Benefits Of Meditation Research Articles

Perceived Benefits and Doubts of Participants in a Weekly Meditation Study

We examined perceived benefits and doubts of participants in a meditation intervention study. We conducted a content analysis of weekly written reports from 65 college students practicing meditation over the course of an academic semester. As anticipated, the majority of participants reported at least one benefit of meditation, and most of these individuals also reported at least one doubt. Benefits fell broadly into cognitive, emotional, and spiritual categories. Types of benefits reported extend beyond many existing quantitative measures focusing on awareness and attention. These results affirm the need for additional measures and multiple methods to capture the depth and breadth of mindfulness experience. Doubts fell broadly into cognitive and physical challenges during meditation sessions, difficulty finding the time and motivation to meditate outside class sessions, and questions about the efficacy of meditation and self-efficacy to engage in it. Descriptions of doubts may inform how mindfulness leaders provide instruction in research and practice settings, and might mitigate attrition.

Meditation, learning, organizational innovation and performance

PurposeThis study attempts to investigate: the effect of meditation experience on employees' self‐directed learning (SDL) readiness and organizational innovative (OI) ability as well as organizational performance (OP); and the relationships among SDL, OI, and OP.Design/methodology/approachAn empirical study of 15 technological companies (n=412) in Taiwan is conducted, utilizing the collected survey data to test the relationships among the three dimensions.FindingsThe results show that: the employees' meditation experience significantly and positively influenced employees' SDL readiness, companies' OI capability and OP; and the study found that SDL has a direct and significant impact on OI, and that OI has direct and significant influences on OP.Research limitations/implicationsThe generalization of the present study is constrained by: the existence of possible biases of the participants; the variations of length, type, and form of meditation demonstrated by the employees in these high tech companies; and the fact that local data collection in Taiwan may present different cultural characteristics which may be quite different from those in other areas or countries. Managerial implications are presented at the end of the work.Practical implicationsThe findings indicate that SDL can only impact organizational innovation through employees openness to a challenge, inquisitive nature, self‐understanding, and acceptance of responsibility for learning. Such finding implies better OI capability under such conditions, thus organizations may encourage employees to take risks or accept new opportunities through various incentives, such as monetary rewards or public recognitions. More specifically, the present study discovers that while administration innovation is the most important element influencing an organization's financial performance, market innovation is the key component in an organization's market performance.Social implicationsThe present study discovers that meditation experience positively affects SDL readiness, and OI ability and performance. The finding implies spiritual practice improves individual capability (i.e. in learning), as well as organizational capability (i.e. in innovativeness), which consequently enhances the outcomes of organizations.Originality/valueExisting studies prove the benefits of meditation on both spiritual enlightenment and clinical psychology. Existing research documents that meditation practice helps relieve pain, improves physical health, reduces stress, and supports relaxation. No direct evidence shows the effect of meditation on SDL and OI, and only some evidence supporting the influence of meditation on OP. Nevertheless, the finding on the effect of the meditation experience in a work setting adds values to the current literature.

The real powers of meditation

Mystics will tell you that it transforms the mind, but what does science have to say about the benefits of meditation?

Meditation and Treatment of Female Trauma Survivors of Interpersonal Abuses: Utilizing Clients’ Strengths

Clinical challenges encountered by trauma survivors revolve primarily around (a) recognizing and differentiating current emotional experiences and physical cues from trauma-based responses and (b) learning how to regulate emotions and behaviors that allow beneficial fulfillment of needs and goals as defined by current life context and not past trauma. Meditation provides a different and complementary “technology” for conceptualizing and providing treatment to trauma survivors. By training clients to attend to the present, enhancing their ability to stay physiologically calm, and increasing positive emotions, meditation practice allows clients to manifest their internal resources to address the problems of trauma. This article discusses meditation practice for treating trauma survivors and describes the meditation experience of two clients to illustrate the potential benefits of meditation in their recovery process.

