Meditation has traditionally been associated with Eastern mysticism but science is beginning to show that cultivating a “heightened” state of consciousness can have a major impact on our brain, the way our bodies function and our levels of resilience.
Clinicians are increasingly looking for effective, preventative, non-pharmacological options to treat mental illness. And meditation techniques – such as quietening the mind, understanding the self and exercising control – show promise as an alternative tool to regulate emotions, mood and stress.
Body
Meditation influences the body in unexpected ways. Experienced meditators, for instance, can speed or slow their metabolism by more than 60% and raise their body temperature by as much as 8°C.
Even a little training in meditation can make people calmer, less stressed and more relaxed. As little as 20 minutes a day leads to physical changes, such as reduced blood pressure, lower heart rate, deeper and calmer breathing. Improvements in blood pressure as a result of meditation have also been linked to a lower risk of heart attack.
Meditation is also beginning to prove effective as a treatment for chronic and acute pain. One experiment showed that four days of mindfulness meditation substantially reduced the participant’s experience of unpleasantness and the intensity of their pain.
Mind, brain and beyond
Meditation increases left-sided, frontal brain activity, an area of the brain associated with positive mood. Interestingly, this increase in left-brain activity is also linked with improvements in immune system activity. And the more you practise meditation, the greater your immune function is likely to be.
Studies have shown that long-term meditators have increased volumes of grey matter in the right orbito-frontal cortex and hippocampus regions of their brain which are responsible for regulating emotion. Similar changes have also been found in non-meditators who completed an eight-week course in mindfulness training.
So even a limited stint of meditation has the potential to change the structure of the brain.
Ageing
The cortex in the brain usually thins as we age – a type of atrophy related to dementia. Intriguingly, those who have meditated around an hour a day for six years display increased cortical thickness. Older meditators also show decreased age-related decline in cortical thickness compared to non-meditators of the same age.
Meditation may increase longevity by protecting the brain and heart from the damaging effects of stress. One study reported that meditation and yoga help to prevent cellular damage caused by chronic psychological stress. It has even been suggested that meditation may slow cellular aging.
Emotional stability
The causes and effects of emotional experience exist throughout the body and the brain, and as such they are deeply linked to physical and psychological stress.
Meditation enhances positive emotions and mood, and appears to make people less vulnerable to the stresses and upsets of daily life. Research shows that meditators are better at regulating immediate responses to negative stimuli and have reduced activity in the amygdala – a region implicated in response to threat. These findings reflect greater emotional resilience among meditators as well as less psychological distress and anxiety.
Mindfulness, which can be cultivated through meditation, is just one technique that can increase mental health and wellbeing. Several therapeutic techniques have been based on these practices, such as mindfulness-based stress reduction and mindfulness-based cognitive therapy. These treatments have had success in treating anxiety and mood disorders.
Next steps in research
Research has shown us that meditation improves our mood, reduces the body’s response to stress and, over time, alters the structure of the brain.
Our team at the University of Sydney is attempting to fill some of the gaps in our knowledge of how meditation acts on the mind and the body to calm emotional reactions. We’re currently investigating the effects of meditation on brain and body function during emotional provocation, such as viewing disturbing photographic images.
We want to better understand the effects of short, intensive periods of meditation on brain and body functions associated with regulation of emotional responses. We are also examining the genetic factors that may help determine what types of people benefit most from meditation training.
If we can demonstrate the efficacy of intensive meditation on emotion regulation, and characterise those who will benefit most, we will have established a significant role for meditation in improving mental and physical health.
Bruce Moon
Bystander!
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As a youngster would say 'Derrrrrr!!!!!'.
I have great problems with those who seek to scientifically explain and validate the success of reality.
For centuries, Yogi's have advanced the view that meditation is helpful in managing mental energy.
For decades now, large numbers of westerners have also accepted the benefits of meditation.
So, why do we need white coat validation for a fact of life?
Is not description sufficient?
Maybe the 'problem' lies with those psychologists who refuse to accept that their disciplinary theories will never be as replicable as those from the physical sciences. And, thus keep on trying to justify their existence.
Cheers
Graham Gower
ex engineer, evol biology student
There are things that many folks accept as "a fact of life" which are in fact a load of bollocks. We like to call these things pseudoscience. Its very nice for the skeptics among us to have scientific validation in the event that something is intuitively correct but we've not studied ourselved.
Carol-Anne Croker
logged in via Facebook
I am a sufferer of BPMD and as part of my wellness regime when I am admitted to a Private Hospital psychiatric ward yoga forms an integral part of the reintegration into 'normal' life. These interventions are only one component of a holistic approach which looks at dysfuntional behaviour such as over/under-eating, binging/purging, alcohol abuse and "self-medication" and non-prescription drug use. They sit alongside CBT and MOST importantly biomedical interventions and monitoring by trained specialist…
Read moreGraham Gower
ex engineer, evol biology student
Sorry, what is BPMD? I couldn't find it with a quick search.
No research should ever be pseudoscientific. If research is to be done into "alternative", "eastern", or merely unorthodox treatments, then it must be done in a scientifically rigorous manner. Otherswise the research has no benefit to anyone.
There are clear indicators in various literature that many alternative treatments have validity and many do not. Of course there is always more research to be done, but its rather clear which areas should be treated with suspicion.
David Priest
logged in via Facebook
I would argue that meditation, in fact, is a very scientific endeavour. One focuses on the breath and observes the natural arising and fading of mental states. An experienced meditator, will thus be able to observe and control the arising of unhelpful emotions in their every day lives.
So you could argue that the Yogis of centuries past were the original scientific investigators of the mind, and that the only difference now is that we are harnessing improved technology and our greater understanding of neuroscience to even better understand the benefits of meditation.
