MEDITATION NEWS ITEM

Study Shows Benefits of Meditation Measurable

WEDNESDAY, 25 OCTOBER 2006

A study led by Prashant Kaul of the University of Kentucky suggested that the benefits of meditation are measurable. Testing the alertness of volunteers showed that the practice of meditation proved more effective than naps, exercise or caffeine. The results were presented at a recent conference of the Society for Neuroscience.

According to a report from the New York Times, the researchers took 12 students who did not meditate and taught them the basics in two short series. Then, over a series of weeks, the students were asked to come in and take a test which involved a series of visual cues on a display screen that they had to react to by pushing the correct button.

The students were asked to take the tests in mid- to late afternoon, when people tend to be sleepiest. They did so before and after 40 minutes of meditating, napping or exercising, or after taking caffeine.

The research also showed that napping produced poor results, presumably because of "sleep inertia". Sleep inertia is a state characterized by a decline in a motor dexterity and a subjective feeling of grogginess, immediately following an abrupt awakening from deep sleep.

In fact, when some of the students were asked to skip a night's sleep and then take the test, meditation was even more helpful.

GLOBAL MEDITATION SEARCH

JOIN OUR NEWSLETTER

Stay up-to-date with all meditation News by becoming a member and joining our meditation Community.

SUBMIT NEWS ITEM

If you know any Meditation Events or News that you would like to share with the world, then we invite you to Submit a News Item.