What if a better way to fight certain diseases is not in a form of drug that your doctor prescribes? What if that "miracle drug" you've been searching for is sitting right in the comfort of your own mind? And maybe, just maybe, if you focus a little closer and find your inner peace, you will also find something that can be more powerful than a medication. This could be achieved through mindfulness meditation.
Several health benefits have been found from various research focusing on mindfulness meditation. Dan Hurley, a science journalist, wrote in his article Breathing In vs. Spacing out key findings from different researchers in the fields of neuroscience and psychology that unravel the mystery of meditation. He mentioned the work of Amishi Jha, a psychologist, who worked on the effect of 12 minute meditation a day for US Marines in Hawaii. The results suggest that meditation helps marines to keep their attention and working memory stable. Moreover, if they meditated for less than 12 minutes or none at all, there was a significant decrease in their functioning. This key finding suggests the importance of meditation in stressful situations such as in the case of the US Marines on training. Furthermore, researchers A. Chiesa and A. Serretti wrote in their review article, A systemic review of neurobiological and clinical features of mindfulness meditations, a compilation of research findings related to mindfulness meditation. In a neuroimaging study, they stated a key finding that "long term meditation practice is associated with an enhancement of cerebral areas related to attention." Hence, we can see the correlation to the study done by Jha with the US Marines.
So if we could improve attention by meditation, can we also enhance our ability to perform better in academic tests? The answer is a resounding yes and this is supported by a research finding from Hurley's article. He stated that researches have found that meditation improves working memory capacity of undergraduates who took the Graduate Record Exam.
Mindfulness meditation is indeed a new way to promote a healthier state of mind. To improve our brain function and ability to solve daily problems. However, it is not only limited to attention and improving test scores. There have been numerous clinical findings that could make mindfulness meditation a sort of the "new miracle drug." Key findings from the review article of Chiesa and Serretti that state the health benefits of meditation are: (1) reduction in relapses of depression, (2) reduction of blood pressure, (3) decrease in alcohol and substance abuse in prisoners, (4) reduction of stress levels and (5) reduction of psychological distress in patients with cancer and chronic pain. These are only a few of the undiscovered advantages of meditation. Just imagine how many more diseases we can fight through finding that inner peace. Scientists are now rediscovering the power of meditation and how it can be a life changer for many of us. It may only take a few minutes a day to improve our brain function and also fight off potential health risks that could possibly harm us.
Not every health problem is solved through some sort of medication. Sometimes, all we just need is a simple meditation.
References:
1. Chiesa A, Serretti A. "A systemic review of neurobiological and clinical features of mindfulness meditations." Psychological Medicine, 2010; 40(8): 1239-1252
2. Hurley, Dan. "Breathing In vs. Spacing Out." The New York Times. The New York Times, 18 Jan. 2014. Web. 29 Apr. 2014
When we are in a situation of stress or danger, our brain responds instinctively in two ways: fight or flight. However, magnetic resonances of the brain show that two months of meditation practice are enough to cope with these difficult moments with greater maturity and tranquility. It is also proven that meditating influences the prefrontal cortex, an area of the brain that is linked to our ability to make decisions and social behavior. All these studies suggest that meditation helps our mind disconnect from its own stress center.
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