. other treatments to help both children and adults manage their distraction.

1.2. Long-term and consistent meditation has the potential to increase resistance to stress.

Note that it does not necessarily reduce physiological and psychological responses to threats and obstacles. But studies to date show that meditation helps the mind and body recover from stress and pressure.
For example, practicing meditation reduces inflammatory responses in people exposed to psychological stressors, especially for those who meditate long-term. According to neuroscience research, mindfulness practice reduces activity in our amygdala and increases connectivity between the amygdala and prefrontal cortex. Both of these parts of the brain help us to be less responsive to stressors and recover better from stress when we experience it.

1.3. Meditation has the ability to increase compassion. It also makes our compassion more effective.

Many studies have shown that practicing loving-kindness meditation helps us to be more willing to take action to reduce suffering. It seems to do this by reducing amygdala activity during distress, while also activating regions in the brain responsible for feeling good and love.

1.4. Meditation improves mental health - but it's not necessarily more effective than other methods we can take

Early research shows that mindfulness meditation has a powerful effect on our mental health. But as the number of studies has increased, so has the skepticism of scientists about these early hypotheses.
For example, a 2014 meta-analysis published in the journal JAMA Internal Medicine examined 47 randomized controlled trials of mindfulness meditation programs, including a total of 3,515 participants. They found that the meditation programs only helped reduce anxiety and mild to moderate depression. Furthermore, there is also little, no, or no evidence for the effects of meditation programs on mood and positive feelings and substance use (as well as physical self-care such as eating and sleeping).
According to the authors, meditation programs have not been shown to be more beneficial than active treatments — such as exercise, therapy, or prescription medication — for any of the outcomes considered. heart. Research is also raising some interesting nuances about the effect of meditation on different populations. For example, a recent, large-scale, meticulously designed study found that the "gold standard" mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) intervention for adults had no associated effects. to depression or anxiety in adolescents. As the authors note, this doesn't mean meditation can't help teenagers — it may just be the case that we need to develop and test interventions aimed at young people.
Meditation is generally good for our health, but so far it's not really much better than other methods we can take to stay healthy and happy. Meditation should be considered an adjunct, not a substitute, for other types of psychiatric treatment such as bipolar disorder.

1.5. Mindfulness can have a positive effect on our relationships.

There are numerous studies that find a positive link between mindfulness and our everyday relationships. For example, in a 2016 study, researchers measured the effectiveness of mindfulness in 88 couples. They then measured cortisol levels in each couple before and after they discussed conflict in their relationship. Not surprisingly, cortisol levels spiked during discussion, a sign of high stress. But levels in mindfulness meditators - both men and women - quickly returned to normal after the conflict ended, suggesting they were trying to stay calm. This finding is echoed in numerous studies of sobriety in marital relationships.
Mindfulness has also been linked to better relationships with children. Studies have found that practicing mindfulness can reduce stress, depression, and anxiety in parents of preschoolers and children with disabilities. Conscious parenting is also associated with more positive behavior in children. A small 2016 pilot study used neuroimaging to see how mindfulness practices changed the brains of parents — and then asked the kids about the quality of their parenting. The results showed that mindfulness practice seemed to activate the part of the brain that is involved in empathy and emotional regulation (left frontal lobe / lower frontal brain) and the children of these parents noticed greatest improvement in the parent-child relationship.

1.6. Mindfulness meditation has the potential to reduce many types of biases.

We are seeing more and more research showing that practicing mindfulness can reduce psychological bias. For example, one study found that a brief mindfulness meditation reduced prejudice against homeless people, while another showed that a brief mindfulness meditation course reduced unconscious ants towards blacks and the elderly. In a study by Adam Lueke and colleagues, white participants who were given short-term mindfulness practices demonstrated less biased behavior (not just attitudes) toward blacks.
However, social prejudice is not the only kind that our minds change. For example, some studies have shown that mindfulness can reduce sunk cost bias, which is our tendency to keep investing in a losing proposition.
Mindfulness also seems to reduce our natural tendency to focus on the negative things in life. In one study, participants reported their overall level of mindfulness, then briefly viewed pictures that caused positive emotions (such as pictures of infants), strong negative emotions (such as pictures of people and children). in pain), or not, during their brain scans. Participants with higher levels of mindfulness responded less to negative pictures and showed a better indication of feeling positive when seeing positive pictures. According to the scientists, this supports the view that mindfulness reduces negative bias, which other studies also support.

1.7. Meditation has an impact on physical health - but very modestly.

Many theories have been put forward about mindfulness and physical health, but sometimes these claims are difficult to prove or can be confused with other effects. That said, there is some good evidence that meditation affects physiological indicators of health.
Scientists have long mentioned that long-term meditation seems to help people get rid of the inflammatory response to stress. In addition, the meditators seem to have increased the activity of telomerase, an enzyme involved in increasing the lifespan of cells and thus, longevity of the practitioner.

