The result was encouraging, although not entirely accurate.
Scientists have speculated that meditation has a beneficial effect on the cardiovascular system several years ago. A group of American physicians led by Dr. Chaikrit Kittanavong tried to build an evidence base for these assumptions and conducted a study using data from surveys of more than 61,000 US residents, almost 6,000 of whom, that is, about 10%, practiced meditation in one form or another.
As a result, it turned out that these six thousand meditators suffered significantly less from high blood pressure and cholesterol levels, diabetes, strokes and coronary heart disease. At the same time, in the latter case, the difference between the two groups was almost twofold, and for other diseases, the risk for those who meditated was 14-35% lower.
Scientists also took into account other factors affecting the state of the cardiovascular system - age, gender, smoking, obesity - but even after that, the effect of meditation remained more than noticeable. “I believe in meditation because it gives us a sense of calmness, peace of mind, reduces stress and leads to an improved emotional state,” says Dr. Kittanavong.
But for all their belief in meditation, the authors admit that their research has certain flaws. In particular, the data used did not contain information about which particular method of meditation, how often and for how long the respondents practiced. Therefore, it is likely that some methods may work better on the cardiovascular system than others, and it is possible that more frequent and prolonged meditation is more beneficial.
In addition, the authors of the study so far only talk about the possible positive effects of meditation, assuming, for example, that healthier people practice this activity more often than those who already suffer from cardiovascular diseases. More serious clinical studies are needed to pinpoint the benefits of meditation, Kittanavong said.