Health Benefits of Meditation: What the Newest Research Shows

Health Benefits of Meditation: What the Newest Research Shows

Meditação Dirigida: Produtividade e Qualidade de Vida

The benefits of meditation have already been proven through studies, both in social and family life as well as in various large companies. This activity has been developed for 4 years by the Veterinary Medicine and Zoology Faculty at the University of São Paulo, as an integral part of the University Open to Senior Citizens program. Based on information in literature, and focused principally on the study of the response to relaxation, we propose in this essay the method of Directed Meditation. The 41 participants that chose to fill out the questionaire were people who participated in the course for at least 6 months, the majority over 50 years old and with higher education. The sessions were done in a closed room, with chairs and low illumination. During the entire period of meditation, around 30 to 35 minutes, music which consisted of sounds of birds and water was played. Suggestions were made so that all participants entered into deep relaxation, a state which promotes improvements in the physical, mental and spiritual states. In 97% of the written responses on the questionaire which delineated family, habit and physical and emotional profiles, improvements in calmness, tranquility and security were indicated, as well as a reduction in anxiety and insomnia. These results agree with all studies encountered in literature, whose information is part of the confirmation of the benefits of meditation in the population studied, offering as well as, the internal and external community, another extension service promoted by USP.

Saying 'Om' Instead of 'Ow'

![Figure][1] CREDIT: ROBERT WALLIS/CORBIS The pain-relieving benefits of meditation aren't merely in people's minds but in their brains, too, according to a new study. Neuroscientists at the University of Montreal in Canada turned up the heat on a metal cube applied to the legs of 17 male and female Zen meditation practitioners between the ages of 22 and 57, and 18 matched controls. On average, the meditators, who had between 2 and 30 years of daily practice, tolerated an extra 2°C before saying they were in moderate pain. The team then took MRI scans of the subjects and measured the thickness of certain pain-processing regions in the cerebral cortex. The meditators had greater thickness in a region of the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC), an area thought to mediate pain's unpleasantness. Thicker ACCs were also correlated with less sensitivity to pain in the leg test, the team reported last month in the journal Emotion . The study's lead author, Joshua Grant, says that although physical activities are known to change brains, “I don't know if it's ever been shown that a mental activity—placing your attention on something”—can cause physical changes in that organ. The study “demonstrates convincingly the impact of meditation practice on pain perception,” says Bogdan Draganksi, a neuroscientist at University College London. “The idea of training the ‘emotional muscle’ … is very tempting.” [1]: pending:yes

Searching for Mindfulness in the Brain: A Process-Oriented Approach to Examining the Neural Correlates of Mindfulness

There has been great interest of late in trying to capture the benefits of meditation by scanning meditators’ brains. In this paper, we argue that a successful neuroscience of mindfulness needs to be based on an adequate psychological analysis. We present a definition of mindfulness based on four psychological processes that are relatively well understood, and we show how this model may help organize neuroimaging research and create a bridge to clinical applications. This framework provides an approach to neuroscience research grounded in psychological principles and theory. We propose that this is critical for advancing scientific endeavors such that the knowledge gained helps improve the human condition.

The benefits of meditation vis‐à‐vis emotional intelligence, perceived stress and negative mental health

AbstractThis paper evaluates the benefits of meditation in regard to emotional intelligence (EI), perceived stress and negative mental health with cross‐sectional and experimental studies. It first studied 351 full‐time working adults with different amounts of experience in meditation for these factors in order to test the hypothesis that their differences in them were based on differences in meditation experience, and found that those participants with greater meditation experience exhibited higher EI, and less perceived stress and negative mental health than those who had less or none. It then randomly divided 20 graduate students with no previous experience of meditation into a mindfulness meditation group (n = 10) and a control group (n = 10), and measured them for the same variable pre‐treatment and post‐treatment to test the hypothesis that meditation training improves people's state, and found that those who completed the mindfulness meditation training demonstrated significant improvements compared to the control group. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Mindful Psychotherapy

This article focuses on meditation and the benefits it can bring to psychotherapy practice, both through the person of the therapist and as therapeutic method. A regular meditation practice supports the clarity of mind that the therapist brings to his or her work and can thus greatly impact both the quality and usefulness of the work, as well as the health of the therapist. The relationship between mysticism and contemplative practice is discussed. Research on the benefits of meditation is reviewed, and varied ways meditative methods can be used in therapy are presented.

