Meditation News and Research

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The term meditation refers to a variety of techniques or practices intended to focus or control attention. Most of them are rooted in Eastern religious or spiritual traditions. These techniques have been used by many different cultures throughout the world for thousands of years.

Today, many people use meditation outside of its traditional religious or cultural settings as a form of mind-body medicine. Many claims have been made about its value in promoting or improving health and wellness.

Mental health care by video fills gaps in rural nursing homes

Bette Helm was glad to have someone to talk with about her insomnia.

21 Mar 2023

The US remains a grim leader in preterm births. Why? And can we fix it?

Tamara Etienne's second pregnancy was freighted with risk and worry from its earliest days — exacerbated by a first pregnancy that had ended in miscarriage.

16 Mar 2023

ESC Preventive Cardiology 2023 puts spotlight on heart disease prevention strategies

Get ready for practice-changing science at ESC Preventive Cardiology 2023, a scientific congress of the European Society of Cardiology.

14 Mar 2023

Innovative breathing device offers promise for improving the lives of people with COPD

One in 10 adults suffer from the debilitating effects of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Research around a new breathing device developed by pulmonologists at the University of Cincinnati offers promise for improving their lives.

10 Mar 2023

Key steps for diagnosis and management of orthostatic tachycardia after COVID-19

A recent article discussed the prevalence, assessment, and practice pointers for the management of presentations of tachycardia among long COVID.

10 Mar 2023

Transcendental Meditation reduces stress-related burnout symptoms among healthcare providers

Healthcare providers (HCP) at three Miami hospitals during the height of the Covid crisis, who practiced the Transcendental Meditation technique (TM), showed a rapid and highly significant reduction in stress-related burnout symptoms such as somatization, depression, anxiety, sleep disturbances, and emotional exhaustion, as well as significant improvement in mental well-being, compared to a parallel matched lifestyle-as-usual group (LAU), according to a new study published today in PLOS ONE.

3 Mar 2023

Neural mechanisms underlying the effects of mindfulness on anxiety in anorexia nervosa

Sadly, many family members, friends, and celebrities have suffered from anorexia nervosa, or AN, a severe psychiatric illness associated with intense anxieties concerning weight, shape, and self-esteem. AN is characterized by an eating disorder, food restriction, voluntary vomiting, and extreme emaciation.

3 Feb 2023

Mindfulness-type meditation intervention benefits adolescents with traumatic experiences

In 2021 alone, it is estimated that one billion children around the world experienced some kind of violence or neglect, ranging from sexual to physical or emotional abuse.

23 Jan 2023

New research draws attention to the effects of deep meditation on gut health

Researchers investigated the effects of long-term traditional Tibetan Buddhist meditation on the gut microbiome's structural characteristics. Additionally, they screened microbes in the gut microbiota for insights into their biochemical indices and functionality.

19 Jan 2023

Long-term deep meditation may help to regulate the gut microbiome for better health

Regular deep meditation, practiced for several years, may help to regulate the gut microbiome and potentially lower the risks of physical and mental ill health, finds a small comparative study published in the open access journal General Psychiatry.

17 Jan 2023

Better management of emotions could help limit neurodegeneration

Negative emotions, anxiety and depression are thought to promote the onset of neurodegenerative diseases and dementia.

16 Jan 2023

Review and meta-analysis suggests breathwork may be effective for improving stress and mental health

The findings of a study published in Scientific Reports suggest that practicing breathing exercises helps decrease stress and improve mental health.

13 Jan 2023

Group practice of Transcendental Meditation reduces stress in the United States, study shows

Every year during 2000 to 2006 there were tens of thousands of stress-related tragedies in the U.S. Official statistics from the FBI and Centers for Disease Control indicate that there were 15,440 murders, 93,438 rapes, and 86,348 child and adolescent deaths from accidents each year to give a few examples.

26 Dec 2022

Young people lack trust in the smartphone apps for receiving mental health support

Young people may not be receiving the mental health support they need because of a lack of trust in the smartphone apps that deliver such services, a study suggests.

21 Dec 2022

Cancer patients with sickle cell disease report reduction in pain and anxiety in response to music therapy

A new study from University Hospitals Connor Whole Health found patients with cancer and patients with sickle cell disease (SCD) treated at an academic cancer center reported clinically significant reductions in pain and anxiety in response to music therapy.

19 Dec 2022

The COVID-19 pandemic's traumatizing effect on mothers in the USA

A new research paper presents the results of a study on maternal stress levels in American mothers during COVID-19.

19 Dec 2022

Study finds pandemic-associated traumatic stress among mothers

The COVID-19 pandemic brought about sudden change and probably some amount of stress for most people in 2020.

16 Dec 2022

Treating long covid is rife with guesswork

Medical equipment is still strewn around the house of Rick Lucas, 62, nearly two years after he came home from the hospital. He picks up a spirometer, a device that measures lung capacity, and takes a deep breath — though not as deep as he'd like.

22 Nov 2022

Researchers develop new device to non-invasively measure cervical nerve activity

A team of engineers and physicians at University of California San Diego has developed a device to non-invasively measure cervical nerve activity in humans, a new tool that they say could potentially inform and improve treatments for patients with sepsis, a life-threatening response to infection, and mental health conditions, such as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

20 Nov 2022

Survey: Nearly two-thirds of cancer patients want to know about complementary therapies before treatment

Nearly two-thirds (62%) of people with cancer want to know about complementary therapies such as exercise, nutrition counseling, massage, and meditation before starting conventional treatment, but only 33% of oncologists agree with that timeline, according to a new survey conducted on behalf of Samueli Foundation.

15 Nov 2022