From each reading (so two paragraph), what fact/study did you read about that struck you as most promising in terms of greater wellness/happiness for individuals and society?
"The Science of Mindfulness" The study that sounded the most promising was about how mindfulness meditation boosted your immune system. Convincing people to spend hours meditating just to improve their mood seems like a difficult task, especially since those in a bad mood will tend to be uncooperative. However, a tangible, healthy benefit is clearly something that would be of use to people. Sick people will be willing to partake in the activity if it gives them a better chance of survival, which this study indicates is true. This meditation could potentially save lives.
"Meditation and the Brain" The study that seemed the most useful was that mindfulness meditation could relieve symptons in patients with chronic pain four years after training. From a purely financial standpoint, this is huge. Four years of pain therapy is a significant burdon, that many families probably can't support. However, meditation is essentially free. Whether or not we end up with universal healthcare, we can all afford long treatments through the use of mindfulness meditation.
The Science of Mindfulness: I found it interesting that those who practiced more mindfulness mediation had improved immune function. I wonder why those patients have this reaction; maybe it is an increased awareness of the body to what is going on whether that is to viruses or pain, whatever it is which triggers an increased immune response. Maybe the body has an increased desire to live. It was amazing to me that the psoriasis patients healed four times faster, although I wonder about their sample size and experimental procedures. That is a significant increase by simply the brain focusing more on the left side.
Meditation and the Brain: This reading was someone similar to the other supplemental reading because it also stated that meditation caused increased activity in the left side of your brain and that it caused an increased immune response, shown by the increased antibodies to a flu vaccine. However, what I found exciting about this is the amount of support it has received; both a Nobel Prize winner and the man behind the human genome project are invested in this project. That means it probably has some validity and will have some degree of success in either proving or disproving meditation as medicine.
Matt only beat me by 12 minutes because I went to stand outside in the hail.
Meditation and the Brain The most intriguing study in this reading was the one that showed that meditators also had a greater ability to produce antibodies after a flu vaccine. This was interesting to me because previously, I had been of the mindset that meditation was only useful for your health because it just brightened your outlook in general and made you less inclinded to think seriously about a disease. Or that it somehow heightened your pain threshold by making you less attached an responsive to physical feelings. This study however, proved to me that meditation has a real impact on your health, even on the most secular and scientific level.
The Science of Mindfulness Although this reading seemed very similar to the Meditation and the Brain reading, I liked how they focused more specifically on the "left shift" and the "approach state". This has huge implications for the welfare of humanity because it shows that these aren't just fuzzy ideas; they are actually grounded in neurobiology. The fact that we know so well what happens when you meditate means that we can create new treatments, i.e tailored meditation riutals or drugs that replicate these results.
In Meditation and the Brain, there were several studies that I found promising. In one study, a monk who meditates daily showed activation in part of his left prefrontal cortex, where 'positive emotion' is associated. Also, other studies find that meditation reduces symptoms of stress such as increased heart rate and perspiration. The most interesting study was with cancer patients, concluding that " cancer patients who practiced meditation had significantly better emotional outlooks than a control group; and not only that meditation relieved symptoms in patients with anxiety and chronic pain but also that the benefits persisted up to four years after the training" (6). This has evidence in long-term results as well as an emotional health benefit.
In The Science of Mindfulness, the author states that studies indicate mindfulness medication can improve the body's immune system function, improving the body's ability to heal or fight off infection. This reading is different because it explains that mindful awareness practices are activities such as yoga, tai chi, centering prayer, chanting, etc. The most interesting/compelling study in this article is that people who participated in mindfulness activities for eight weeks "resulted in an improvement in the immune profiles of people with breast or prostate cancer, which corresponded with decreased depressive symptoms" (69). These are just some of the benefits mentioned in the article, there are a lot more.
Meditation and the Brain mentions that studies have shown that even simple meditation can lead to lasting health effects. Although I would not consider meditation to be difficult per se, I would say that it is not something most people believe they have time for or the mental capacity. Americans like things to be fast and simple, so what more could they ask for? Given this information about light-weight meditation, a new spark of interest in soon-to-be meditators might occur.
The Science of Mindfulness suggests that we take simplified meditation to the next level for added benefits. Increased brain function might not appeal to all, but for those who are interested, incredible brain-enhancing benefits seem to be in store. Both of these articles offer forms of meditation that are accessible to the most basic of minds to the super-refined. The more meditation that is incorporated into society, the better the overall health of humans will be.
