The Health Benefits of Mindfulness & Meditation
Mindfulness and meditation have been increasingly popularised by health gurus, scientists, influencers and medical practitioners. Tonnes of research has emerged throughout the last decade, indicating this century-old practice can deliver a myriad of health benefits.
Meditation is the practice of sustained attention and awareness to achieve a clear, calm and stable mental state. Mindfulness is a form of meditation that involves intense awareness of feelings and sensations, without interpretation or judgement. Breathing techniques, guided imagery and techniques to relax the mind and body are implemented.
So, how does regular practice translate into health benefits?
Decreased Emotional Reactivity
Through maintaining focused attention, meditation and mindfulness may improve the ability to recognise emotional states as they arise. Bodily sensations, such as the increased heart rate associated with panic disorder, can heighten emotional reactivity and perpetuate anxiety. It is suggested that regular practice of these therapies reduces amygdala activation (the brain centre responsible for emotions and emotional behaviour), suppressing emotional reactivity. This can be helpful for states such as anxiety and anger, when initial reactions may not be helpful.
Enhanced Cognitive Functioning
Attentional control is central to any meditative practice. It is needed to maintain awareness between distracting thought processes and the meditative task. Regular practice encourages the brain to disengage from distractions and return mental focus to the intended task. Additionally, certain regions in the brain are altered to improve memory and executive function (including organisation, time management, planning and prioritisation).
Improved Mood
Researchers found 8 weeks of regular meditation significantly relieves emotions associated with depression and anxiety while improving sleep quality. It is prescribed as an effective tool against depressive relapse, reducing the recurrence rate from 78% to 36%. Further, during meditation focus and attention are directed towards decluttering the mind, removing unwanted and crowded thoughts contributing to stress.
Management of Mental Health Disorders
Meditation techniques are increasingly applied to individuals struggling with substance-abuse disorders, including alcoholism, tobacco use, marijuana use and stimulant use disorders. The practice reduces emotional distress, cravings and withdrawal symptoms and has been found to relieve chronic pain coexisting with opioid addiction.
Cognitive processes such as executive functioning, working memory and attention are improved in adults with ADHD, as well as anxiety and depressive emotions. Meditation and mindfulness have also been found to reduce depressive emotions in those experiencing PTSD, encouraging a return to normal life.
If you’ve been contemplating whether or not to incorporate daily meditation into your routine, I hope these insights gave you the extra push you needed.
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References
Shen, H., Chen, M., & Cui, D. (2020). Biological mechanism study of meditation and its application in mental disorders. General psychiatry, 33(4), e100214. https://doi.org/10.1136/gpsych-2020-100214
Wielgosz, J., Goldberg, S. B., Kral, T. R. A., Dunne, J. D., & Davidson, R. J. (2019). Mindfulness Meditation and Psychopathology. Annual review of clinical psychology, 15, 285–316. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-clinpsy-021815-093423
