The Mind-Body Benefits of Meditation

Physiological benefits:

1. Decreased heart rate during quiet meditation

2. Lower blood pressure in normal and moderately hypertensive individuals

3. Quicker recovery from stress

4. Increase in alpha rhythms (slow, high-amplitude brain waves that correlate with relaxation)

5. Enhanced synchronization (that is, simultaneous operation) of the right and left hemispheres of the brain (which positively correlates with creativity)

6. Reduced cholesterol levels

7. Decreased consumption of energy and need for oxygen

8. Deeper, slower breathing

9. Muscle relaxation

10. Reduction in the intensity of pain

11. More happiness and peace of mind

12. Less emotional reactivity; fewer intense negative emotions and dramatic mood swings

12. Increased empathy

13. Enhanced creativity and self-actualization

14. Heightened perceptual clarity and sensitivity

15. Reductions in both acute and chronic anxiety

16. Complement to psychotherapy and other approaches in the treatment of addiction