Graham Gower
ex engineer, evol biology student
I would argue that meditating alone has little if anything to do with the scientific method. You need to add stuff. E.g. a hypothesis, observation and reproducibility.
The Yogis may well have been astute observers with great insight into the human mind, but i daresay they didn't follow anything we would recognise as a modern scientific method.
George Aranda
Deakin University
well, #1, they had an idea they were following (hypothesis), #2 they made observations, #3 the reproduced them (in themselves and others)
Sure it might not have survived peer-review, but it's not a bad approximation.
Carol-Anne Croker
logged in via Facebook
I was diagnosed in the eighties and the term was Bipolar Mood Disorder then, replacing the confusing label manic depression. I was merely pointing out that still in our societies the mind/body split and the science/arts paradigms remain separated in our education systems and research institutes and the issue of mental illness has both medical, and sociological factors... not simple one-fit for all solutions, no matter how great meditation and yoga might be for me and other sufferers... we need more empirical evidence still.
Carol-Anne Croker
logged in via Facebook
Graham that is why I am pleading for dispassionate and empiral research into this area...not simply a dialogue between people often described patronisingly as 'new agers' and those who maintain scientific scepticism, with no recourse for being open to conclusions that may disprove accepted hypotheses.
Carol-Anne Croker
logged in via Facebook
Oh yeah I am a Swinburne PhDer and not studying mental illness as a thesis. I am so much more than my diagnosis.
Ryguydub
logged in via Twitter
Meditation techniques may not follow the modern scientific method, but the principles of inquisition and commitment to observation are at the roots of science. Meditation is deeply personal at times, where peer reviewed garnishing are not always necessary or welcome. I agree with David P that it's inquiry to insight on the self is very similar to the roots of what any science is. How things work.
Eastern philosophers critical of science studies like this may laughingly dismiss an entire peer reviewed…
Read moreCarol-Anne Croker
logged in via Facebook
Okay this one specifically to James but also to the other academics discussing this topic. One could say that meditation is simply relaxation but I think the tenor of the discussion is about its efficacy in treatment for mental illness. Thus, as I mentioned before this is not my area of PhD studies (I am doing Creative Writing and writing a novel) , it happens to be one of my "hobby horses". Too often people without mental illness study and spek for people with mental illness. And whilst I cannot…
Read moreCarol-Anne Croker
logged in via Facebook
Sorry readers... must learn to type into a text page first then edit for typos... and subsequently post...but as you can see when getting excited on a topic.. logical thought and process is suspended in the impulse to capture the immediacy of online publication... to get the thoughts out of my head quickly... and out there. One of my worst technological inventions is instant messaging and electronic boards... believe it or now I have learned over the year some degree of control and self-censorship... no weird shameful Facebook posts from me. Everything I write and post electronically I am happy to have my name attached too... typos and all.
George Aranda
Deakin University
Interesting article guys. I try to do meditation when I can, so it's nice to see that the notions put forward by practitioners can be observed by science. Hopefully meditation can be more commonly prescribed as a way to cope with stress, pain and anxiety in our daily lives. By knowing more specifically the mechanisms by which meditation can help/benefit our brains, the better we will understand ourselves.
Mick Vagg
logged in via Twitter
It's important to note that not all meditation is the same, and that the specific Zen-style mindfulness meditation which has been adapted and studied for use in stress management and pain treatment is only one of many possible styles and practices of meditation. Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT) is the type of therapeutic meditation which is likely to be most effective for prevention or early intervention in depressive illness, and also in helping chronic pain sufferers. It can't be assumed that any type of meditation practice has the same benefits, if we are to take these approaches as seriously as their potential deserves.
Dawn Baker
logged in via Facebook
Just to add my voice to others. Its a shame that the authors didn't define what they meant by 'meditation', as there has been a huge shift in psychology from the meditation practices in the 1970s which was influencing psychology; to the mindfulness based practices now. At the level of 'The Conversation', it was an opportunity for clarity which I think was sorely missed.
Carol-Anne Croker
logged in via Facebook
Dawn agree totally. TM and Mindfulness etc all have differences and this I hope becomes the space where we can engage with each other to explore the post. Hopefully it is just the beginning of the "conversation" ;-)
Dawn Baker
logged in via Facebook
So the other problem I have of this article is it says, 'science is beginning to show', and seemingly ignores three decades of research. Herbert Benson reviewed the literature in 1976 (?), and called it 'The Relaxation Response'. The most influential person in mindfulness based mediation is Jon Kabat Zinn who has been publishing for 20yrs. This article is the sort of thing that was being written in the 1970s as East met West (although from an Indian rather than Buddhist base). I'm probably grumpy about it, as I find that much of modern academic literature does not touch bases with even the recent past.
Cocote Muller
Project Manager
Yes, indeed meditation has been researched since then, but today there are more advanced technology such as imaging genetics to better understand the impact of brain AND mind as a whole. That was NOT done years ago! Does meditation help every single individual? We dont know yet. We need science to continue to investigate the utility of these alternative treatments and their effectivness in treating different disorders, otherwise they will forever remain... alternative. I agree with others that the authors should have better distinguished between different types of meditation. I wonder what is the most effective type, and for what sort of people? So clearly more studies need to be done to help answer that!
James Jenkin
EFL Teacher Trainer
These studies seem remarkable. Is there no dispute in the scientific community regarding the validity of these studies, or the methodologies used? Also can participants achieve these same physiological results through relaxation rather than meditation?
David Collett
logged in via Twitter
I found the breath meditation useful during university. Practising bringing the mind back into the present moment meant that while studying the mind wasn't wasting so much time drifting off into the future or the past.
But I was surprised to see so many health benefits in the above article, now there is a physical reason to do it! :)