You know you should be meditating. Whether you already have a solid routine or you’ve struggled to get the hang of it, by this point it’s accepted knowledge that meditation can make you feel better. But how does that work, exactly? Meditation isn’t woo-woo. The science might feel shrouded in ambiguity, but the truth is the benefits of meditation are being tested, measured and tracked. To understand what the research says about the benefits of meditation, we spoke to Dr. Clare Purvis, Director of Behavioural Science at Headspace.
Mindfulness meditation for mental health
To understand meditation, we need to understand mindfulness. Mindfulness is the idea of learning how to be fully present and engaged in the moment. It’s a way of taking a step back and resting the mind in its natural state.
Purvis explains that when we “increase our awareness of what our experience is like in the present moment, which fundamentally is what mindfulness is all about, it really helps us to not only get to know our experiences better but also relate to them in ways that serve us better”. Whilst mindfulness and meditation are not a sole, fix-all treatment for mental health issues, they can help us develop an awareness of our surroundings and feelings — and by extension our own bodies and mind.
That’s a crucial first step in improving mental health. “[When] we become aware of how our body feels when we have a particular sensation or emotion, the more equipped we are to bring that kind of intentionality to how we want to respond in the moment.”
And the results back this. Researchers from John Hopkins University found that general meditation programs can help to ease symptoms of depression, anxiety and pain related to stress. When it comes to behavioural response, a 2017 study conducted by Headspace found participants increased their focus by 14% after 30 days of mindfulness training.
The long-term effects of meditation
While there are some measurable short-term benefits from meditation, the research on the long-term effects is clearest. Regular meditation for a longer period of time makes it more likely to create functional and structural changes in our brain and body.
The Headspace research department have found that long-term meditation results in measurable changes in the amygdala and prefrontal cortex. The amygdala is a cluster of almond-shaped cells located near the base of the brain responsible for our ‘fight or flight’ response; the prefrontal cortex is located at the front of our frontal lobe and is responsible for more complex cognitive processing, contributing to personality development, prospective memory and cognitive flexibility.
As for how the research says they’ve changed? According to Purvis: “Over time with regular meditation, on a structural level in the brain the amygdala is actually shrinking. And the prefrontal cortex is growing because it’s getting denser connections within that tissue”.
These changes help us respond to stimuli in our environment in a more controlled way, rather than a knee-jerk response. “We’re actually becoming more equipped to pause and think about how we want to respond to stimuli to bring intention to that, versus being at the mercy of an immediate fear or stress emotion response”.
Does meditation benefit our physical health?
Although most people practice for the mental health benefits, the research shows meditation can improve our physical health too. “By helping us manage stress and mitigate the effects of chronic stress on our minds and our bodies, it actually does have an ability to prevent the exacerbation of chronic stress which can be related to a variety of different physical health conditions,” Purvis explains.
Headspace also conducted an with a group of 2000 employees who had never practiced mindfulness meditation before, tasking them with an eight-week meditation program. The study measured how they felt before starting, and then again 16 weeks later. Not only did the study observe a decrease in the groups’ reported stress and symptoms of anxiety and depression, but overall blood pressure decreased as well.
It’s not the first study to make the connection between meditation and blood pressure – the mind and body are connected, after all. “Given the relationship between stress and blood pressure, highlighting that mind/body connection, we can start to see how mindfulness meditation really does have a physiological effect. That can be beneficial in terms of our overall health,” Purvis says. “Our brain is in our body. That’s all one system.”
What will meditation research explore in the future?
Dr Purvis says her research team at Headspace have already begun exploring the impact of meditation on stress across larger populations, over longer durations. One of their ongoing trials involves studying 2000 employees in stressful work environments, examining stress alongside a variety of other outcomes over the course of a whole year. It’s a significant increase on the 16-week study, which could illuminate how quickly benefits wane and give us clues for maintaining them.
Another study, expected to be published soon, involved taking blood samples to examine genetic markers of biological stress resilience. So if ever there was a good time to start (or try yet again) a regular meditation practice – it’s now!
