Forever Young - How Meditation Delays Ageing!
How nice it would be if we could turn back the hands of time and maintain our youthful looks and vitality! How strange it is for the young, vital mind to inhabit a body that marks the passage of time through wrinkles and grey hair. We are still a long way from discovering the ultimate fountain of youth, but scientist have confirmed that meditation can be of benefit to slow the effects of time.
Past research suggests that Meditation has the capacity to counteract the loss of health that usually accompanies normal ageing . Additionally, other studies have shown that Meditation is associated with a dose-response related strengthening of ones physiology (such as cardiovascular health, work satisfaction, positive health habits, mental health, happiness, and intelligence) as we age.
What this means is that the longer you practice Meditation, the greater the degree to which biological age will be younger than chronological age.
On top of all that, an exciting new research paper shows us that elderly people who do meditation for a long period have superior cognitive abilities than non-meditators. The general consensus that cognitive abilities decline with advancing age is supported by several studies that have reported that older adults perform more poorly on multiple tests of cognitive performance as compared to younger adults. To date, preventive measures against this cognitive decline have been mainly focused on dietary, physical, and lifestyle behaviors, which could allow older adults to maintain their cognitive abilities into late life.
However, much less focus has been laid on evaluating meditation as a preventive measure in such cases, in spite of the fact that the role of meditation on attention has been proved in several studies. However, newer studies show that elderly people who do meditation have superior mental abilities, providing another reason why daily meditation, guided or unguided, can help you on the path to fulfilling your potential in this life.
Meditation is like the ultimate rest. It's better than the best sleep you've ever had. It's a quieting of the mind. It sharpens everything, especially your appreciation of your surroundings. It keeps life fresh.
Hugh Jackman
A part from being more relaxed after adding meditation to your wellness routine, it's nice to know that it may keep you a little younger as well!
Give it a try with this relaxing Manifesting Meditation:
Dr. Michelle Nielsen of Master Manifestors.
References -
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2.) Mills WW, Farrow JT. The Transcendental Meditation technique and acute experimental pain. Psychosomatic Medicine, 1981, 43(2): 157-164.
3.) Glaser JL et al. Elevated serum dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate levels in practitioners of the Transcendental Meditation (TM) and TM-Sidhi Programs. Journal of Behavioral Medicine, 1992, 15: 4, 327-341.
4.) Smith D, Dillbeck MC, Sharma HM. Erythrocyte sedimentation rate and Transcendental Meditation. Alternative Therapies in Clinical Practice, 1997, 4 (2), 35-37.
5.) Wallace RK, Dillbeck MC, Jacobe E, Harrington B. The effects of the Transcendental Meditation and TM-Sidhi program on the aging process. International Journal of Neuroscience, 1982, 16: 53-58.
6.) Prakash R, Rastofgi P, Dubey I, Abhishek P, Chaudhury S, Small BJ. Long-term concentrative meditation and cognitive performance among older adults. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed?term=%22Rastogi P%22%5BAuthor%5D
Neuropsychol Dev Cogn B Aging Neuropsychol Cogn. 2011 Dec 13. [Epub ahead of print]