Meditation is, for many years, indicated as a method for improve people's mental and emotional well-being.. This technique, which emerged in the 60s, helps the patient to educate his mind, thus reducing stress and anxiety.
Generally speaking, meditation can be divided into two basic forms: concentrative and mindfulness. THE concentrative is one in which the person trains their attention and focus. In this type, the emission of some sound or mantra is common. already the mindfulness it is that meditation in which the practitioner is fully aware of what is happening at that moment in his life and accepts the situation without trying to change it or reflect on the theme.
The effects of meditation are the subject of research in various areas of science. Works have already shown that practice is related to cognitive improvement, alertness, intelligence score, concentration, and decrease in stress and anxiety. Some people also reported that the practice helps face the day-to-day problems better.
A study published in 2003, titled Alterations in brain and immune function produced by mindfulness meditation, showed that the meditation had an effect on the immune response after administration of the flu vaccine, which performed better than the control group. This proves that meditation is also about physical health, not just mental health.
In November 2014, a study titled Mindfulness-based cancer recovery and supportive-expressive therapy maintain telomere length relative to controls in distressed breast cancer survivors was published by the newspaper Cancer and demonstrated that the meditation can alter the cellular activity of practitioners. The work, led by Linda Carlson, used 88 participants who had breast cancer, were on average 55 years old and were experiencing some emotional stress.
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These people were divided into three groups. The first group was submitted to weekly meetings of yoga and meditation mindfulness and should apply the techniques at home for at least 45 minutes daily. The second group had weekly group therapy sessions. The last group was the control, who just attended a lecture on how to manage stress.
The results, after three months of research, were surprising. Only the control group had changes in telomeres - complexes formed by DNA and protein that act to protect the chromosomes degradation — which have shrunk in size. The other groups analyzed maintained the same telomere length.
How telomere shortening is related to several health problems, including Cellular aging, research has shown that meditation and support groups can bring great health benefits. Researchers cannot say only whether this effect will last or not.
Thus, with these studies, it is possible to conclude that meditation provides many benefits to physical, mental and emotional health..
By Me. Vanessa dos Santos
Would you like to reference this text in a school or academic work? Look:
SANTOS, Vanessa Sardinha dos. "Meditation and Cellular Activity"; Brazil School. Available in: https://brasilescola.uol.com.br/biologia/meditacao-atividade-celular.htm. Accessed on June 28, 2021.
