How does meditation affect health?

Meditation can cause significant effects on physical and mental health.

This practice has been done for thousands of years in lots of cultures and religions, today it functions as a way to deal with stress mostly. Research has shown that meditation has significant health benefits, it betters the immune system, reduces inflammation, betters the metabolism and helps with healthy aging.

Meditation is a positive influence when it comes to diseases such as diabetes, hypertension, fibromyalgia. It helps with lowering cholesterol levels in the blood as well as regulating blood pressure levels, improving proper breathing and affecting brain waves.

Mental health can also be significantly positively affected by meditation. The positive relaxing emotions and experiences associated with meditation can help in the battle against all sorts of mental disorders like social anxiety, post traumatic stress disorder, anxiety and depression. It improves mood and the relaxing effects can be a big help in stress regulation.

Meditation has proved itself on the neurobiological level as well, research done using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) have shown changes in brain structures cause by meditation. These changes are diverse and include, among others, the activation of cognitive and emotional centers in the brain, positive effects on the aging of brain tissue and improvements in brain functions, such as cognition, learning, attention and alike.

Research has shown that efficient meditation can even influence the speed at which telomeres shorten, which means it can play a role in delaying aging, because the life span of a cell is closely related to the regulation of telomeres.

The brain is an incredibly complex and neuroplastic structure, which means it can change and adapt as needed, and we don’t understand it fully.

Types and techniques of meditation are numerous and varying, usually based on calmly focusing on one thing, such as breathing, and disregarding all other thoughts in this time frame. It is a good idea to try finding a specific type of meditation that suits you the best. You shouldn’t expect too much in the beginning, it is all right to take it slowly with a practice like this to get used to and adjust to it.

*This text is intended for informational purposes only. If you experience any symptoms, it is recommended that you seek advice from your doctor or a qualified healthcare professional.*

*Image taken from : https://unsplash.com/photos/woman-sitting-on-sand-ie8WW5KUx3o*

Jamil, A., Gutlapalli, S. D., Ali, M., Oble, M. J. P., Sonia, S. N., George, S., Shahi, S. R., Ali, Z., Abaza, A., & Mohammed, L. (2023). Meditation and its mental and physical health benefits in 2023. Cureus. https://doi.org/10.7759/cureus.40650