You may be skeptical of people that boast about the powers of meditation to be so far-reaching as to make it a panacea for ailments of mind and body. This doubt is quite healthy, as many of the claims made about meditation are overstated and not backed by scientific evidence. However, scientific research offers strong support for a few benefits that meditation can provide without any subscription to the spiritual baggage that is often attached to it. In a literature review published by the National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health, neuroscientists have taken the results of the best studies to come to some encouraging conclusions about meditation.
Most of the studies they reviewed seemed to feature poorly regulated control groups. For example, some studies compared the effects of meditation between groups which were dissimilar in some ways, such as doing different amounts of exercise. However, the best studies demonstrated four concrete ways in which meditation can improve daily life. The specific type of meditation practice that they investigated is called mindfulness meditation, the focus of which is to be aware of one’s moment to moment conscious experience and to not be wrapped up in wandering thoughts. Unsurprisingly, one benefit of regularly practicing mindfulness meditation is improved focus, which results in higher productivity.
The scientific basis for this change can be found in the brain. The prefrontal cortex, a region of the brain that controls attention, is shut down by a triggering of the amygdala, which controls emotions such as anger and anxiety. This is what makes mindfulness meditation an effective way to stay calm in stressful situations, as it suppresses the trigger-happy responses of the amygdala. In a work environment, this benefit is helpful for encouraging cooperation and less conflict among team members. Improved memory is another benefit the best studies strongly suggested, which lends itself to better problem solving and cognitive processing abilities in the workplace. Finally, mindfulness meditation can increase kindness towards others, especially those in need, which is important trait of an effective member of any well-functioning team.
While not a magic bullet, which it is sometimes heralded as, a committed practice of mindfulness meditation can improve focus, reduce stress, aid memory, and cultivate compassion.
