conducted（ConductedStudiesontheEffectsofMeditationonMentalHealth）
ConductedStudiesontheEffectsofMeditationonMentalHealth
Overthepastfewdecades,agrowingnumberofstudieshavebeenconductedtoexaminetheeffectsofmeditationonmentalhealth.Thesestudieshaveyieldedpromisingresults,suggestingthatmeditationcanbeaneffectivetoolforimprovingvariousaspectsofmentalwellbeing.
ReducedSymptomsofAnxietyandDepression
Oneofthemostsignificantbenefitsofregularmeditationpracticeisthereductionofsymptomsassociatedwithanxietyanddepression.Numerousstudieshaveshownthatmindfulnessmeditation,inparticular,canbeeffectiveinreducingsymptomsofbothanxietyanddepression,aswellasincreasingoverallfeelingsofwell-being.
Forexample,a2014studyconductedbyresearchersattheUniversityofExeterintheUKfoundthatMBCT,ormindfulness-basedcognitivetherapy,waseffectiveinpreventingrelapseinpatientswithdepression.Anotherstudy,publishedintheJournalofPsychosomaticMedicinein2013,foundthatmindfulnessmeditationwasassociatedwithreducedsymptomsofanxietyanddepressionamongcancerpatients.
ImprovedCognitiveFunctioning
Meditationhasalsobeenshowntoimprovecognitivefunctioninginvariousways.Forexample,a2012studypublishedinthejournalFrontiersinHumanNeurosciencefoundthatjustfourdaysofmindfulnessmeditationresultedinimprovedworkingmemorycapacityamongparticipants.
Anotherstudyconductedin2012foundthatregularmeditationpracticewasassociatedwithincreasedcorticalthicknessinimportantareasofthebrain,includingtheprefrontalcortex,whichisresponsibleforhigher-levelthinkinganddecisionmaking.
ImprovedStressManagement
Finally,meditationhasbeenshowntobeaneffectivetoolforreducingstressandimprovingstressmanagementskills.Forexample,astudypublishedinthejournalHealthPsychologyin2014foundthatmindfulnessmeditationwaseffectiveinreducingperceivedstressamongstudyparticipants.
Otherstudieshaveshownthatregularmeditationpracticeisassociatedwithreducedlevelsofthestresshormonecortisolinthebody,whichcanhaveanumberofpositivehealthbenefits.
Overall,theresultsofthesestudiessuggestthatmeditationcanbeaneffectivetoolforimprovingmentalhealthinanumberofways.Fromreducingsymptomsofanxietyanddepressiontoimprovingcognitivefunctioningandstressmanagement,meditationoffersawiderangeofpotentialbenefitsforthoselookingtoimprovetheiroverallwellbeing.
