Does mindfulness meditation really work?

Mindfulness meditation is all about being focused in the present, without being judgmental about the thoughts that cross the mind. The practice has many benefits for the mind and the body. These benefits are also well-documented by a number of medical research studies done across the world. As the world of medicine has advanced technologically, especially in imaging technology being used in research, it has been established beyond doubt that mindfulness meditation does lead to changes in brain which ultimately improves our well-being.

The first direct attack of mindfulness meditation is against the stress levels of a person. By being in the present and not going into the virtues or vices of thoughts, there is a tendency to lower the hypertension and reduce the heart beat rate. With heart not being overloaded with pumping work to beat the stress factors, there is a general improvement in cardiovascular functions and in health of the heart.

Improvement in Immunity-Enhanced Resilence to Fight Diseases

Once the stress levels are down, there is an improvement in immunity levels of the body as well. By being in perpetual state of tension and stress due to any threat element, the energies of the body (call these hormones, blood, etc.) are diverted to fight or fly away from the threat. This reduces the ability to fight diseases and the person gets ill. However, it has been seen that the people suffering from different disorders or diseases get relief from suffering and there is enhanced capacity to cope with it.

Read more: Mindfulness can help with Weight Management

Improvement in productivity

There is increase in productivity of employees working in factories or office if they regularly practice mindfulness because of the ability to focus gained through meditation. Similarly, there is a deepening of learning among these people.

Improvement in kids learning

The effect of mindfulness meditation of kids is also worth mentioning. When experimented in a school in Los Angeles, the kids were able to improve their GPAs and there was increase in pass percentages.

Less Memory Loss, Reduced Pace of Aging

The impact on brain is very significant. The people who have been meditating for a long time were seen to have more grey matter and reduced memory loss than those who did not meditate at all. This gives hope that Mindfulness based Stress Therapies could be one day developed to the extent that occurrence of Alzheimer’s type diseases could be prevented.

Read more: Can Mindfulness Meditation Improve Sexual Health?

Reduction in craving for addictive substances

When mindfulness based therapies were administered on patients having addiction to alcohol or drugs, positive effects were noticed. Some reduced their intake of intoxicating substances while some also felt like leaving it altogether. This was attributed to people being able to come out of their negative thoughts, exercise better mental controls over their mood swings and reducing thinking about their past lives.

Similarly, studies to gauge the impact of mindfulness meditation on a person’s body, mind and behavior have been conducted in different situations, in varied conditions and on a number of people. All have shown promising benefits for the betterment of lives. All this goes to prove beyond doubt that mindfulness meditation does work.