“Mediation is a vital way to purify and quiet the mind, thus rejuvenating the body” – Deepak Chopra
Introduction | Attention | Stress & Anxiety | Sleep Quality | Emotions | Cognitive Decline | Immune System | Final Thoughts | References | Disclaimer
Introduction
Meditation is an ancient practice that offers health benefits and improves the overall quality of life. This includes emotion regulation, attention, and memory. It reduces stress and anxiety, promotes quality sleep, slows cognitive decline, and boosts our immune system. Given the evidence, it is no wonder that meditation has stood the test of time. It continues to be one of the most powerful ancient practices for supporting human health. Its practice appears in both secular and religious settings, which speaks to its omnipresent existence throughout the cultures of the world.
Meditation improves attention
Meditation is known to encourage and train improved attention and focus skills. Numerous studies have shown that attention training can extend the benefits of meditation beyond its practice and into our daily lives. This can improve our responsiveness to stimuli, both expected and unexpected.
Lutz et al.[1] reviewed the literature and analyzed data on Focus Attention Meditation [FA] and Open Monitoring Meditation [OM] and their impact on attention. The researchers found that FA meditation causes partial "deautomatization" of thought and mental processes under different perceptual stimuli. These effects of FA on attention suggest that specific components of attention can be trained. Furthermore, Lutz and colleagues reported that OM meditation helps maintain awareness during an unexpected stimulus. Such a distributed attentional focus was not achieved in the FA meditation group.
A study conducted by Blase and van Waning[2] examined the impact of Samatha meditation on attention. They followed their study participants for 6 weeks and assessed their outcomes at baseline and after the 6 weeks. They found that the intervention group experienced an increase of 18.7% in sustained attention scores, which elevated the focus level from medium to high. Additionally, Samatha mediation practitioners also observed and reported improvements in attention.
The impact of meditation on stress and anxiety
Meditation helps us reach a state of relaxation and mental peace. Its regular practice has been investigated to determine the impact it has on stress and anxiety, two very common conditions in today's society.
A randomized controlled trial designed by Hoge et al.[3] focused on the effect of mindfulness meditation [in the form of MBSR—mindfulness-based stress reduction] on generalized anxiety disorder [GAD]. The researchers recruited 89 participants and divided them into two groups: the MBSR group and the Stress Management Education [SME] group. They measured their outcomes at baseline and after the intervention [8-week period]. The tests' results revealed a significant decrease in anxiety scores [p<0.05] and their general severity [p<0.05] in both groups. However, the MBSR group achieved significantly superior results. Furthermore, it was established that meditation-based interventions promoted stress resilience in MBSR participants to a much broader extent than stress management education.
A review of the scientific literature was conducted by Goyal et al.[4] and looked at the impact of meditation on stress, distress, and anxiety. According to the researchers, mindfulness meditation programs were found to diminish anxiety symptoms and stress/distress among participants across different studies. Additionally, for anxiety symptoms, the effect sizes of mindfulness meditation programs ranged from 0.22 to 0.38 over 2–6 months.
The effects of meditation on sleep quality
Sleep is essential to our physical and mental well-being, as well as our quality of life. Traditional solutions to dysregulated and disturbed sleep patterns include pharmacological treatments that show different effects on different people. The search for an alternative way of improving the quality of sleep has led scientists to investigate such practices as meditation.
A meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials was carried out by Rusch et al.[5] and examined the effects of meditation on sleep quality. The reviewers found that mindfulness meditation was an effective tool for improving sleep quality in people suffering from sleep disturbances. Furthermore, studies providing follow-up controls revealed a long-term effect of mindfulness meditation practice on sleep quality.
A randomized controlled trial, carried out by Black et al.[6], examined the impact of Mindful Awareness Practices [MAPs], including mindfulness meditation, and Sleep Hygiene Education [SHE], on sleep quality in older adults. The scientists found that mindfulness meditation and MAPs had a greater effect on improving sleep quality in study participants than the SHE protocol. Additionally, the MAPs subjects achieved much better results in the fatigue symptom severity test, showing more improvement post-intervention.
Meditation and emotions
Meditation allows us to maintain control over our emotional states and helps us downregulate the intensity of our feelings. In meditation, we become more accepting and observant of the thoughts and emotions that appear in our lives. According to studies, long-term meditation is effective at reducing our responsiveness to emotional stimuli.
A review conducted by Tang, Tang, and Posner[7] looked at the effects of mindfulness meditation on emotion regulation. The reviewers established that mindfulness meditation activates the mPFC/ACC [medial prefrontal cortex/anterior cingulate cortex], which is responsible for the regulation of emotions. Furthermore, they found evidence that regular meditation helps induce positive mood states and positive feelings, reduces cortisol levels [stress hormone], and decreases the feeling of fatigue.
