A new study demonstrates that mediation can reduce death rates by nearly a quarter.
The mechanism appears to be same as the means by which meditation lowers stress and anxiety: by lowering dangerous excesses of the stress hormones cortisol.
The study results appear in the American Journal of Cardiology. This new study pooled the findings of two previous trials that followed 202 elderly people in the US over 18 years. Some practiced transcendental meditation, while others tried different techniques, such as progressive muscle relaxation. The study was funded by the US government.
Transcendental meditation, a form of trance-like mantra repetition, was popularized by the Indian guru Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, and made famous by the Beatles in the late 1960s.
In the latest study, the transcendental meditation group had 30% fewer deaths from heart disease and 49% fewer from cancer, and a 23% overall lower risk of death from all causes.
However, many other forms of meditation have similar benefits. Progressive muscle relaxation, deep breathing techniques, forms of visualization, and hypnotherapy for relaxation have all been studied with similar positive results. Even more esoteric forms of meditation, such as Kriya Yoga have been demonstrated to lower cortisol levels by studies in India.
Considerable earlier research has found that meditation can lower stress hormone levels and blood pressure. Prolonged high levels of the stress hormone cortisol can devastate heart and muscle tissues, the immune system, as well important brain centers.
This is the same neuro-endrocrinological process by which prolonged stress leads to anxiety and then depression.
Harvard Professor Herbert Bensen, M.D. author of The Relaxation Response, has produced over 30 years of definitive research in this area, consistently confirming the power of mediation to lower stress, anxiety, and boost the immune system.
His work has come to be widely accepted by many physicians, especially in the U.S. Now the relaxation response is accepted as a valuable tool by physicians and therapists worldwide, and various relaxation response or meditation-like techniques have become an accepted part of therapy for many medical conditions, and are even taught in medical schools.
The relaxation response technique consists of the repetition of a word, sound, or phrase, while sitting quietly with eyes closed. Any intruding thoughts should be dismissed by consciously returning to the repetition. This technique should be practiced for 10-20 minutes a day in a quiet environment free of distractions, while sitting upright so as not to fall asleep.