Os efeitos da meditação à luz da investigação científica em Psicologia: revisão de literatura

A meditação, descrita como uma prática de auto-regulação do corpo e da mente, caracteriza-se por um conjunto de técnicas que treinam a focalização da atenção. Também conhecida como treinamento mental, essa prática constitui uma técnica capaz de produzir efeitos psicossomáticos. Este artigo apresenta a revisão de algumas evidências acerca dos benefícios da meditação e do seu papel na aplicação clínica. Inúmeros estudos vêm mostrando a sua eficácia, que está especialmente relacionada à diminuição dos sintomas ligados ao estresse e à ansiedade. Além disso, as pesquisas revelam que essa prática pode produzir efeitos de curta e longa duração que podem afetar positivamente as funções cognitivas e afetivas. Discutemse aspectos relacionados às definições e às particularidades de cada técnica e aos contextos aos quais pode estar atrelada. Apesar do crescente acúmulo de evidências sobre a relação entre meditação e saúde física e mental, ainda são necessárias mais investigações.

EFFECT OF ZEN MEDITATION PRACTICE ON PERCEIVED STRESS IN COLLEGE STUDENTS: A SURVEY STUDY

Most physical and psychological problems in modern people have been proven to be caused by stress. This finding stimulated the demand for techniques that can effectively manipulate the stress perception. The influence of stress on college students lasts longer at the age when there is a fast development of personality and life viewpoint. This survey study thus mainly examines the effect of Zen-meditation practice on stress manipulation in college students. 541 college students were divided into two groups, with Zen-meditation practice in their daily lives and those who do not meditate. To evaluate the perceived stress of participants, DASS questionnaire was used to measure their negative emotional states (depression, anxiety and stress/tension). The results showed that (1) considerably high percentage of college students who did not practice Zen meditation exhibited negative emotional problem (depression: 45%; anxiety: 48%; stress/tension: 50%); (2) a much lower percentage of students with meditation practice encountered the negative emotional problem (depression: 8%; anxiety: 30%; stress/tension: 12%). This study reflects the benefits of meditation on stress manipulation. It may also imply that having more meditation, having longer meditation time, and doing meditation more frequently could further improve the states of negative emotion. It also implies that meditation experience played a considerable role in effectively manipulating some stress symptoms like depression and anxiety. This is demonstrated by the significantly lower scores (p < 0.001) in the group of experienced (> 0.5 year) meditators as compared with the control group.

Benefits of Meditation: You Don’t Need Years, Just a Week

Meditation may improve mood and attention. Long-term Buddhist meditators can increase gamma-band EEG activity during meditation (Journal Watch Psychiatry Dec 8 2004). However, to demonstrate meditation-specific effects, researchers would need a standardized, easy-to-teach form of meditation. In this study, 40 Chinese undergraduates naive to any such training were randomized to receive training in either integrative body-mind training (IBMT), a specific …

Enhancing Health and Emotion: Mindfulness as a Missing Link Between Cognitive Therapy and Positive Psychology

