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.

Novel controlled clinical trial finds Ayurvedic-based well-being program can alter blood-based metabolites

In a novel controlled clinical trial, participants in a six-day Ayurvedic-based well-being program that featured a vegetarian diet, meditation, yoga and massages experienced measurable decreases in a set of blood-based metabolites associated with inflammation, cardiovascular disease risk and cholesterol regulation.

9 Sep 2016

Medical industry employees experience severe stress leading to negative health behaviors

Several national surveys have found that approximately 15 to 20 percent of adults in the U.S. will report high levels of stress.

9 Sep 2016

Study examines effectiveness of spiritual meditation plus medication intervention for migraines

"Effect of Different Meditation Types on Migraine Headache Medication Use," an article recently published in Behavioral Medicine, examines whether or not, and to what extent, a combination of spiritual meditation and migraine medication affects analgesic medication usage.

2 Sep 2016

New study assesses biological impact of meditation and vacation

Scientists from the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, the University of California, San Francisco, and Harvard Medical School used a rigorous study design to assess the biological impact of meditation compared to vacation.

30 Aug 2016

UW-Madison joins with Madison Police Department to study impact of mindfulness practices on officers' well-being

The Center for Healthy Minds at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and the Madison Police Department are launching a pilot study to better understand the impact of mindfulness-based practices on police officers' physical and mental well-being.

26 Aug 2016

Mindfulness training helps alleviate depressive symptoms in disadvantaged African-American women

African-American women with lower socio-economic status have an increased risk of depressive disorders, yet they rarely seek out antidepressants or psychotherapy because of negative attitudes and stigma associated with conventional mental health treatments.

16 Aug 2016

Researchers study impact of mindfulness-based cognitive therapy in adolescents with anxiety disorders

Anxiety disorders are among the most common psychiatric conditions affecting children and adolescents. While antidepressants are frequently used to treat youth with anxiety disorders, sometimes, antidepressants may be poorly tolerated in children who are at high risk of developing bipolar disorder.

20 Jul 2016

Novel method of mindfulness meditation can improve emotional and cognitive performance

Meditation has long been promoted as a way to feel more at peace. But research from a Texas Tech University faculty member shows it can significantly improve attention, working memory, creativity, immune function, emotional regulation, self-control, cognitive and school performance and healthy habits while reducing stress.

18 Jul 2016

Research sheds more light on midlife memory decline

The inability to remember details, such as the location of objects, begins in early midlife and may be the result of a change in what information the brain focuses on during memory formation and retrieval, rather than a decline in brain function, according to a study by McGill University researchers.

13 Jul 2016

Diversity of gut bacteria may affect brain health

The surprising and potentially wide-ranging effects that the levels and diversity of bacteria living in the gut have on overall human health, inflammation, and specifically brain health are the focus of a provocative interview with Dr. David Perlmutter in Alternative and Complementary Therapies, a journal from Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers.

11 Jul 2016

Mindfulness intervention provides greater resilience, less anxiety in prostate cancer patients

Men with prostate cancer who are under close medical surveillance reported significantly greater resilience and less anxiety over time after receiving an intervention of mindfulness meditation, according to a recently published pilot study from the Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine.

27 May 2016

UCLA Health's child life experts recognize need for hospital parents’ playroom

Everyone knows that, for kids, being in the hospital is no fun. That's why UCLA Health's child life specialists make sure hospitalized kids still get to be kids. They staff playrooms, orchestrate social events and bring movies and games to kids' bedsides.

18 May 2016

Yoga exercise may reduce impact of asthma on people's quality of life

A new Cochrane Review, published in the Cochrane Library today, suggests that yoga may have a beneficial effect on symptoms and quality of life in people with asthma, but effects on lung function and medication use are uncertain.

27 Apr 2016

Pilot study shows mindfulness-based eating awareness training could help adolescents combat obesity

Some of the simplest, safest lessons to help adolescents combat obesity may be raising their awareness of what they are eating and whether they are even hungry, researchers say.

5 Apr 2016

QuietKit unveils new platform to educate users on basics of meditation, mindfulness

QuietKit today announced the launch of its new platform, a website that educates users on the basics of meditation and mindfulness. The website features step-by-step guided meditations to help users develop a habitual practice.

5 Apr 2016

Mindfulness training can help manage painful cycles of thoughts in veterans with PTSD

Like an endlessly repeating video loop, horrible memories and thoughts can keep playing over and over in the minds of people with post-traumatic stress disorder. They intrude at the quietest moments, and don't seem to have an off switch.

2 Apr 2016

Four commonly used medications to treat pregnant women with migraines may not be safe

According to doctors at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center, medications and treatments long considered safe to treat pregnant women with migraines may not be.

31 Mar 2016

SLU scientist describes several tactics that can help cells overcome lesions

In a recent review paper published in Nature Structural & Molecular Biology, SLU scientist Alessandro Vindigni, Ph.D., describes the strategies cells use when their DNA faces replication stress, challenges that may derail a cell's ability to reproduce.

29 Mar 2016

Mindfulness meditation reduces pain without endogenous opioid system

Everyone knows that stubbing your toe hurts. What makes it stop hurting is the body's main pain-blocking process - the natural production of opioids.

16 Mar 2016

Coloring can help cancer patients cope with stress

Sandy Gantt receives infusions of chemotherapy to treat her leukemia for hours on end, day after day. But she's found one thing that transports her from that reality to a less stressful place."Coloring is a nice, soothing distraction from treatment," she said, shading an intricate mandala design. "I get lost in it, and it gets me away from my worries."