Laura McIntosh - HER LIFE Magazine

healthMeditation—Benefits andImportanceIt might seem like a buzzword, oreven an empty promise. Meditation,defined as continued orextended thought, reflection or contemplationis, at its essence, a calming ofthe mind. In today's constantly noisy andfast-paced world, meditation may seemthe antithesis of what we are ‘supposed’to be doing. Recent research, however,shows clear benefits to slowing down.Scientists cite changes in the brainfor the positive benefits people reportafter establishing a consistent meditationpractice. The New York Times reportedmeasurable changes in gray-matterdensity in the hippocampus, a vital areaof the brain for learning and memory.The study followed those who meditatedfor approximately 30 minutes a day foran eight-week stretch, and comparedthose results to a control group that didnot practice meditation. The controlgroup showed no changes.Researchers at MIT and Harvardrecently published findings in the journalBrain Research Bulletin that people whowere trained to meditate over an eightweekperiod were better able to controlspecific types of brain waves called alpharhythms.In the article, neuroscientist andsenior author of the paper, ChristopherMoore, says, “These activity patternsare thought to minimize distractions, todiminish the likelihood stimuli will grabyour attention. Our data indicates thatmeditation training makes you better atfocusing, in part by allowing you to betterregulate how things that arise will impactyou.”While the scientific studies arefascinating, it means little if the statisticsdo not translate to benefits for everydaylife. Meditation has been shown to havevery specific health benefits. First andforemost, experts contend that when10 HERLIFEmagazine.comBy Lisa All enpracticed regularly, meditation allows aperson to reach a state of consciousnessthat encourages the body to heal. Benefitsthat stem from this include better sleep,more energy, clarified mental capabilitiesand more stable emotions.CNN.com cited a study that suggestsmeditation lessens pain. In the studyof 15 men and women, researchersmeasured the participants’ reaction topainful stimulus both before and after a20-minute meditation training over thespan of four days. During the secondinstallment, when the participants wereinstructed to meditate, they rated theexact same pain stimulus as being 57percent less unpleasant and 40 percentless intense on average than the firsttime they were exposed to the painfulstimulus of 120-degree heat on theircalves. “That’s pretty dramatic,” saidFadel Zeidan, Ph.D., the lead author ofIn today'sconstantly noisyand fast-pacedworld, meditationmay seem theantithesis of whatwe are ‘supposed’to be doing.the study and a postdoctoral researcherat the Wake Forest University Schoolof Medicine, in Winston-Salem, NorthCarolina. Furthermore, the reportedreduced pain reaction was substantially