Mindfulness meditation is an increasingly popular intervention for the treatment of physical illnesses and psychological difficulties. Using intervention strategies with mechanisms familiar to cognitive behavioral therapists, the principles and practice of mindfulness meditation offer promise for promoting many of the most basic elements of positive psychology. It is proposed that mindfulness meditation promotes positive adjustment by strengthening metacognitive skills and by changing schemas related to emotion, health, and illness. Additionally, the benefits of yoga as a mindfulness practice are explored. Even though much empirical work is needed to determine the parameters of mindfulness meditation's benefits, and the mechanisms by which it may achieve these benefits, theory and data thus far clearly suggest the promise of mindfulness as a link between positive psychology and cognitive behavioral therapies. Keywords: meditation; cognitive behavior therapy; positive psychology; chronic illness; depression; psychotherapy Recent epidemiological research suggests that a large number of Americans suffer from chronic illnesses. For instance, it is estimated that 24% of Americans suffer from hypertension (Burt et al., 1995), 20% have some form of cardiovascular illness (American Heart Association, 2002), 15% suffer from some form of arthritis (Helmick et al., 1998), and more than 15 million are estimated to have Type II diabetes (Lamendola, 2003). Although there are well-developed medical treatments for many such illnesses and effective therapies to treat those with a comorbid psychological illness such as depression, there are few resources available for helping the chronically ill develop the skills for more positive psychological functioning. One approach that shows promise for both managing the symptoms of depression and enhancing positive functioning is mindfulness meditation. Although similar to cognitive therapies, mindfulness meditation has the advantages of being taught to a heterogeneous patient population and preventing the onset of psychopathology that may result with new medical diagnoses. Mindfulness meditation, also known as insight-oriented meditation or vipassana, is one of several meditations in Buddhist practice (Goleman, 1972; Kabat-Zinn, 1990; Kabat-Zinn, Lipworth, & Burney, 1985). Consistent with the positive psychology goal of promoting resilience, mindfulness includes goals such as enhancing well-being and awareness of the self and environment, along with disciplining the mind and emotions (Hanh, 1975, 1993; Levine, 2000). The principles and practice of mindfulness meditation also offer promise as an intervention that promotes positive psychology processes such as "flow" (Csikszentmihalyi, 1990), forgiveness (McCullough & Pargament, 2000), hope (Snyder, Rand, & Sigmon, 2002), and resilience (Masten, 2001). Along these lines, Kabat-Zinn (1990) has argued that the purpose of mindfulness is not to point out what is wrong, but to help people find what is right. Although rooted in Buddhist traditions, mindfulness meditation was secularized and imported to the West by Kabat-Zinn as the backbone of his Stress Reduction and Relaxation Program at the University of Massachusetts Medical Center (Kabat-Zinn, 1990, 1994). Since that time, Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) has been used to treat a wide variety of physical and psychological maladies. Among healthy adults, MBSR has been effective in reducing symptoms of stress, anxiety, and depression (Astin, 1997; Roth & Greaser, 1997, 2002; Shapiro, Schwartz, & Bonner, 1998). Likewise, MBSR has been used as an adjunctive therapy for patients diagnosed with cancer (Speca, Carlson, Goodey, & Angen, 2000) and psoriasis (Kabat-Zinn et al., 1998). MBSR also has been used as a primary intervention for patients with fibromyalgia (Goldenberg et al, 1994; Kaplan, Goldenberg, & Galvin-Nadeau, 1993), other chronic pain conditions (Kabat-Zinn, 1982; Kabat-Zinn et al. …

A Randomized Controlled Trial of Meditation and Massage Effects on Quality of Life in People with Late-Stage Disease: A Pilot Study

Certain meditation practices may effectively address spiritual needs near end-of-life, an often overlooked aspect of quality of life (QOL). Among people subject to physical isolation, meditation benefits may be blunted unless physical contact is also addressed. To evaluate independent and interactive effects of Metta meditation and massage on QOL in people with acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). Randomized controlled blinded factorial pilot trial conducted from November 2001 to September 2003. An AIDS-dedicated skilled nursing facility in New Haven, Connecticut. Fifty-eight residents (43% women) with late stage disease (AIDS or comorbidity). Residents were randomized to 1 month of meditation, massage, combined meditation and massage, or standard care. The meditation group received instruction, then self-administered a meditation audiocassette daily. A certified massage therapist provided the massage intervention 30 minutes per day 5 days per week. Changes on Missoula-Vitas QOL Index overall and transcendent (spiritual) scores at 8 weeks. The combined group showed improvement in overall (p = 0.005) and transcendent (p = 0.01) scores from baseline to 8 weeks, a change significantly greater (p < 0.05) than the meditation, massage, and control groups. The combination of meditation and massage has a significantly favorable influence on overall and spiritual QOL in late-stage disease relative to standard care, or either intervention component alone.

