What Does the Latest Scientifically Researches On Meditation Show?
We thought that our readers would like to know more about new scientifically proven researches on mindful meditation and its benefits to our body & mind.
"Meditation establishes a secure connection between our internal and external worlds. It awakens the body and benefits all aspects of the conscious and subconscious layers of the mind."
1. Meditation enhances empathy
Loving-kindness or compassion meditation fires neural connections to the brain sites that regulate positive emotions like empathy and kindness.
2. Meditation improves cognition
Researchers agree that an excellent way for professionals to increase the likelihood of success is to keep meditation practice as a part of their daily routine. Studies have revealed that both transcendent and mindful meditation practices improve the brain’s problem-solving and decision-making strategies, which can bring a desirable shift in our professional life.
3. Meditation is a natural stress stabilizer
Brain studies of regular meditators revealed that they have lower cortisol level in their brains, which explains their resilience and insightful nature.
4. Meditation promotes emotional health and well-being
When we meditate, we get a clear picture of our mind and become aware of the thoughts that drive our emotions and actions at the moment.
5. Meditation increases attention by inducing a state of flow
Have you noticed how meditation absorbs you into the moment? Mindful awareness comes naturally to us when we meditate, and we reach ‘flow’ state where our mind is in complete harmony with itself.
What Does the Latest Research and Science Show?
A recent survey on the incidence of meditation indicated a marked increase in the number of adults and children who practice meditation every day. Psychologists and allied mental health practitioners agree on the effectiveness of meditation in reducing physical, mental, and emotional disturbances.
1. Meditation and Pain
Combining meditation practices with medication for treating pain conditions like osteoarthritis, headaches, and other chronic pains can be useful for providing long-term remedies.
2. Meditation and diseases
The National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health has conducted studies to explore the impact of meditation on disorders like:
Pain and fibromyalgia in teenagers.
Stress-related disorders in adolescents and adults.
Migraine, headaches, and hypertensive conditions.
Psoriasis.
Anxiety and depression.
Most of their research and reviews show that committing to a daily practice improves the overall quality of life, and has long-term benefits for staying emotionally and physically healthy. Furthermore, studies show that meditation had similar effects as medications in treating depression, anxiety, and other emotional problems.
3. Meditation and Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS)
Studies on the impact of meditation on Irritable Bowel Syndrome on women with severe IBS symptoms showed that when they practiced mindful meditation regularly for two months, their symptoms significantly reduced.
Meditation practice helped in reducing the anxiety associated with IBS and improved the individual’s quality of life to a large extent.
4 Interesting Studies
1. Future Directions in Meditation Science
A research on 1120 meditators, including beginners and novices, showed that meditation developed a sense of self-enhancement in them.
Besides helping them deal with the emotional and physical stressors, it also led the way for heightened spiritual awakening and freedom. Many scientists discarded and criticized this line of research, owing to its unconventional nature. However, there is enough empirical evidence that indicates such allied aspects of human living that are touched by meditation.
2. Cognitive Impact of Meditation
Continued meditation practices and retreats improved attention and cognition significantly.
A study conducted in two phases involving 60 regular meditators on whom the effect of intensive practice was studied. The revelations of the investigation were impactful and drew the attention of veteran Buddhist monks, meditators, and scientists all over the world, including the Dalai Lama himself, and provided storing evidence of how the three-month rigorous meditation retreats improved perception and self-worth in the participants.
3. Benefits of Meditation as a Psychotherapy
Regular practitioners who participated in the retreat without any pay were more self-content than non-meditators.
Beginners who practiced meditation for 1-2 months showed improvement in physical and mental health than non-meditators who practiced for the same duration.
Beginners and regular meditators showed increased signs of happiness and heightened self-esteem when they were randomly assigned to meditation sessions rather than when they received alternate forms of therapy.
4. Meditation and Well-being
A paper on Asian spiritualism proposed that meditation has positive impacts on happiness and subjective well-being.
Meditative flow can help the body by optimizing blood pressure, regulating cardiac diseases, mitigating stress, reducing addiction, and regulating the Sympathetic Nervous System functioning, which is responsible for extreme fight-or-flight responses during stress.
5 Proven Health Benefits of a Daily Practice
1. More fitness
Workout and physical exercise may not be enough to gain ideal fitness. Many scientists, nutritionists, and researchers of allied health sciences have indicated that the pathway to fitness lies in holistic lifestyle modification – including nutritious food, physical workout, yoga, and meditation regularly.
2. More Focus
Some studies on meditation and its effects on attention showed how meditation improved care by controlling the alpha brain waves. The alpha waves in the brain operate the way we use our sense organs and respond to external stimulations.
3. More immunity
Studies on the impact of meditation on lowering the risk of cancer suggested that mindful relaxation and meditation practices boost the lymphocyte count in the body, and help in developing a natural shield for fighting toxic cells that create the fatal disease.
4. Reduced chances of age-related memory loss
By improving attention and focus, meditation helps the mind feel younger. Meditation practices like Kirtan Kriya, which involves chanting a mantra along with some specific finger movements to improve concentration, can help improve memory in dementia patients.
* Extracted from "5 Health Benefits of Daily Meditation According to Science", published by Positive Psychology on 17-11-2020. Written by Madhuleena Roy Chowdhury, BA.
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