Meditation Lengthens Life Expectancy

The quest for eternal life and the fountain of youth is an age old myth, but imagine enjoying your life — family, friends, food, the outdoors — longer. Not living forever, but doing something that could actually help you live longer and happier? Good news, you can. Mindfulness meditation can lengthen your life expectancy, according to various research over several decades.

In 2006, the American Journal of Cardiology reported after an 18-year study that meditation reduces death rates by 23 percent. The rates include all causes of death, plus a 30 percent reduction in death rates from cardiovascular disease and a 49 percent reduction from cancer. The participants measured meditated regularly.

How is that possible? Well, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control, the top five causes of death are heart disease, cancer, stroke, lower respiratory disease and accidents, all which can be exacerbated by stress. It’s been proven that meditation relieves stress, therefore contributing greatly to lowering the risk of these triggers.

Meditation was seen to improve the lives, health and brains of senior citizens in a study completed in 1989. For three years, 70 senior citizens, with an average age of 81, either meditated twice a day for 20 minutes, did psychological exercises, relaxation exercises or nothing. Those practicing meditation reduced their blood pressure and improved their mental health. Over the three years, not one subject in the meditation group died. Additionally, the elderly who meditated said they felt less old, were able to better solve problems and were more patient.

More recently, researchers at the Universities of California, Davis and San Francisco published a paper in the journal Psychoneuroendocrinology that reported participants who engaged in meditation showed improved psychological well being, which was linked to increased activity of telomerase in the body. Telomerase is an enzyme responsible for rebuilding and lengthening telomeres, sequences of DNA that get shorter as a person ages and plays a role in prolonging life. For three months, 30 participants attended an intensive meditation retreat where the study  measured the effects meditation on the biology of the body. At the end of the retreat, participants showed a 30 percent higher level of telomerase activity in their immune cells than the control group. The research suggests cell longevity via meditation, which translates to living longer.

A busy life gets heavy and stressful. We often are in a rush to complete tasks and grounded in routines, when living in the moment seems impossible or forgotten. By incorporating a practice of mindfulness meditation into your life, you can not only lengthen your lifespan and live a more fulfilling life, but you can truly feel alive. Skip the high-priced medicines and concoctions that claim to make you live longer, and just allow yourself to be mindful. What have you got to lose?

 

 

Note: Specifically, with regards to medical issues, always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition. Never disregard professional medical advice or delay in seeking it because of something you have read on the Web site.

Copyright © 2012 Tracy Quantum, LLC. All rights reserved.

Tags: , , ,