Abstract

Meditation involves psychophysical training which can result in a range of benefits including creating a calm mind and increasing self-awareness, relaxation, and tranquility. Increasing evidence, mostly based on short-term focused interventions, suggests that meditation-based activities may also have favorable effects on physical wellbeing including cellular aging. Hence, the aim of this study was to investigate if continued practice of meditation benefited quality of life, state of mindfulness, and plasma telomerase level in healthy adults. 30 long-term and skilled meditators were recruited from meditation centers in different parts of the island following a two-tier screening process of 70 eligible participants and 30 age- and gender-matched healthy non-meditators were recruited from the community. Mindfulness level and the quality of life were measured using the Five Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire (FFMQ) and Quality of Life Questionnaire, respectively, while the levels of plasma telomerase enzyme were measured using Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay. Skilled meditators had a better mindfulness level (p < 0.001) and quality of life (QOL; p < 0.001) than those in the comparison group. Similarly, higher plasma telomerase levels were observed in skilled meditators compared to non-meditators (p = 0.002). Trait mindfulness level and plasma telomerase level showed a significant relationship with the duration of meditation practice (p = 0.046 and p = 0.011, respectively). Regression analysis indicated that trait mindfulness level (p < 0.001) significantly predicts the plasma telomerase level. The findings of this comparative study add to the evidence on sustained benefits of meditation on wellbeing and healthy aging and supports incorporating meditation-based activities into lifestyle practices.

Highlights

  • The fast paced and complex lifestyles with multiple demands at work and in personal lives lead to anxiety and stress experienced by many individuals in the present day

  • We observed that meditators had significantly higher levels of mindfulness, quality of life (QOL), and plasma telomerase compared to age- and gender-matched non-meditators

  • Our results showed a significant association between trait mindfulness with plasma telomerase level and that mindfulness and plasma telomerase improved with time spent on meditation

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Summary

Introduction

The fast paced and complex lifestyles with multiple demands at work and in personal lives lead to anxiety and stress experienced by many individuals in the present day. If the stress is acute, the human body typically recovers rapidly from it. Meditation Effects on healthy Aging (Rohleder, 2019). Meditation has been perpetuated to this day in a variety of techniques including loving-kindness, body scanning, Zen, mindfulness, breathing, and concentration meditation which have its roots in different religions and traditions (Matko et al, 2021). Consistent with previous work describing the impact of positive psychological health on human longevity, meditation has gradually become a focus of scientific interest to promote healthy aging (Tolahunase et al, 2017). Quality of life (QOL), psychological attributes such as mindfulness and molecular processes including telomere maintenance related to aging are sensitive to meditative practices (Astin, 1997; Hoge et al, 2013; Alda et al, 2016; Chang et al, 2018)

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