Long-term Meditation May Result in Faster Psycho-physiological Recovery
https://www.psypost.org/2019/04/long-term-meditation-practitioners-have-a-faster-psychophysiological-recovery-from-stress-study-finds-53468
A new study published in the Psychoneuroendocrinology, has recently found that people who practice meditation have a faster physiological recovery from stress. Researchers examined 29 long-term meditation practitioners who had been meditating regularly for at least 3 hours a week, for at least 3 years, and 26 people who did not practice meditation. Upon testing how the groups responded psychologically and physiologically to a test inducing stress.Findings showed that the meditators had a faster cortisol recovery after a stressful incident (the level of cortisol lowered and returned to normal more quickly than that of the non-meditators). Cortisol is the hormone that floods the body during times of stress or crisis. The hormone increases heart rate, blood pressure, muscle tension, and several other areas to prepare the person to fight or flee. Researchers found that one key skill the meditators all held, was that of acceptance. These meditators were said to have mastered a few solid cognitive emotion regulation strategies, accepting that the stressful situation was occurring, better prepared the brain to calm the stress center. In the content of our course, we learned that the Hypothalamus has its own involvement with the Autonomic Nervous System and Endocrine systems, regulating and upholding the responsibility for keeping our body alive.
We have also touched on the emotion topic in the course, regarding response to stressful situations. The Hypothalamus, controlling the Sympathetic Nervous System (Fight or Flight), responds to this negative emotion and stimulates adrenals to release hormones, one of these hormones being Cortisol (mentioned in the article), causing stress or discomfort. It seems the meditators were able to access or transition more quickly to the Parasympathetic Nervous System's function, Rest and Recovery, in which activity is reduced, and energy is conserved and restored. This may explain why the meditators experienced less negative emotions, such as shame or low self-esteem. Like all research there are limitations (such as the complexity of stress response and the variety of meditative practices), but the findings of meditation on stress are promising. Another article I found that related to this article was published from Time.com (http://time.com/5556120/what-is-meditation/), defining meditation and detailing the health benefits, health risks, and effective ways of meditation. Another article I found in relation was published by USC (https://news.usc.edu/154943/mindfulness-could-be-a-key-to-recovering-from-substance-abuse-usc-experts-say/) that explains initial studies with young adults showed a dramatic drop in stress, cravings, and the risk of relapse in substance abusers after practicing mindfulness. This finding of meditation and stress could be integrated with content from another Psychology course such as, Cognitive Psychology.
A new study published in the Psychoneuroendocrinology, has recently found that people who practice meditation have a faster physiological recovery from stress. Researchers examined 29 long-term meditation practitioners who had been meditating regularly for at least 3 hours a week, for at least 3 years, and 26 people who did not practice meditation. Upon testing how the groups responded psychologically and physiologically to a test inducing stress.Findings showed that the meditators had a faster cortisol recovery after a stressful incident (the level of cortisol lowered and returned to normal more quickly than that of the non-meditators). Cortisol is the hormone that floods the body during times of stress or crisis. The hormone increases heart rate, blood pressure, muscle tension, and several other areas to prepare the person to fight or flee. Researchers found that one key skill the meditators all held, was that of acceptance. These meditators were said to have mastered a few solid cognitive emotion regulation strategies, accepting that the stressful situation was occurring, better prepared the brain to calm the stress center. In the content of our course, we learned that the Hypothalamus has its own involvement with the Autonomic Nervous System and Endocrine systems, regulating and upholding the responsibility for keeping our body alive.
We have also touched on the emotion topic in the course, regarding response to stressful situations. The Hypothalamus, controlling the Sympathetic Nervous System (Fight or Flight), responds to this negative emotion and stimulates adrenals to release hormones, one of these hormones being Cortisol (mentioned in the article), causing stress or discomfort. It seems the meditators were able to access or transition more quickly to the Parasympathetic Nervous System's function, Rest and Recovery, in which activity is reduced, and energy is conserved and restored. This may explain why the meditators experienced less negative emotions, such as shame or low self-esteem. Like all research there are limitations (such as the complexity of stress response and the variety of meditative practices), but the findings of meditation on stress are promising. Another article I found that related to this article was published from Time.com (http://time.com/5556120/what-is-meditation/), defining meditation and detailing the health benefits, health risks, and effective ways of meditation. Another article I found in relation was published by USC (https://news.usc.edu/154943/mindfulness-could-be-a-key-to-recovering-from-substance-abuse-usc-experts-say/) that explains initial studies with young adults showed a dramatic drop in stress, cravings, and the risk of relapse in substance abusers after practicing mindfulness. This finding of meditation and stress could be integrated with content from another Psychology course such as, Cognitive Psychology.
We always hear around about how important meditating and energy work is, but not many give it a real try. A previous professor had suggested meditation for understanding, directing, and regulating energy. Meditating is a way to subconsciously release unwanted energy and direct your mind and body back into alliance. The mind and body must be in line with each other for there to be peace. In your study, it shows that 3 hours of meditation per week had faster cortisol recovery. The body is able to deal with and recover from stress or fight-or-flight situations much faster because it understands and processes the emotion much faster. The Harvard Gazette shows a study where a change in the amygdala was detected after learning to meditate for 2 months. There are different tests and techniques for meditation styles, however since every person's brain is different, it will take time to pull out the pinpoint aspect in mindfulness to work against stressors.
ReplyDeletehttps://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2018/04/harvard-researchers-study-how-mindfulness-may-change-the-brain-in-depressed-patients/
Aisha,
ReplyDeleteMindfulness training through meditation is certainly an underrated tool for many in their journey to improve their lives and mental health. In addition to its assistance in stress regulation, meditation has been associated with increased attention and improvements in memory and learning. In this article, https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2013/05/study-meditation-improves-memory-attention/275564/, researchers found that just 30 minutes of meditation for 8 days resulted in higher mean test scores vs a control (measured via a cognitive faculty test-- the GRE).
In my Intro to Helping Relationship my professor explained that psychotherapy is taking a shift to mindfulness and mediation. Many people believe meditation is sitting for long periods of hours in silence. In reality meditation can take in many forms at the comfort of the person. Many yoga classes centers their philosophy on mindfulness and meditation while being active. Meditation forces your body into a parasympathetic state through breathing techniques.
ReplyDeleteMy professor uses this technique to desensitize clients from their phobias. Use of mindfulness allows them to recognize their emotions and reprogram their body to not react to emotions they feel from the stimulus.
It is very effective and anyone can benefit from this new practice.
ReplyDeleteIn my Diverse Perspectives of Psychology class, one of the perspectives we looked at recently happened to involve Buddhist meditation. Meditation of different forms is becoming increasingly popular, not only for for its purposes of awareness and spiritual growth but also stress reduction. It is supposed to rewire our perceptions and instill a mental stillness. It encourages much introspection and focus rather than revolving thoughts. For Buddhist meditation specifically, it encourages the individual to reach true knowledge of reality, the self and existence and focuses on liberation from suffering.