A randomized controlled trial, designed by Kral et al.[8], investigated the impact of short-term and long-term meditation practice on the amygdala's reactivity to emotional stimuli. The scientists enrolled 158 participants, including non-meditators [MNP] and meditators [LTM]. The MNP group was further subdivided into either the MBSR [mindfulness-based stress reduction] group or the HEP [health education program] group. After that, the researchers compared the outcomes of the affective images test [positive, negative, and neutral] and the amygdala images between the groups. The results revealed that both LTM and MNP subjects experienced a reduction in amygdala reactivity to positive images. Though the LTM group had lower amygdala activation than the MNP, Furthermore, the LTM participants categorized more images as neutral than the MNP group, which was also observed in fMRI data. This led to the conclusion that long-term meditation reduces emotional reactivity to stimuli.
Meditation slows down cognitive decline
Proper mental functioning is a key component of our ability to fully participate in society and allows us to enjoy our lives. Cognitive decline, usually associated with older age, is a very common health problem. It can also be a symptom of more serious health complications, such as dementia or Alzheimer's disease. Science has been investigating alternative therapies in the search for a way to slow down cognitive decline among elderly populations.
Gard, Hölzel, and Lazar[9] reviewed the scientific literature discussing the effects of meditation on age-related cognitive decline. The scientists identified 12 papers that met the inclusion criteria. The impact of meditation on cognitive abilities was assessed with the use of a variety of tests that measured attention, memory, executive function, and processing speed. The reviewers observed that mindfulness meditation scored the highest in improving attention; Kirtan Kriya yogic meditation, Vihangam yoga meditation, and mindfulness-based stress reduction had significant effects on executive function; Vihangam yoga meditation and transcendental meditation Sidhi were found to positively influence memory; and Vihangam yoga meditation showed the most improvement in processing speed tests. Overall, the outcomes of the review supported the hypothesis that meditation practice can slow down age-related cognitive decline in older adults.
A randomized controlled trial, designed by Innes et al.[10], looked at the impact of meditation and music on cognitive function and memory. The researchers evaluated 60 subjects, who were divided into two groups: the Kirtan Kriya meditation group [KK] and the music listening group [ML]. The subjects' results were measured at baseline and after 3 and 6 months of the study. The results of the study revealed that both groups of participants significantly improved their cognitive function and memory at 3 months compared to the baseline results. Additionally, these improvements were maintained for 6 months. Furthermore, at the 6-month evaluation point, the study subjects' self-reported memory concerns decreased.
Immune system
The immunomodulatory effects of meditation are associated with its impact on the neuroendocrine system. The neuroendocrine axis is believed to be the link between our mind and our immune system. Meditation serves to train our minds, so it's reasonable to assume that its effects extend beyond mental health.
A meta-analysis of the scientific evidence, conducted by Black and Slavich[11], focused on the effects of meditation on the immune system. The researchers identified 20 randomized controlled trials that met the inclusion criteria. After a thorough examination of the data, the scientists concluded that mindfulness meditation was positively associated with a reduction in inflammatory markers [lowered Nf-kB transcription activity and CRP levels], increased cell-mediated immunity [elevated CD4+T count], and slower biological aging [increased telomerase activity].
Another study was carried out by Infante et al.[12] and examined the effects of transcendental meditation on immune function. The scientists recruited 35 participants, who were divided into two groups: the transcendental meditation group [TM] and the control group. Researchers looked at blood samples and found that the TM subjects had more CD3+CD4-CD8+ lymphocytes [P < 0.05], B lymphocytes [P < 0.01], and NK cells [P < 0.01] than the controls. On the other hand, TM's CD3+CD4+CD8 lymphocytes appeared in fewer numbers than in the control group. Infante and colleagues concluded that the transcendental meditation technique had a significant impact on immune function among the study participants.
Final Thoughts
Meditation has many different forms, which makes it easy for every interested person to find a suitable technique for themselves. Many people have recognized meditation as a tool to help them combat the stress and anxiety of daily life. However, meditation techniques have been proven to have other health-benefiting effects. According to studies, meditation improves attention and memory, positively impacts sleep quality, slows down age-related cognitive decline, helps us manage our emotions, and boosts our immune response. In addition, it does not pose any health risks and only requires dedication and time commitment. It is a simple yet very effective way of ensuring our mind and body maintain vitality and overall well-being.
References
This article contains 12 citations:
Disclaimer
Read carefully: