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Follow Meditation was first popularized in the West in the 1970s and 1980s.
Originating from Buddhist and Hindu traditions, it is defined as a technique for resting the mind and to increase awareness, reduce stress and enhance personal growth.
When you meditate, you are accessing your body's own built-in ability to heal itself and tune itself for action.
Just under 18 million adults, and just under one million children practiced meditation in the USA as of 2012.That's four times as many as ten years ago.
The first scientific validation of meditation was detailed in Harvard Medical School cardiologist Herbert Benson's 1975 book, The Relaxation Response He found that even simple meditation produced sustained physiological benefits such as reduced heart, metabolic, and breathing rates Over the last four decades, scientific research continues to reveal the benefits of meditation on the brain, body, and health.
People who are meditators versus non-meditators show an increase in volume and density to the hippocampus, the part of the brain thought to control your memory, emotions and learning.
Those who regularly practice meditation are shown to have:
College students instructed in meditation displayed significant improvements in performance on a perceptual and short-term memory test.
In some subjects, studies showed that the act and practice of focusing during meditation improved overall concentration.
In one study, inner city middle school students improved grade score, work habits and cooperation and decreased absences.
Meditation enhances neurotransmitters in the brain including serotonin and Beta-endorphins, known for their positive effects on mood stabilization.
Several studies demonstrated that those who mediated show increased alpha waves and decreased anxiety and depression.
In one study high school students exposed to a relaxation response-based curriculum had significantly increased their self-esteem.
Beyond the brain, the physical body also benefits from meditation and in some studies, has shown to slow down the aging process. Benefits include:
Dr. John Denninger, Director of Research
Benson-Henry Institute for Mind Body Medicine Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School's teaching hospitals
As a group, long-term meditators who had been practicing meditation for more than five years were physiologically twelve years younger than their chronological age.
A study showed that plasma cortisol, a stress hormone, decreased during meditation.
One study evaluated three key indicators of relaxation and found that meditation provides a far deeper state of relaxation than does simple eyes-closed rest.
A longitudinal study showed that cholesterol levels significantly decreased through meditation in hypercholesterolemic patients.
In one study, chronic pain patients reduce their physician visits by 36%.
A number of studies have focused on the benefits of meditation on a number of health conditions from high blood pressure to autoimmune diseases.
Those who regularly practice meditation are shown to have:
Evidence suggests meditation can make us more resistant to infection from winter colds to slowing HIV. Even those with psoriasis responded better to their medication if they also practiced meditation.
80%of hypertensive patients have lowered blood pressure and were able to decrease their medication.
100% of insomnia patients reported improved sleep and 91% either eliminated or reduced sleeping medication use.
Which helps with stress-induced aging, dementia, and fighting cancer.
Infertile women who meditate versus non-meditators have a 42% conception rate.
Females with severe PMS have a 57% reduction in physical and psychological symptoms.
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