Transcendental meditation can cut your risk of heart attack in half. So say researchers from the Medical College of Wisconsin (USA). And they proved their statement on experiments.
In the group of heart patients who practiced transcendental meditation twice a day for 20 minutes, the incidence of stroke, heart attack, or death from any cause was 48% lower than in the control group. At the same time, the members of the control group did not stay idle, but attended a "health school" where healthy eating and physical education are promoted.
Those who meditated also had lower blood pressure, saying they were less stressed and less annoyed. Moreover, it turned out that the more regularly the patients meditated, the lower the mortality rate. Experts believe that transcendental meditation involves the “pharmacy” of our body, so that it repairs and debugs itself.
Experts from Boston University and Emory University saw another positive effect of meditation in their experiments. Before and after a two-week meditation, the subjects were shown more than two hundred photographs of people in different situations that had a positive, neutral or negative emotional connotation. At the same time, they were tested for depression and anxiety. Brain activity was monitored while viewing the photographs using an fMRI scanner.
Most of all, scientists were interested in the amygdala, or amygdala. This zone is called the center of fear, but its role is much broader, since the amygdala takes part in any emotional reaction.
In the case of meditation aimed at self-discovery and self-control, the researchers found that it increased emotional stability in the subjects. The activity of the right amygdala in such people was very restrained, regardless of what was shown in the photo.
It is curious that among those who were engaged in increasing sympathy and kindness, the activity of the right amygdala was also low. But if these experimental subjects meditated more often, in response to negative emotions, their amygdala responded even more than ordinary people.
At the same time, the symptoms of depression in those who practiced "altruistic" meditation were less pronounced, that is, participation in others helped to cope with their own mental problems.
Promotional video:
