Engaging in long-term meditation practices can significantly reduce stress and slow aging, suggests a new study published in the journal Biomolecules.
Researchers from Maharishi International University (MIU), Sigen University and Uniformed Services University have studied the effectiveness of Transcendental Meditation, a program that people quietly repeat in their heads to achieve deep relaxation.
“These results support other studies showing that transcendental meditation techniques can reverse or eliminate or eliminate the long-term effects of stress,” Kenneth Walton, a senior researcher at MIU, told Fox News Digital.
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“The lasting effects of stress are now perceived as causing or contributing to all diseases and disorders,” he added.
Engaging in long-term meditation practices can significantly reduce stress and slow aging, suggesting new research. (istock)
This study included two groups between ages 20 and 30 and a participant group ranging from 55 to 72.
According to a press release from MIU, for each participant, the researchers analyzed the expression of genes associated with inflammation and aging.
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They found that those who practiced Transcendental Meditation had lower expression of genes associated with inflammation and aging.
“Low age-related gene expression extends the findings of short-term studies showing that these practices lead to healthy aging and more resilient adaptation to stress,” Walton said in the release.
“The lasting effects of stress are now perceived as causing or contributing to all diseases and disorders.”
The researchers also analyzed cognitive function via EEG tests. Older practitioners of Transcendental Meditation found that they had high processing speeds.
The group also received a higher score on the Brain Integrated Scale (BIS). This is a comprehensive measure of cognitive performance.
Those who practiced Transcendental Meditation had lower expression of genes associated with inflammation and aging. (istock)
“The findings on cognitive function are particularly exciting,” said co-author Dr. Frederick Travis, Ph.D., who earned his PhD in faculty from Maharishi International University in this release.
“Both young TM practitioners scored higher in BIS compared to non-meditators, while older meditators performed on par with younger controls,” he said.
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The third area of ​​focus is hair cortisol and cortisone, a steroid hormone that acts as biomarkers for long-term stress exposure and other health conditions.
The amount of active cortisol was high for those who practiced Transcendental Meditation, the study found.
Researchers analyzed cognitive function via EEG tests and found that older practitioners of Transcendental Meditation were faster. (istock)
“Cortisol plays an important role in the body’s response to stress, and chronically high cortisol levels are associated with many age-related health issues, in addition to cognitive decline,” Walton said.
“The reduction in the cortisol-to-cortisone ratio in meditators suggests that they have more adaptive reserve, more elasticity, and contribute to overall health and longevity.”
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According to Walton, the main limitation of the long-standing cohort study was the lack of a placebo-controlled group.
“These meditators practiced the techniques twice daily over the years, and control subjects did not have similar activities,” he told Fox News Digital. “And most subjects also spent years in the same geographical location (southeast Iowa, USA).”
“Brain Weight Lifting”
Dave Asprey of Biohacker, author of the upcoming book, The Heevily Meditated: The Fast Path of Your Triggers, Dissolve Stress and Invigorates Inner Peace, has studied meditation with shamans and gurus for 25 years and has studied neuroscience.
He agrees that meditation helps slow the aging process.
“It reduces stress, and the more you feel stressed that isn’t useful stress, like going to the gym or working hard, the more it shrinks your brain and makes you older,” Asprey said in a camera interview with Fox News Digital. “Meditation has been shown in multiple studies to undo these issues.”
“Long-term meditators have brains that can earn more electricity than people who don’t meditate, and their brains are more orderly,” the expert said. (istock)
Biohackers also call meditation “brain weightlifting.”
“Long-term meditators have brains that can earn more electricity than people who don’t meditate, and their brains are more orderly.”
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According to Asprey, meditation can potentially slow down and can prevent certain types of dementia.
“There are studies showing that meditating people are better at excreting toxins,” he added.
Asprey emphasized that meditation begins in the body, not in the mind.
“There are deep consequences that show that meditation is far better than antidepressants.”
For those just getting started, he recommends trying a body scan to calm the nervous system.
“For this, you breathe deeply for four seconds and exhale for eight seconds,” he said. “Focus on your toes, ankles, then your calves, and knees. And you slowly place all your consciousness on each part of your body.”
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“Learning that meditation is a materialized practice and mental practice can change it for anyone when they’re just going.”
Several studies have shown that the correct form of meditation and breathing tasks can have effects that exceed drugs, according to Asprey.
One of the biggest myths is that all meditations are the same, or that all meditations are good for everyone, experts pointed out. (istock)
“There is a profound consequence that meditation can be much better than antidepressants,” he said. “That being said, if you’re taking meditation and start meditation, you should tell your doctor and don’t take the meditation down, perhaps without any support.”
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One of the biggest myths is that all meditations are the same, or that all meditations are good for everyone, Asprey pointed out.
“Normal meditation designed for farmers won’t work if you’re a warrior, and if it doesn’t work, it’s fine. That doesn’t mean there’s something wrong with you.”
