Meditation and Its Mental and Physical Health Benefits in 2023.

Meditation is associated with positive brain changes visible on MRI, improved immune and inflammatory processes through decreased cytokine levels, and healthier telomere shortening linked to aging. It benefits physical health in conditions such as diabetes, hypertension, and fibromyalgia, lowers blood cholesterol, raises HDL, and improves systolic and diastolic blood pressure. For mental health, meditation helps address social anxiety disorder, PTSD, anxiety, and depression by fostering positive emotion. The magnitude of its overall effect remains unknown, and further detailed studies are needed for clearer clinical outcomes.

Study at a glance

Abstract

This article discusses the power of meditation and how beneficial it is for the body. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) has shown many positive brain changes and improved several brain functions. Meditation has several benefits improving the immune system and inflammatory processes by decreasing cytokine; appropriate telomere shortening also has helped healthy aging. Regarding physical health, meditation has been beneficial in various multi-factorial diseases like diabetes, hypertension, and fibromyalgia. It has also helped bring down blood cholesterol levels and increase high-density lipoproteins (HDL) levels. Improvement was also seen in systolic and diastolic blood pressure. Mental health is another aspect influenced by meditation, as positive emotion brought about by meditation helps address various mental problems like social anxiety disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), anxiety, and depression. Overall, it seems to have some impact in all health areas. However, the magnitude of its effect is not known. More diverse and detailed studies should yield more beneficial clinical outcomes.