Meditation is often news because it is the subject of a scientific study. I leave you with 9 studies that show 9 positive effects of meditation.
1) Meditation helps increase attention.
Buddhist meditation can improve a person's ability to be mindful. The study found that meditation training helps people focus longer on a task.
The research was inspired by the work of Buddhist monks, who spend years training in meditation. Fountain; Association for Psychological Science (2010, July 16).
2) Meditation reduces the emotional impact of pain.
People who meditate regularly find pain less unpleasant because their brains anticipate its threat and adequately prepare to receive it. Source.
3) Meditation helps relax those who practice it.
The electrical waves of the brain during meditation suggest that mental activity is conducive to relaxation. These types of waves have their origin in a relaxed attention that controls our internal experiences. Source.
4) Meditation improves cognitive abilities.
Some of us need regular amounts of caffeine to momentarily improve our cognitive abilities. A recently published study suggests that meditation enhances these abilities as well. Meditation seems to prepare the mind for activity. Source.
5) Meditation reduces the chance of having a heart attack by 50%.
Coronary heart disease patients who practiced transcendental meditation to reduce their stress had half as many heart attacks or strokes as those who did not practice such meditation. Source: Medical College of Wisconsin (2009, November 17).
6) Meditation is related to increased telomerase activity.
The study is the first to link meditation to an increase in telomerase, an enzyme important for the long-term health of cells in the body. Source.
7) Meditation increases the thickness of the brain.
People can reduce their sensitivity to pain by thickening their brain, according to a new study published in a special issue of the Journal of the American Psychological Association.
Researchers at the University of Montreal made their discovery by comparing the thickness of the gray matter of Zen meditators and non-meditators. Evidence was found that practicing the discipline Zen Meditation can reinforce a region of the central brain (anterior cingulate) that regulates pain. Source.
8) Meditation relieves fatigue and depression in multiple sclerosis patients.
In the study, people who took an eight-week class to train their minds through meditation reduced both fatigue and depression and improved their overall quality of life compared to people with MS who received the care alone usual medical. The positive effects must be continued for at least six months. Source.
9) Meditation boosts brain connectivity.
After just 11 hours of learning a meditation technique, positive structural changes in brain connectivity can be seen by increasing efficiency in a part of the brain that helps regulate a person's behavior. Source.