Meditation is growing in evidence so we’ve started building it into our weekly activities at Osana, including for staff.
The compelling evidence includes
- Greater telomere length and activity on chromosomes, which is directly relatable to cell ageing (stress does the opposite and leads to heart disease, diabetes, obesity, degenerative diseases and a shorter life span)
- Lower cortisol levels (stress hormone)
- 43% risk reduction in all cause mortality, heart attacks and stroke in patients with coronary heart disease
- 5 mmHg reduction in systolic blood pressure compared to control patients
- Reduced anxiety over 6 months, reduced depression over 6 months and reduced chronic pain
- 26% reduction in the severity of Irritable Bowel symptoms
- Doubles the success rate of smoking cessation through increased personal control
- Beyond health, meditation has been shown to also reduce truancy and suspensions in school, and improve productivity and absenteeism at work!
So in today’s increasingly busy lives where mental health, stress and digestive health feature prominently, it is well worth considering meditating daily to balance things out.
Reference:
- Circulation, 2009 American Heart Association study n= 201
- Psychoneuroendocrinology, 2011 Shamatha project n = 60
- Epel and Blackburn, 2004 Telomere length n = 58
- American Journal of Hypertension, 2009 meta-analysis n = 711
- Journal of American Medical Association, John Hopkins research meta-analysis n=3,515