"The Science of Mindfulness"
ReplyDeleteThe study that sounded the most promising was about how mindfulness meditation boosted your immune system. Convincing people to spend hours meditating just to improve their mood seems like a difficult task, especially since those in a bad mood will tend to be uncooperative. However, a tangible, healthy benefit is clearly something that would be of use to people. Sick people will be willing to partake in the activity if it gives them a better chance of survival, which this study indicates is true. This meditation could potentially save lives.
"Meditation and the Brain"
The study that seemed the most useful was that mindfulness meditation could relieve symptons in patients with chronic pain four years after training. From a purely financial standpoint, this is huge. Four years of pain therapy is a significant burdon, that many families probably can't support. However, meditation is essentially free. Whether or not we end up with universal healthcare, we can all afford long treatments through the use of mindfulness meditation.
Also, first again. You're slacking off, Alex.
The Science of Mindfulness:
ReplyDeleteI found it interesting that those who practiced more mindfulness mediation had improved immune function. I wonder why those patients have this reaction; maybe it is an increased awareness of the body to what is going on whether that is to viruses or pain, whatever it is which triggers an increased immune response. Maybe the body has an increased desire to live. It was amazing to me that the psoriasis patients healed four times faster, although I wonder about their sample size and experimental procedures. That is a significant increase by simply the brain focusing more on the left side.
Meditation and the Brain:
This reading was someone similar to the other supplemental reading because it also stated that meditation caused increased activity in the left side of your brain and that it caused an increased immune response, shown by the increased antibodies to a flu vaccine. However, what I found exciting about this is the amount of support it has received; both a Nobel Prize winner and the man behind the human genome project are invested in this project. That means it probably has some validity and will have some degree of success in either proving or disproving meditation as medicine.
Matt only beat me by 12 minutes because I went to stand outside in the hail.
It also hailed around an hour ago, you could have stood outside then. No excuses!
ReplyDeleteMeditation and the Brain
ReplyDeleteThe most intriguing study in this reading was the one that showed that meditators also had a greater ability to produce antibodies after a flu vaccine. This was interesting to me because previously, I had been of the mindset that meditation was only useful for your health because it just brightened your outlook in general and made you less inclinded to think seriously about a disease. Or that it somehow heightened your pain threshold by making you less attached an responsive to physical feelings. This study however, proved to me that meditation has a real impact on your health, even on the most secular and scientific level.
The Science of Mindfulness
Although this reading seemed very similar to the Meditation and the Brain reading, I liked how they focused more specifically on the "left shift" and the "approach state". This has huge implications for the welfare of humanity because it shows that these aren't just fuzzy ideas; they are actually grounded in neurobiology. The fact that we know so well what happens when you meditate means that we can create new treatments, i.e tailored meditation riutals or drugs that replicate these results.
In Meditation and the Brain, there were several studies that I found promising. In one study, a monk who meditates daily showed activation in part of his left prefrontal cortex, where 'positive emotion' is associated. Also, other studies find that meditation reduces symptoms of stress such as increased heart rate and perspiration. The most interesting study was with cancer patients, concluding that " cancer patients who practiced meditation had significantly better emotional outlooks than a control group; and not only that meditation relieved symptoms in patients with anxiety and chronic pain but also that the benefits persisted up to four years after the training" (6). This has evidence in long-term results as well as an emotional health benefit.
ReplyDeleteIn The Science of Mindfulness, the author states that studies indicate mindfulness medication can improve the body's immune system function, improving the body's ability to heal or fight off infection. This reading is different because it explains that mindful awareness practices are activities such as yoga, tai chi, centering prayer, chanting, etc. The most interesting/compelling study in this article is that people who participated in mindfulness activities for eight weeks "resulted in an improvement in the immune profiles of people with breast or prostate cancer, which corresponded with decreased depressive symptoms" (69). These are just some of the benefits mentioned in the article, there are a lot more.
Meditation and the Brain mentions that studies have shown that even simple meditation can lead to lasting health effects. Although I would not consider meditation to be difficult per se, I would say that it is not something most people believe they have time for or the mental capacity. Americans like things to be fast and simple, so what more could they ask for? Given this information about light-weight meditation, a new spark of interest in soon-to-be meditators might occur.
ReplyDeleteThe Science of Mindfulness suggests that we take simplified meditation to the next level for added benefits. Increased brain function might not appeal to all, but for those who are interested, incredible brain-enhancing benefits seem to be in store. Both of these articles offer forms of meditation that are accessible to the most basic of minds to the super-refined. The more meditation that is incorporated into society, the better the overall health of humans will be.