Meditation
How it Can Change your Health in Just Minutes a Day
by Joanna Rosenfeld, ND
Qi Integrated Health
1764 West 7th Avenue
Vancouver, BC V6J 5A3
http://qiintegratedhealth.com
[email protected]
If you have taken an active interest in
your own health-care treatment, then
you have likely heard about the benefits
of meditation and mindfulness. But do
you really know why regular meditation
is so beneficial? Common self-reported
benefits include reduced levels of anxiety,
depression and pain; data which have
been reinforced through many clinical
trials.[1]
However, increased scientific research
in this field, combined with improved
technology, has broadened our
perspective on meditation. Practicing mindfulness through meditation improves our
brain function and our immune system, reduces our propensity for developing chronic
disease, and even slows down the aging process.
Stress and Your Health
An estimated 60–90% of health‑care visits are related to mind-body stress‑induced
conditions.[2] The stress response, also
called the “fight-or-flight response”, is the
body’s way of managing a threat — real or
imagined. The threat is first recognized by
a region of the brain called the amygdala,
which creates a downstream release of
epinephrine and norepinephrine into the
bloodstream. These hormones cause
increased heart rate, blood pressure, and
breathing rate, as well as increased blood
sugar levels. This reflects a general state
of increased arousal and metabolic demands, in order to prepare the body to manage
the threat. After this immediate response, another area in the brain, the hypothalamus,
kicks into gear to promote increased release of cortisol as a way to keep the body in
a hyperalert state for longer periods of time. If the body is exposed to stress for long
periods of time, cortisol levels will remain high in the bloodstream. Continuous elevated
cortisol levels contribute to increased levels of inflammation in the body, weight gain,
decreased immune function, higher risk of developing cardiovascular disease, and
accelerated aging. So what helps us in the short‑term to manage stressful conditions
that can really hurt us in the long run?
How Meditation Can Help
Research is delving into meditation and
mindfulness as a way to counteract
the stress response and the ensuing
negative health effects. Researchers at
the Benson Henry Institute, a division of
the Massachusetts Hospital and Harvard
Medical School, are devoted to research
in the field of mind-body medicine, and
specifically the relaxation response.
According to Herbert Benson, director
of the Benson-Henry Institute, the relaxation response is a countereffect to the fightor-flight response. The relaxation response is elicited through repetition of a word or
phrase, while dismissing other thoughts. It is accompanied by decreased oxygen
consumption, decreased blood pressure, and decreased levels of stress hormones.
Further analysis has recently revealed that the effects have also been impressive at the
structural, cellular, and genetic levels.
Immune System
Stress decreases the effectiveness of the immune system, which is why people often
get sick following periods of stress. In an animal study looking at the effect of stress
on wound healing from a second-degree burn, rats who were kept in isolation, which
is a stressful environment for them, experienced much slower healing times than rats
who were kept in a social environment.[3] Additionally, when rats in isolation were
given a form of stimulation in their cage, time of wound healing significantly improved.
This indicates that although stress does downregulate immunity and wound healing,
these effects can be mitigated by changing environment and stress levels.[4] In other
good news, meditation can help to counter the immunosuppressive effects of stress,
and even provide an immune boost. In a study looking at the effectiveness of the flu
vaccine, subjects were divided into an experimental group practicing daily meditation
for eight weeks and a control group. At the end of
eight weeks, the experimental group had more
antibodies following vaccination when compared to
nonmeditators. This increased responsiveness of the
immune system is an indication of enhanced immunity
in people who regularly practice meditation, and
provides an effective strategy to offset stress‑induced
immune depression.[5] Meditation can also be used
in conjunction with other treatments to improve
outcomes. Psoriasis is an immune-mediated skin
condition often treated with UV light therapy. Patients
who listened to a guided meditation while receiving
conventional UV treatment had faster time to skin
clearing than controls receiving UV treatment but no
guided meditation.[6]
Genetic Profile
Meditation has also been shown to have an effect at the level of gene expression.
Researchers analyzed gene profiles of subjects who had never practiced meditation,
and then again after completing an eight week daily meditation program. After eight
weeks, the genetic profile showed upregulation, or increased activity, of certain beneficial
genes, and downregulation of harmful ones. The upregulated genes coded for three
important functions:
·· Improved mitochondrial efficiency, which is the area of the cell responsible for
energy production.
·· Increased insulin production, allowing for better blood glucose control.
·· More stable telomeres, which is a factor in slowing the rate of cell aging.
Genes that became less active included NF‑kappa‑B clusters, which are involved
in chronic inflammation and its related conditions such as high blood pressure,
inflammatory bowel disease, and certain cancers. These changes were even observed
before and after just one session of meditation, demonstrating that meditation changes
our genetic profile in just minutes. By comparison, long-term meditators (three or more
years) had beneficial genetic profiles at baseline, reflecting long-term changes in gene
expression.[7]
Functional and Structural Brain Changes
Meditation practice is able to influence both the structure and function of the brain.
