Meditation

What Does the Latest Research and Science Show?

A recent survey on the incidence of meditation in the US population indicated a marked increase in the number of adults and children who practice meditation every day (Black, Barnes, Clarke, and Stussman, Nahin, 2018). Psychologists and allied mental health practitioners agree on the effectiveness of meditation in reducing physical, mental, and emotional disturbances.

1. Meditation and Pain

A study by the National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health (NCCIH) found that mindful meditation reduces pain sensations in the body without using the brain’s natural opiates (Cherkin, Sherman, Balderson, Cook, Anderson, Hawkes, Hansen, and Turner, 2016). The research suggested that combining meditation practices with medication for treating pain conditions like osteoarthritis, headaches, and other chronic pains can be useful for providing long-term remedies.

2. Meditation and diseases

The National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health (NCCIH) in the US, has conducted studies to explore the impact of meditation on disorders like; Pain and fibromyalgia in teenagers, Stress-related disorders in adolescents and adults, Migraine, headaches, and hypertensive conditions, Psoriasis, Anxiety and depression.

Most of their research and reviews show that committing to a daily practice improves the overall quality of life and has long-term benefits for staying emotionally and physically healthy.

3. Meditation and Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS)

Studies on the impact of meditation on Irritable Bowel Syndrome was initially conducted by the American College of Gastroenterology in 2014, with no significant establishments. Later, some studies on women with severe IBS symptoms showed that when they practiced mindful meditation regularly for two months, their symptoms significantly reduced.

Meditation practice helped in reducing the anxiety associated with IBS and improved the individual’s quality of life to a large extent (Gaylord, Palsson, Garland, Faurot, Coble, Mann, and Frey, 2011).

More information and sources here.