You know you should meditate.
Youve probably had plenty of friends tell you so and seen plenty of headlines about the benefits of meditation.
But is meditations ubiquity based on rock-solid scientific research?
Brain
Or are there other factors to thank for its staying power?
What exactly is meditation capable of, and should we all be doing it?
This is sometimes called open monitoring or open awareness, says Vago.
Benjavisa/Getty Images
That is, in essence, mindfulness meditation.
There is also an all-day retreat during week six.
There are one-off studies looking at meditations potential effects on nearly every aspect of physical or mental health.
(There werefewer than 800in 2000.)
As with many other areas of medical science, the most sound evidence emerges from meta-reviews and meta-analyses.
This prevents fluke findings from slipping through the cracks and any one study receiving undue weight.
Moderate evidence is exactly what it sounds like, Vago explains.
Results are positive using [the] most rigorous standards.
One intuitive theory is that people can apply the judgement-free thought-awareness (e.g.
In other words, they can recognize and step outside their own mental ruts.
Its likely that the more someone meditates, the less theyre going to be ruminating.
And that decrease in rumination may be directly or causally linked to the improved symptoms in depression and anxiety.
Its still a very young field, says Desbordes.
Were not there yet.
Some early meta-analyses are bearing this out.
The evidence for mindfulness meditation practices on stress specifically have been very promising, Vago says.
Telomeres are affected bymany lifestyle factors, such asstress, and shorten as we age.
Meditation may alsoincrease connectivitybetween different networks.
But meditation appears to decrease activity in this data pipe, Vago says.
They show us where something is happening, but thats about it.
As Smalley explains, neuroimaging studies tell us, Here are brain regions likely influenced by meditation practice.
But exactly how meditation leads to these changes hasnt been determined.
It could be that mindfulness meditation helps reduce stress, which in turn lowers blood pressure.
And, there are potential additional benefits to meditation that a blood pressure cuff cant achieve.
And in that regard, it can be viewed as a helpful tool for overall emotional and physical wellbeing.
Its not a panacea.
We know that, says Vago.
And even the proof in the best-studied areas has been overhyped at times.
Hasenkamp agrees: There isn’t any finding or effect that’s been replicated enough to be totally reliable.
It really depends on the person.
In fact, we’re finding out a lot of people don’t respond.
There is a tendency to push too hard for some specific outcomes.
This is exciting because it shifts the way we think about human capacity for change, she adds.
And while they make us feel good sometimes, on other days, they might not.
But we do these practices because they are generally positive additions to our daily lives.
In the end, Desbordes says, its really an individual choice.
If people find some benefits for themselves, then they should do it.