Long-term meditators have increased gamma activity, which is associated with peak
concentration and higher levels of cognitive functioning. Increases in gamma activity
were even seen in people who had only been practicing meditation for one week,
demonstrating the plasticity of the brain.[8] As mentioned earlier, the amygdala is called
into action during the initial stress response, but meditation actually decreases activity
in this area, resulting in decreased arousal and self‑perceived levels of stress, and an
increased sense of well‑being.[9] Also, during meditation the paralimbic cortex becomes
more active, which is the part of the brain responsible for emotion processing, goal
setting, motivation, and self‑control.[9] Regular meditation can also offset age-related
decline in your reaction time.[10]
In addition to functional changes in the brain, there are also structural differences in the
brain of people who meditate. As people age, the brain shrinks and loses grey matter.
However, 50‑year old meditators have the same amount of grey matter as 25‑year
old nonmeditators, demonstrating meditation has a protective effect on the aging
brain. Areas of the brain responsible for selective attention, concentration, reaction
time, memory, empathy, and compassion all showed increased grey matter and size in
people who regularly practice mindfulness.[11]
Eliciting the Relaxation Response
So, how can you incorporate meditation and
mindfulness into your day so that you can start
reaping the multitude of benefits? There are many
meditation facilities or online resources and CDs
that will help you get started. Herbert Benson
recommends something even more simple, and
benefits are seen in just 10 minutes a day.[12]
·· Choose an appropriate environment — Ideally,
choose a quiet and calm environment, with as few
distractions as possible.
·· Find a mental stimulus — Choose a word,
thought, phrase repeated silently or aloud. This
is a way to break the train of distracting thoughts
that enter your mind. Close your eyes or use a soft
gaze. Try to coordinate your inhale and exhale breath as you repeat the sentence
or word. Examples of words include “peace,” “one,” “trust,” or sentences such as
“I am relaxed” or “I am breathing in calm
and breathing out tension”.
··
Adopt an attitude — Adopt a passive
attitude and when distracting thoughts
occur, they should be disregarded and
attention redirected to the repetition.
Do not worry about the outcome of the
exercise, or how well you are performing.
Adopt a “let it happen” attitude. This is
the most important part of the process —
wandering thoughts are expected, and it
is important that you acknowledge them
and then return to your repetition.
··
Positioning — Sit or lie down in
a comfortable position to prevent undue muscle tension. This may mean sitting
cross-legged or lying down, but be careful not to fall asleep! Swaying or rocking
may prevent falling asleep if you have a tendency to do so during this practice.
It’s never too late to start enjoying the physiological, emotional, and spiritual benefits of
this rewarding practice — your body and mind will thank you!
References
1.
Goyal, M., et al. “Meditation programs for psychological stress and well-being: A systematic review and meta-analysis.” JAMA Internal Medicine
Vol. 174, No. 3 (2014): 357–368.
2.
Benson, H. “A living history of mind body medicine: From the stress response to the relaxation response.” Benson-Henry Institute, 2014.
3.
Levine, J.B., et al. “Isolation rearing impairs wound healing and is associated with increased locomotion and decreased immediate early gene
expression in the medial prefrontal cortex of juvenile rats.” Neuroscience Vol. 151, No. 2 (2008): 589–603.
4.
Vitalo, A.G., et al. “Environmental enrichment with nesting material accelerates wound healing in isolation-reared rats.” Behavioural Brain
Research Vol. 226, No. 2 (2012): 606–612.
5.
Davidson, R.J. et al. “Alterations in brain and immune function produced by mindfulness meditation.” Psychosomatic Medicine Vol. 65, No. 4
(2003): 564–570.
6.
Kabat-Zinn, J., et al. “Influence of a mindfulness meditation-based stress reduction intervention on rates of skin clearing in patients with
moderate to severe psoriasis undergoing phototherapy (UVB) and photochemotherapy (PUVA).” Psychosomatic Medicine Vol. 60, No. 5
(1998): 625–632.
7.
Bhasin, M.K., et al. “Relaxation response induces temporal transcriptome changes in energy metabolism, insulin secretion and inflammatory
pathways.” PLoS One Vol. 8, No. 5 (2013): e62817.
8.
Lutz, A., et al. “Long-term meditators self-induce high-amplitude gamma synchrony during mental practice.” Proceedings of the National
Academy of Sciences of the United States of America Vol. 101, No. 46 (2004): 16369–16373.
9.
Lazar, S.W., et al. “Functional brain mapping of the relaxation response and meditation.” Neuroreport Vol. 11, No. 7 (2000): 1581–1585.
10. Pagnoni, G., and M. Cekic. “Age effects on gray matter volume and attentional performance in Zen meditation” Neurobiology of Aging Vol. 28,
No. 10 (2007): 1623–1627.
11. Lazar, S.W., et al. “Meditation experience is associated with increased cortical thickness.” Neuroreport Vol. 16, No. 17 (2005): 1893–1897.
12. Benson, H., and M.Z. Klipper. The relaxation response. New York: William Morrow & Co., 1975 (reissue 2000), 240 pp.