The Effects of Meditation on Your Brain and Your Life. Part 2 of 3.

The relaxation response is a natural reflex mechanism that Herbert Benson, MD, a cardiologist and professor at Harvard Medical School, discovered could be triggered by 20 minutes of daily meditation practice that included a quiet environment, repetition of a sound or phrase, a receptive attitude, and a comfortable sitting position in the early '70s. In essence, he removed what he believed to be the fundamental components of TM from their spiritual context and pushed a generic substitute. Once activated, this reflex appears to promote relaxation, lower tension, and block the fight-or-flight response. In further research, Benson discovered that the relaxation response was helpful for conditions including premenstrual syndrome, anxiety, alcohol use, migraines, hypertension, and heart disease. His 1975 best-seller, The Relaxation Response, was the first book to use evidence-based arguments to advocate meditation.

The results showed that meditation had special effects on various health parameters, from blood pressure and cholesterol levels to lifespan and frequency of medical visits. TM and relaxation-response research dominated the scientific study of meditation in the 1970s and 1980s. Here is a sample of some scientific results on the physiological benefits of meditation:

Heart rate: Studies consistently reveal that during meditation, the heart rate decreases by 2 to 15 beats per minute, with more significant drops observed among seasoned meditators. One of the widely researched indicators is blood pressure, which is regularly lowered in several trials by as much as 25 mmHg systolic (among normal and moderately hypertensive subjects).

• Brainwaves: As previously mentioned, both during and in between practice periods, meditators exhibit greater alpha rhythms. Advanced meditation practitioners occasionally experience short theta waves, which they describe as serene, expansive, and self-aware.

• Dehabituation: Unlike yogic meditators trained to withdraw their senses rather than heighten their awareness, which habituates to sounds and progressively lose their receptivity, Zen meditators perceive sounds afresh no matter how frequently they occur.

• Stress hormones: As one might anticipate from a practice known for reducing stress, advanced practitioners of meditation experience reductions in cortisol, the main stress hormone produced by the adrenals, of up to 25% and lactate, a chemical released into the bloodstream during stress, of up to 33%.

• Cholesterol: Regular meditation practice can lower blood cholesterol by up to 30 mg/dL.

• Metabolism: According to multiple studies, meditation lowers oxygen consumption by up to 55%, CO2 elimination by up to 50%, and breathing rate from the typical 14–16 breaths per minute to just 1–2.

• The average lifespan of TM practitioners is roughly 8 years longer than that of non-meditators; according to long-term research, they experience 50% fewer cancer deaths and a 30% reduction in cardiac mortality.

• The utilisation of medical services: An 11-year study of TM practitioners revealed that compared to patients in a non-meditating control group, they racked up 74% fewer hospital days, 55% fewer outpatient visits, and 63% fewer overall medical costs.

• Evaluating the research's early limitations; even though the early studies on meditation may have been encouraging, they did have some important drawbacks.

Much early research did not employ the gold-standard, randomly selected control-group technique generally regarded by the scientific community. Instead, some research concentrated on a small number of chosen participants. In contrast, others failed to fully contrast meditating participants with non-meditating controls. Some of the early TM studies were questioned since they were financed and even carried out by the TM organisation itself, much as many studies of new pharmaceuticals are tainted by the fact that they are supported by large pharmaceutical firms. TM charges a significant fee to teach its method rather than providing it for free or at a low cost, as most other contemplative traditions do, adding fuel to this criticism. Naturally, when seasoned mindfulness practitioners research the advantages of mindfulness, a similar bias may appear. Many, but not all, of the TM study findings, have been confirmed in further investigations.

Due to no fault, the early researchers lacked access to the more advanced technology that has grown and developed in recent decades. As a result, rather than more long-term neural changes, most early meditation studies concentrated on quantifiable behavioural, health, and lifestyle advantages. Researchers have only recently assessed how deeply and permanently meditation alters the brain. Brain Imaging of Meditation EEG measurements of the frequency and amplitude of the electromagnetic wave patterns produced by the brain was once the only way for scientists to gain a limited understanding of how the brain worked. They now have a better grasp of which brain areas connect to certain neuropsychological functions and a more accurate method for measuring activity and even development in specific areas. As a result, increasing studies indicate that meditation has effects beyond mere results. It profoundly and permanently affects how we perceive life and changes awareness itself. Many of these advancements were brought about by advancing technology, as is so common in science. Scientists can now slide meditators into a functional MRI (fMRI) or a SPECT scanner to obtain clear images of where and how the brain is being activated based on oxygen consumption or photon emission , as opposed to merely sticking electrodes on meditators' skulls and wiring them to basic EEG machines .

Because of these scientific advancements, scientists can now identify the parts of the brain that a specific meditation technique stimulates. They can then convert these discoveries into possible modifications in behaviour and mood. The researchers' findings are significant not just for people who meditate and for others who could utilise meditation to lessen stress or treat sickness. Still, they also show that the brain is far more adaptable than previously believed. In fact, this recently discovered neuroplasticity is inspired by efforts to employ meditation and other practices to keep the brain active and expand far into old age. There's little question that research will advance along with technology. And perhaps in the not-too-distant future, when you see your doctor with concerns about anxiety, depression, pain, or cognitive loss, you will be prescribed meditation rather than painkillers, antidepressants, or medication.

Come back tomorrow for the third and final part.

Be well.

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