1.8. Times of meditation may not be good for everyone.

Some people seem to believe that practicing mindfulness meditation will always bring about a feeling of peace and tranquility. While this may be an experience for many, it is not an experience for all. Sometimes, sitting quietly with yourself can be a difficult experience. For people who have been through some type of trauma, sitting and meditating can sometimes bring back painful memories and recent experiences that they are not ready to face.

1.9. What type of meditation is right for you?

“Mindfulness” is a broad concept that encompasses all the different types of meditation. A 2016 study compared four different types of meditation and found that they all have distinct benefits. For example, during meditation that focused on total body movement, participants saw a large increase in their level of body awareness (unsurprisingly) and a decrease in body awareness. drastically reduced thoughts they were having, especially negative thoughts related to the past and future. Compassion meditation helps them increase their feelings of warmth and positive thinking about others. Meanwhile, observing-thinking meditation seemed to increase participants' awareness of their thoughts the most. Previous research has also shown that meditative observation-thinking has an advantage in reducing our judgmental attitudes towards others.

1.10. How much meditation is enough?

This is a question that is not easy to find an answer to and depends on different subjects. To date, empirical studies have not come to a consensus on how much meditation is "enough". In addition to minutes, other factors that may interact to influence the benefits of mindfulness practice include: type (e.g. formal sitting versus informal meditation practice, mindfulness, and word count). balls, etc.), frequency (several times a day versus several times a week) and quality (sitting and actually exercising vs. While it is possible that in the next 10-15 years we will see a recommendation regarding the practice of meditation, so far, the empirical data on this topic has not been conclusive.

2. 8 things to know about the health benefits of meditation

Many studies have been conducted to see how meditation can be helpful for a variety of conditions, such as high blood pressure, certain psychological disorders, and pain. Several studies have also helped researchers understand how meditation might work and how it affects the brain.
Many studies have been conducted to see how meditation can be beneficial for many different medical conditions, especially chronic diseases, such as high blood pressure, some mental disorders and chronic pain. Several studies have also helped researchers understand how meditation might work and what impact it might have on the brain. Here are 8 things to know about the scientifically proven benefits of meditation for our health:
For those with chronic conditions like cancer or the side effects of treatment, Mind-body therapies, such as meditation, have been shown to help reduce anxiety, stress, fatigue, mood disturbances, and sleep disturbances in general, thereby improving their quality of life. Evidence-based clinical practice guidelines from the Integrative Cancer Society recommend meditation, as well as other mind-body modalities, as part of a multidimensional approach to anxiety reduction, mood disturbances, chronic pain and improved quality of life. There is some evidence that meditation can lower blood pressure. A review of the literature and scientific statements from the American Heart Association found evidence to support the use of Transcendental Meditation as adjunct or adjunct therapy to standard treatment for lowering blood pressure. pressure. There is growing evidence that meditation-based programs can be helpful in reducing common menopausal symptoms. A 2010 review of much of the historical literature found that yoga-based exercises, tai chi, and meditation may be helpful in reducing common menopausal symptoms including frequency and intensity of hot flashes, sleep and mood disturbances, tension and pain in muscles, bones, and joints. There is some non-scientific evidence that meditation improves symptoms of excessive anxiety. A 2014 review of the literature found that forms of mindfulness meditation can improve anxiety, depression, and pain, as well as improve stress/suffering, and improve quality of life related to pain. regarding mental health. Some studies also suggest that mindfulness meditation helps people with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), but there isn't enough evidence to draw firm conclusions. A 2013 review of the scientific literature concluded that mindfulness training improved pain and quality of life in patients with irritable bowel syndrome, but not depression or anxiety. their; however, the frequency of improvement is relatively small. Overall, there isn't enough evidence to know if exercise methods are as effective as other treatments for helping people quit smoking. To date, there have been only a few studies on mindfulness-based therapies to aid smoking cessation. There is not enough evidence to prove that using meditation is effective for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). According to a 2010 scientific review, because only a small number of studies have been conducted on meditation for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, no conclusions can be drawn about the effectiveness of meditation. it for this situation. Meditation is generally considered safe for healthy people. However, people with physical limitations may not be able to participate in some forms of movement-related meditation. Over the past two decades, more and more research has been conducted to uncover the benefits of mindfulness meditation - a set of practices designed to help us cultivate moment-to-moment awareness of ourselves and ourselves. its environment. The initial findings stimulated a large number of people to take an interest in meditation. Sometimes, however, journalists and even scientists (who should have known better) overstate the physical and mental health benefits, which has raised skepticism about Mindfulness.

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References: mindful.org, nccih.nih.gov