Meditation Helps the Heart
In the study, researchers looked at the effects of daily transcendental meditation on blood vessel function in 111 black adolescents with high blood pressure. Half of the youths meditated by allowing their mind to settle to minimal activity for 15 minutes twice a day, and the other half received only health education.
Blood vessel function was measured in both groups using ultrasound imaging at the beginning of the study and four months later.
The results showed that the youths who practiced regular meditation experienced a significantly greater improvement in their blood vessels’ ability to relax in response to stress compared with those who didn’t meditate (2.5% improvement vs. 0.5% in the comparison group).
“If this improvement in the ability to dilate can be replicated in other at-risk groups and cardiovascular disease patients, this could have important implications for inclusion of meditation programs to prevent and treat cardiovascular disease and its clinical consequences,” says Barnes. “We know this type of change is achievable with lipid lowering drugs, but it’s remarkable that a meditation program can produce such a change.”
“Change can’t be expected overnight,” says Barnes. “Meditation and other positive lifestyle habits such as exercising and eating right have to become part of your life, like brushing your teeth.”
Researchers say long-term studies are needed to determine the long-term impact of meditation on the risk of heart disease.