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Meditation is well known as a way to help you shut out unhelpful thoughts and relax, but when practised regularly (Hassed recommends daily) it seems meditation can also help boost your health in the longer term.
Mention meditation and many of us think of Buddhist monks, orange robes and incense. But meditation is increasingly being recognised outside of the spiritual realm as a powerful health improvement tool. Research shows meditation can improve the well-being of people with a range of conditions including depression, anxiety, chronic pain and cancer. It’s also becoming a popular treatment option among medical professionals, with as many as one in six Australian doctors teaching secular forms of meditation to their patients and more than 80 per cent referring them to others to learn it.
Meditation is well known as a way to help you shut out unhelpful thoughts and relax, but when practised regularly (Hassed recommends daily) it seems meditation can also help boost your health in the longer term.
Hassed argues too often our thoughts slip into a “default mode” – which involves replaying the past, worrying about the future and experiencing other negative thoughts – leading to “over-activation” of the body’s stress response.
This stress response is designed to help you deal with dangers or threats. But when it is too frequently over-activated by threats existing only in your mind, it can cause “wear and tear” on your body over time.
Hassed says research shows this ‘wear and tear’ can increase your risk of illnesses, such as heart attacks, strokes, high blood pressure and diabetes.
change your default mode …
Your nervous system is made up of neurons, the spinal cord, and the brain. Pain neurons in your body are programmed to protect you from dangers like heat or pressure. When these pain sensors detect danger or damage, they send chemical and electrical messages up the spinal cord to the brain. Your brain then decides how to respond and sends a message back to the body. The brain might send a message to freeze, pull your hand away from a flame, or run for your life. Of course, the pain system is much more complicated, but the gist of it is that it protects the body from external dangers and ensures our survival.
Here’s the catch: The amount of pain you feel is not solely determined by the pain messages being sent up from the body or the external stimuli (i.e., the amount of heat or pressure). The brain regulates this to some extent also. The brain can decide to send more chemical and electrical messages to increase the pain sensation or choose to send different messages that decrease the pain.
The amount of pain you feel is a complex blend of:
The brain has a lot of power over the amount of pain you feel – whether during an acute injury event or during recovery. If someone perceives the injury is career ending, the recovery time will be longer.
Your nervous system is made up of neurons, the spinal cord, and the brain. Pain neurons in your body are programmed to protect you from dangers like heat or pressure. When these pain sensors detect danger or damage, they send chemical and electrical messages up the spinal cord to the brain. Your brain then decides how to respond and sends a message back to the body. The brain might send a message to freeze, pull your hand away from a flame, or run for your life. Of course, the pain system is much more complicated, but the gist of it is that it protects the body from external dangers and ensures our survival.
You calm the nervous system. This aids in recovery by stopping all the fight or flight reactions you impose on your body when you catastrophize (such as increased cortisol, tense muscles, lowered levels of dopamine and serotonin, inhibition of digestion).
Meditation is well known as a way to help you shut out unhelpful thoughts and relax, but when practised regularly (Hassed recommends daily) it seems meditation can also help boost your health in the longer term.
When it comes to field of biology, life sciences and healing, results can never be guaranteed. The above program is not intended to replace conventional treatment that you may be undergoing, under the guidance of your medical team. Please discuss this information with your treating medical practitioners and exercise due diligence if the information is suitable for your health needs. The organisers will not accept responsibility for any harm or damage incurred as a result of attending this event.
A brief relaxation intervention reduces stress and improves surgical wound healing response: A randomised trial. Brain Behav Immun. 2012;26(2):212-7.Broadbent E, Kahokehr A, Booth RJ, Thomas J, Windsor JA, Buchanan CM et al.
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