Meditation Benefits Black Teens With High-Normal BP

Meditation Benefits Black Teens With High-Normal BP

Meditation Benefits Black Teens With BP Problems

Meditation Benefits Black Teens With BP Problems

The Effects of Meditation and Visual Imagery on an Immune System Disorder: Dermatomyositis

To analyze the relationship between a patient's "spontaneous recovery" from dermatomyositis and her practice of transcendental meditation and visual imagery without confounding effects of conventional therapies. Study of time-varying relationships between (1) measures of arm strength and skin condition (rash and pain) and (2) mind-body interventions-controlling for psychologic stress-in a patient with dermatomyositis, using regression analysis to determine half-lives of treatments and stress. Institutional referral center. Transcendental meditation and visual imagery (no drugs). Daily measurements of arm strength and skin condition over 294 days. Events producing psychologic stress were also rated using a numerical scale. The patient recovered, which is a low-probability event without conventional therapy. Regression analysis of time dependence between measures of arm strength, rash, and pain and application of mind-body treatments revealed statistically significant relationships for both meditation (p values 0.02 to 0.001) and visual imagery (p values 0.02 to 0.002). Stress had a significant negative impact on skin symptoms but not arm strength. Beneficial effects of meditation had half-lives of 48-59 days for skin condition and no detectable decay for arm strength. Benefits of visual imagery were more transient (half-lives 4-18 days). The effects of stress had half-lives of only 1-3 days. The results demonstrate a statistically significant relationship between mind-body therapies and the patient's recovery from dermatomyositis, possibly mediated by influences on the humoral immune system. A key factor in the recovery was the slower decay rate of meditation and visual imagery compared to stress. As dermatomyositis is a humorally mediated immune microvasculopathy, the benefits of meditation and imagery in our patient comport with a growing body of evidence showing that these techniques influence immune system function.

S5-02-05 Involvement of aberrant regulation of PI3K and MAPK cascades in AD TAU phosphorylation

Yoga may be well suited for depressed and anxious pregnant women, given reported benefits of meditation and physical activity and pregnant women's preference for nonpharmacological treatments.We randomly assigned 46 pregnant women with symptoms of depression and anxiety to an 8-week yoga intervention or treatment-as-usual (TAU) in order to examine feasibility and preliminary outcomes.Yoga was associated with high levels of credibility and satisfaction as an intervention for depression and anxiety during pregnancy. Participants in both conditions reported significant improvement in symptoms of depression and anxiety over time; and yoga was associated with significantly greater reduction in negative affect as compared to TAU (β = −0.53, SE = 0.20, p = .011).Prenatal yoga was found to be a feasible and acceptable intervention and was associated with reductions in symptoms of anxiety and depression; however, prenatal yoga only significantly outperformed TAU on reduction of negative affect.

NONPHARMACOLOGIC TREATMENTS

Background: The benefits of meditation are well documented, but the biochemical mechanisms have not been fully identified. One effect mechanism may be via influence on neurotransmitters. Material and methods: Therefore, plasma melatonin and blood serotonin concentrations were measured before and after 1 hour of meditation in advanced male meditators (n = 27, mean age 46 years). They were compared with a matched reference group (n = 29, mean age 43 years) who rested for 1 hour. In the meditators, melatonin, and serotonin from before and after three consecutive hours of meditation were also compared. Results: Initially, the median melatonin level was 4.9 pg per milliliter in the meditators and 3.1 pg per milliliter in the reference group (P &lt; .01). After 1 hour of practice, melatonin had decreased to a median of 3.4 pg per milliliter in the meditators (P &lt; .0001), but was unchanged in the reference group. After 3 hours of meditation, melatonin had declined further in the meditators. After 1 hour of practice, serotonin concentrations decreased in both the meditators and the reference group (P &lt; .01). Conclusions: The findings suggest that advanced meditators have higher melatonin levels than nonmeditators. Melatonin decreases during long meditation, a finding the study does not explain. Serotonin declines after both 1‐hour meditation and rest, indicating that serotonin may be a marker of general rest and not meditation‐specific relaxation. Comments: Many small studies have evaluated the effects of melatonin on cluster and migraine. Here the authors summarize a relationship of melatonin, serotonin, meditation, and rest (the latter two variables clearly helpful in migraine). Does this help to explain why migraine tends to remit in sleep? Stewart J. Tepper