Meditate your way to health - and health care savings

Meditation has been practised for centuries. Improved focus, mindfulness, and relaxation all come to mind when contemplating the benefits of meditation.

These benefits are being scientifically verified by research on meditation’s physical and psychological effects. Researchers have found that beneficial results don’t require a lot of time or training—good news for those of us who lead busy, stressful lives.

Lift your mood
Just four sessions of meditation training visibly improved one study group’s mood. The other group listened to audio books which also improved their mood. But only the meditators reported reduced anxiety and tiredness, and increased mindfulness, benefits observed previously only in long-term meditators.

Slow cellular aging
Another study has shown that meditation may also help to slow cellular aging. Some types of meditation appear to actually lengthen telomeres by increasing the hormones that regulate the maintenance of telomeres, while reducing mental stress and creating a positive mental outlook.

Save health care dollars
Meditation may also benefit our overburdened medical system. A recent five-year Canadian study compared health care costs of those who practised Transcendental Meditation (TM) to similar individuals who did not meditate. After one year of meditation practice, health costs dropped 11 percent for meditators. But after five years, the meditators’ health costs dropped an impressive 28 percent.

Meditating for only 20 minutes a day can provide positive health benefits. See “Keep meditation top of mind.”