No matter who, what, when, and where you are, you will experience diverse types of stress. These stressors can range from simply having to fold your laundry to making a huge financial that might affect your future. Knowing how to regulate this stress is an extremely important consideration. Stress can affect various aspects of yourself which include headaches, trouble falling asleep or staying asleep, feelings of sadness or depression, and even chest pains (Mayo Clinic). However, stress can be regulated in many ways. Today we will focus on the way meditation works in the nervous system to lower stress levels.
To begin, we must first understand how stress occurs and the way it functions in the brain. When a stressful situation occurs, the amygdala sends a signal to the hypothalamus which activates either the sympathetic or parasympathetic nervous system, or in simpler terms, the fight or flight, or rest and digest response respectively (Harvard Health). When a person begins to feel stressed, they may simply act rather than think, as most people could relate. The sympathetic nervous system raises the levels of adrenaline in the body which prepares the person for action/reaction, this can be especially useful, but could not be so useful when they must be calm. Therefore, invoking one's parasympathetic nervous system can be useful to remain calm and collected.
When activated, the parasympathetic nervous system works to lower the heart and breathing rate by stimulating the vagus nerve, by dilating the blood vessels that create a sensation of relaxation (Hurley). One way of doing this is through meditation. Meditation is a practice with various forms but it all boils down to focusing on one's breath and being mindful of their surroundings and how they feel in the space that they are in (Keltner, et all.) Using these techniques, studies have shown stress can be reduced, such as the randomized controlled trail from the University of Pittsburg.
How exactly does meditation work in the nervous system? In a 2015 neurological study coming from the University of Pittsburg under the supervision of Adrienne A. Taren, aimed to discover the effects that stress had on the brain, saw significant results. To begin, 130 healthy adults were tested using resting state functional connectivity (rsFC) and determined their perceived level of stress. This experiment built upon a previous study that stated that higher levels of “stress [were] associated with greater amygdala-sgACC rsFC” (Taren, et al.). The study showed that those that participated in an intensive 3-day mindfulness meditation program had lower levels of connectivity compared to those that did not participate. This means that the 3-day mindfulness mediation program was successful in reducing participant's stress.
These findings are crucial in developing and implementing systems that can help one control their stress in the future. It's especially important that meditation is tested since it can be accessed by anyone no matter the constraints that they are under. Meditation can help many, and all people need to do is sit in silence and focus on their breath (Keltner).
Refrences
Harvard Health. “Understanding the Stress Response.” Harvard Health, 6 July 2020, www.health.harvard.edu/staying-healthy/understanding-the-stress response.
Hurley, Terry. “Activating the Parasympathetic Nervous System to Decrease Stress and nxiety.” Canyon Vista Recovery Center, 26 Oct. 2023, canyonvista.com/activating-parasympathetic-nervous-system/#:~:text=The%20SNS%20is%20responsible%20for, slowing%20down%20the%20heart%20rate.
Keltner, Dacher, et al. “Getting Started with Mindfulness.” Mindful, 22 Jan. 2024, ww.mindful.org/meditation/mindfulness-getting-started/.
Mayo Clinic. “How Stress Affects Your Body and Behavior.” Mayo Clinic, Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research, 10 Aug. 2023, www.mayoclinic.org/healthy- ifestyle/stress-management/in-depth/stress-symptoms/art-20050987.
Taren, Adrienne A, et al. “Mindfulness Meditation Training Alters Stress-Related Amygdala Resting State Functional Connectivity: A Randomized Controlled Trial.” Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience, U.S. National Library of Medicine, Dec. 2015, www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4666115/.
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