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.

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

$3.2 million grant helps to study the benefits of mind-body practices for patients undergoing surgery

Can mind-body practices such as gentle yoga or self-reflection benefit patients undergoing surgery? It's a question that researchers at Wake Forest University School of Medicine are examining with the support of a five-year, $3.2 million grant from the National Cancer Institute

10 Nov 2022

New research helps understand how breathing shapes our brain

"Breathe in… Breathe out…" Or: "take a deep breath and count to ten." The calming effect of breathing in stressful situations, is a concept most of us have met before.

8 Nov 2022

Sleep quality impacts women's mood and work ambitions

If women want to lean in to work, they may first want to lay down for a good night's rest. A Washington State University-led study indicated that sleep quality impacted women's mood and changed how they felt about advancing in their careers.

31 Oct 2022

Smartphone App could help advance the early detection of Parkinson's disease and severe COVID-19

A new screening test App could help advance the early detection of Parkinson's disease and severe COVID-19, improving the management of these illnesses.

5 Oct 2022

Mind-body practices can effectively reduce blood glucose levels in people with type 2 diabetes

Mind-body practices such as yoga and meditation are increasingly popular tools for promoting health and combating diseases, including type 2 diabetes.

28 Sep 2022

Healthy older people show greater mental well-being but poorer cognition than younger adults

The young and old could learn a thing or two from each other, at least when it comes to mental health and cognition.

15 Sep 2022

Lifestyle interventions can help pediatricians meet the growing need for youth depression management

With rising prevalence of depression in adolescents, screening requirements are increasingly falling on pediatric primary care providers, who are encountering more at-risk patients.

15 Sep 2022

Novel method enables early detection of cognitive decline

Integration of music with analysis of electrical brain activity. Musical Tests Can DetectMental Deterioration in Old Age Researchers at Tel Aviv University have developed a method that employs musical tests and a portable instrument for measuring brain activity to detect cognitive decline in old age. According to the researchers, the method, which is based on the measurement of 15 minutes of electrical activity in the brain while performing simple musical tasks, can be easily implemented by any staff member in any clinic, without requiring special training.

17 Aug 2022

Academic stress significantly correlates to psychological well-being in students, study finds

Academic stress takes a toll on the mental well-being of certain groups of college students more than others – a correlation further exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a Rutgers New Jersey Medical School study.

10 Aug 2022

Study isolates the changes in pain-related brain activity following mindfulness training

Research at the University of Wisconsin–Madison's Center for Healthy Minds has isolated the changes in pain-related brain activity that follow mindfulness training -; pointing a way toward more targeted and precise pain treatment.

28 Jul 2022

Study shows the efficacy of Yoga of Immortals mobile app for urinary incontinence

People with loss of urinary control who used the Yoga of Immortals mobile app – a globally used app that combines specific yogic postures in the Sanatan tradition with breathing exercises, sound therapy and meditation – found significant improvement in the frequency and severity of urine leaks at four weeks of practice, according to a Rutgers study.

26 Jul 2022

Poll: Many older adults use integrative medicine strategy to ease physical or mental health symptoms

Nearly 40% of older adults currently use at least one integrative medicine strategy to try to ease symptoms of a physical or mental health issue, or to help them relax, a new poll finds.

26 Jul 2022

Integrating mental health support with routine care is essential for people with congenital heart defects

Although many individuals born with congenital heart defects develop resilience and have a high quality of life, they may face a variety of health-related psychological and social challenges throughout their lives.

14 Jul 2022

Researchers find neural circuitry supporting mindfulness-induced pain relief

For centuries, people have been using mindfulness meditation to try to relieve their pain, but neuroscientists have only recently been able to test if and how this actually works.

8 Jul 2022

Chronic stress in pregnancy affects fetal iron homeostasis

If a woman experiences chronic stress late in her pregnancy, it can affect her fetus' ability to absorb iron by as much as 15%, according to a study led by UW Medicine researchers in Seattle.

7 Jul 2022

What causes insomnia and how to treat it?

A new study evaluates the symptoms of insomnia and its treatment as reported by patients in primary care settings.

5 Jul 2022

Dog-assisted interventions can lead to lower stress in children

Dog-assisted interventions can lead to significantly lower stress in children both with and without special needs, according to a new study using salivary cortisol levels published this week in the open-access journal PLOS ONE by Kerstin Meints of University of Lincoln, UK, and colleagues.

15 Jun 2022

States fight student mental health crisis with days off

Linnea Sorensen falls into a funk whenever her girlfriend of four years leaves for her six-month stints with the Marines, and the high school junior has trouble concentrating on her class work.

13 Jun 2022