Studies that Show the Impact of Meditation

Meditation is one of the simplest and most efficient ways to change the life of a person for the better. This ancient practice can help us to relieve stress and anxiety, and also improve several areas of our lives.

According to science, incorporating the daily habit of meditation over a prolonged period has multiple benefits for those that practice meditation.

Among them, the following stand out:

• Improved memory

• Improved learning capacity

• More empathy towards others

• Stress reduction

• Reduced risk of depression

• Improved capacity for focus and concentration

• Reduced intensity of painful processes

• Improved functioning of the cardiovascular system

All of this is based on studies that we will name below. Perhaps the most surprising effect of meditation is the changes it can cause in certain areas of the brain, more specifically, in the hippocampus and also in the amygdala.

Studies about the Benefits of Meditation

Let's get to the actual studies. The first one we will share is by agroup of neurologists from the Waisman Center of the University ofWisconsin, in the United States, in collaboration with the ShechenMonastery in Kathmandu, Nepal. They studied the brains of a group ofyoung Buddhist monks and compared them with those of university studentsin the United States.

The results showed that there was a greater density of thickness and gray matter in the monks' hippocampus, which is the area of the brain related to learning, concentration, empathy, and memory. It also showed a reduced size of the amygdala, which is related to stress and anxiety.

Furthermore, a study carried out in 2016 by researchers from Carnegie Mellon University showed how mindfulness meditation can improve concentration and decision-making abilities.

The study took 35 unemployed adults that were looking for work. One group participated in a three-day program focused on Mindfulness Meditation while the other group was sent to a standard three-day relaxation program. The brain scans that were carried out before and after showed an increase in the connectivity between the parts of the brain that control attention only in the participants that carried out the mindfulness program.

Richard Davidson, Ph.D. professor of psychology and psychiatry at the Wisconsin-Madison University and founder of the Center for Healthy Minds explains that studies show that it is possible to train our attention and meta-conscience and that this is an ability that we can learn.

Another study, carried out in 2009, showed that meditation greatly improved the health of patients with coronary heart disease. Additionally, in 2007, the New York Times echoed another study that assured that people who meditated improved their long-term concentration capacity, which is to say they could stay more focused on an activity without getting tired or distracted for a longer time.

A 2008 study published in the PloS One magazine showed how people that practiced meditation had more capacity to identify the ailing sounds of people in suffering, and that they experienced more intense feelings of compassion than people who don't meditate.

Finally, a study carried out by scientists from Spain, France, and the United States showed how meditation inhibits the expression of genes related to processes of inflammation and pain, which may reduce the risk of some types of cancer, and the formation of atheromas.

Now that you know about the benefits of meditation, we invite you to download the Hakuna App for free. You will be able to enjoy over 1000 meditations and techniques that will help you find the wellbeing that you are looking for.