Meditation
is probably as old as human civilization itself. While the test of time could
be proof positive demonstrating the benefits of meditation, scientific study
has yielded evidence that meditation is good for us as well. In this blog post,
I’ll summarize widely publicized research about meditation.
Dr. Herbert Benson: Meditation
Research Pioneer
In the late 1960’s, Dr. Herbert
Benson of Harvard Medical School conducted scientific studies to test the
health benefits of meditation. (As an aside, his findings motivated me to begin
my own meditation practice.) He determined that meditation could be used
successfully in treating physiological problems, such as high blood pressure,
heart disease and migraine headaches, as well as autoimmune diseases such as
diabetes and arthritis. As they meditated, he found that his test subjects
heartbeats and breathing had slowed, their blood lactate levels decreased, and
their brains had increased in alpha activity, which is a sign of relaxation.
Dr. Benson also found that meditation was helpful in stopping or slowing obsessive
thinking, anxiety, depression, and hostility.
In the “Set Point Study,” scientists
found that each of us has a natural “set point” in our brains for both good and
bad emotions. The study found that people accustomed to being happy have more activity in the front portion of
their frontal lobes. Meanwhile, the right side is more active in people who
worry or are anxious. Even when major events occur in a person’s life, such as
winning the lottery, scientists have found that brain
chemistry shifts back to its normal, or set point within about six
months.
One of the most dramatic examples of
what can be called “resetting the set point” was a study done with people who
had suffered paralysis from spinal cord injuries. Although they could no longer
walk and often suffered from depression in the short run, within six months of
the accident, these individuals had returned to their normal mental set points
and their original state of happiness.
In other words, no matter what happens in a person’s life, the shift back to
the set point inevitably takes place.
The good news is that you CAN change
your set point through meditation. One study demonstrated that after only eight
weeks of meditating for approximately one hour each day, six days a week, test
subjects reported they had become happier. Follow-up tests showed that these
individuals’ set points had changed—to the extent that their normal level of
mental happiness had been raised. In addition, they had become better at
picking up emotional cues from others, and they reported developing more empathy
towards others’ emotions. On the physical level, the researchers found that the
meditators’ immune system responses had improved.
MRI’s and Meditation
In a recent UCLA study, researchers
used high-resolution magnetic resonance imaging (MRI’s) to scan the brains of a
group of subjects who were long-time meditators. They found that these
individuals’ brains were larger than their non-meditating counterparts. Another
study found that aging
people who meditate regularly don’t lose their gray matter as fast as
non-meditators. Apparently, the meditators’ brains have noticeably thicker
tissue in the prefrontal cortex, which is the region of the brain responsible
for attention and control.
Imagine the implications of these
discoveries! Not only can meditation prevent brain cells from dying, which
typically happens as we age, it can boost a person’s brain size in several
crucial regions. Furthermore, researchers have concluded that meditation can
actually make a person more intelligent. Evidence is also demonstrating that
people who meditate regularly are able to focus more deeply and deal with stress
better than non-meditators.
Science is describing what long time
meditators have known all along: A consistent meditative practice decreases
stress and increases well being. To start meditating, feel free to check out my
free guided meditation available on iTunes and at www.meditationforhealthpodcast.com
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