Slow Aging with Meditation

Herbert Benson, MD, a pioneer in the study of the effects of meditative states on the body who coined the term, “relaxation response” may have found the answer to how mind-body practices used for thousands of years actually impact health.

A new study conducted by the Benson-Henry Institute for Mind/Body Medicine at Massachusetts General Hospital and the Genomics Center at Beth Israel Deaconness Medical Center suggests that meditative practices can affect the way basic genetic structures act. Benson’s earlier studies showed that the relaxation response affects heart rate, blood pressure, oxygen consumption and brain activity and is an “antidote” to the fight or flight response, but didn’t explain the underlying mechanisms.

The study examined folks who had spent many years practicing mind/body techniques with people who had never practiced any. Then they trained the non-practitioners to see if training would impact gene expression.

What they found was that these techniques, which elicit deep relaxation in the body, affect the expression of genes that are involved with inflammation, programmed cell death, and the way the body handles free radicals —byproducts of normal metabolism that can cause damage to cells and tissues. Long terms practitioners had more pronounced changes.

More studies are underway to examine if similar changes occur in patients who use relaxation response techniques to treat stress related disorders.

The Anti-Aging Bottom Line: Chronic stress can take years off your life. Meditation, yoga, tai chi and other mind body techniques can not only calm your nerves, they can help to maintain and restore health by reducing the negative effects of stress. Finding a practice that suits you and incorporating it into your lifestyle makes good health sense.

QUICK TIP: Tai chi has also been shown to boost immunity in seniors. Learn More

Written exclusively for Stop Aging Now, the authority on anti-aging research, anti-aging nutrition, and anti-aging supplements.