Thanks to Dr.
Lorin Roche for bringing several of these studies to our attention.
Increases Happiness
Activity in the right pre-frontal cortex is associated with
negative emotions such as stress and anxiety while activity in the left pre-frontal
cortext is associated with feelings of well-being and positive attitudes.
Meditation transforms the brain so that more activity occurs in the left pre-frontal
cortext. A large-scale study by Neuroscientist Richard Davidson at the University
of Wisconsin, showed that experienced meditators had a greater ratio of activity
in the left pre-frontal cortex than non-meditators. Furthermore, over an 8
week period, people instructed in meditation showed an increase in activity
in their left pre-frontal cortex compared to a control group that did not
show any increase.
-Destructive Emotions by Daniel Goleman, P.340
Improves Immune System
A study by Jon Kabat-Zinn at the UMass Medical School showed
that a group of people who meditated for 8 weeks, for an hour 2 to 3 times
a week, had a greater immune response to a flu vaccine than a control group.
-"Destructive Emotions" by Daniel Goleman. P. 344
Reduces Stress
Neuroscientists have found that over an 8 week period, meditators shift their brain activity to different areas of the cortex - brain waves in the stress-prone right frontal cortex move to the calmer left frontal cortex. This mental shift decreases the negative effects of stress, mild depression and anxiety. There is also less activity in the amygdala, where the brain processes fear. Meditation also decreases the amount of cortisol, the body's stress hormone.
Improves Perception and Memory
College students that practiced meditation displayed significant improvements
in performance over a two-week period on a perceptual and short-term memory
test involving the identification of familiar letter sequences presented rapidly.
They were compared with subjects randomly assigned to a routine of twice-daily
rest with eyes closed, and with subjects who made no change in their daily
routine.
-Memory and Cognition, 10: 207-215, 1982.
Reduced Need for Medical Care
A study of health insurance statistics on over 2,000 people practicing meditation
over a five-year period found that meditators consistently had less than half
the hospitalization than did other groups with comparable age, gender, profession,
and insurance terms. The difference between the meditation and non-meditation
groups increased in older-age brackets. In addition, the meditators had fewer
incidents of illness in seventeen medical treatment categories, including
87% less hospitalization for heart disease and 55% less for cancer. The meditators
consistently had more than 50% fewer doctor visits than did other groups.
-Psychosomatic Medicine, 49: 493-507, 1987.
Reversal of Aging Process
Biological age measures how old a person is physiologically. As a group,
long-term meditators who had been practicing meditation for more than five
years were physiologically twelve years younger than their chronological age,
as measured by reduction of blood pressure, and better near-point version
and auditory discrimination. Short-term meditators were physiologically five
years younger than their chronological age. The study controlled for the effects
of diet and exercise.
-International Journal of Neuroscience, 16: 53-58, 1982.
Reverses Heart Disease
The journal Stroke in 2005 reported that 60 African-Americans
with atherosclerosis, or hardening of the arteries, practiced meditation for
six to nine months. (African-Americans are twice as likely to die from cardiovascular
disease as are whites.) The meditators showed a marked decrease in the thickness
of their artery walls, while the nonmeditators actually showed an increase.
The change for the meditation group could potentially bring about an 11 percent
decrease in the risk of heart attack and an 8 percent to 15 percent decrease
in the risk of stroke.
-Psychology
Today
Increased Creativity
This study used the Torrance Test of Creative Thinking to measure figural
and verbal creativity in a control group and in a group that subsequently
learned meditation. On the post test five months later, the meditation group
scored significantly higher on figural originality and flexibility and on
verbal fluency.
-Journal of Creative Behavior, 13: 169-190, 1979, and Dissertations Abstracts
International, 38: 3372-3373, 1978.
Introduction
to Meditation 
Meditation Practices Benefits of Meditation Meditation
Blog Meditation Resources Meditation Home
Contact Links About
