For thousands of years, meditation has been used in Eastern religious and spiritual traditions as a method of uniting the spirit and the mind.
Through the years, medicine men and tribal doctors have used the healing benefits of meditation. In more modern times, meditation has become
a popular way to relieve the stress from a fast-paced world as well as helping to improve both mental and physical health.
It is now well known that physical exercise can alter hormone levels within the body and have a positive effect on our moods, however more
recent research has demonstrated that meditation works in a related manner and offers similar benefits. Despite the obvious metabolic
differences between running and meditation, similar positive mood changes occur after both of these activities.
Spontaneous thoughts are often cited as a symptom of depression. For this reason, scientists have investigated ways in which these
thoughts can be controlled without the use of drugs. Meditation and prayer can help prevent depression by reducing intrusive thoughts.
In one study, 20 men and women were monitored after prayer, meditation, and carrying out a memory task. The results showed that there was
a significant reduction in thought arousal during both the memory task and the reciting of prayer after meditation.
Meditation has long been used to help relax, focus and attenuate anxiety by reducing arousal state.
A study at the University of Massachusetts Medical School revealed that 22 medical patients with anxiety disorders showed clinically and
statistically significant improvements in symptoms of anxiety and panic following an 8-week stress reduction intervention based on mindfulness
meditation. Three years later, a follow-up study learned that the same subjects still had reduced anxiety and concluded that mindfulness
meditation can have long-term benefits in the treatment of anxiety disorders.
A large review study looked at 60 studies using meditation of the treatment of anxiety disorders and concluded that meditation therapy was an
effective method for treating anxiety disorders.
Whether practiced for spiritual reasons, relaxation, or for treatment of disease, meditation has been shown to be beneficial for stress
reduction. A controlled study at the Medical College of Georgia found that 15 minutes of meditation twice a day reduced measures of
stress with 35 adolescents.
Stress reduction programs involving group counseling, psychoeducation, relaxation training, and meditation can reduce stress and help to prevent
and manage health problems relating to stress.
Meditation reduces stress by restoring the body to a calm state and assisting the body with reparation. When practicing meditation, the
heart rate and breathing slows down, blood pressure normalizes, and oxygen is used more efficiently. Additionally, the adrenal glands produce
less cortisol, which improves immune function.
In a longitudinal study lasting four years, 64 post baccalaureate students practiced deep breathing meditation exercises daily. Students
reported decreased test anxiety, nervousness, and self-doubt. The researchers concluded that deep breathing meditation provided students with
a solution for meeting challenging academic and professional stress.
There are many different types of meditation, including sitting, standing, and walking methods. While reducing stress, meditation has also
been shown to improve attention, reduce anxiety, enhance cognition, and improve quality of life throughout the lifespan.
Meditation has been effectively incorporated as part of substance abuse rehabilitation in treatment programs.
Investigators have authored several reviews of studies looking into the benefits of transcendental meditation (TM) in treating substance abuse
and concluded that TM influences both psychological and physiological health with addictive behaviors. Additionally, TM has been shown to
help recovering substance abusers in maintaining abstinence.
Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) is a type of relation psychotherapy that involves learning meditation techniques which help to elicit
a feeling of peace and relaxation. A study at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine revealed that MBSR is a highly effective smoking
intervention. Eighteen subjects were enrolled in the study with an average smoking history of almost 20 cigarettes per day for over 26 years.
The MBSR instructors taught mindfulness techniques in eight weekly group sessions. All 18 participants attempted smoking cessation during the
seventh week without any additional therapies. At the end of six weeks, 10 of 18 subjects (56%) had quit smoking. Researchers noted that “Compliance
with meditation was positively associated with smoking abstinence and decreases in stress and affective distress.”
While there are many methods of meditation used to treat mental health problems, some differ greatly. Some require a person to close
their eyes and be still, giving deliberation to the sensations felt associated with breathing, while others involve focusing on a particular
object, such as the flame of a candle, or perhaps slowly reciting scripture passages. Regardless of the different techniques practiced, all
hold to the unique principal of quiet thought and focused attention in order to reach the desired state of rumination.
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