If your'e lonely do meditation it
reduces your loneliness
Many elderly people spend their last years alone. Spouses pass and children scatter. But being lonely is much more than a silent house and a lack of companionship. Over time, loneliness not only takes a toll on the psyche but can have a serious physical impact as well.
Many elderly people spend their last years alone. Spouses pass and children scatter. But being lonely is much more than a silent house and a lack of companionship. Over time, loneliness not only takes a toll on the psyche but can have a serious physical impact as well.
Feeling lonely has been linked to an increased risk of
heart disease, Alzheimer's disease, depression and even premature death.
Developing effective treatments to reduce loneliness in older adults is
essential, but previous treatment efforts have had limited success.
What to do? Researchers at UCLA now report that a simple
meditation program lasting just eight weeks reduced loneliness in older adults.
Further, knowing that loneliness is associated with an increase in the activity
of inflammation-related genes that can promote a variety of diseases, the
researchers examined gene expression and found that this same form of
meditation significantly reduced expression of inflammatory genes.
In the current online edition of the journal Brain,
Behavior and Immunity, senior study author Steve Cole, a UCLA professor of
medicine and psychiatry and a member of the Norman Cousins Center for
Psychoneuroimmunology at UCLA, and colleagues report that the two-month program
of mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR), which teaches the mind to simply
be attentive to the present and not dwell in the past or project into the
future, successfully reduced the feelings of loneliness.
Remarkably, the researchers said, MBSR also altered the
genes and protein markers of inflammation, including the inflammatory marker
C-reactive protein (CRP) and a group of genes regulated by the transcription
factor NF-kB. CRP is a potent risk factor for heart disease, and NF-kB is a
molecular signal that activates inflammation.
Inflammation is a natural component of the immune system
and can help fight a wide variety of bodily insults, ranging from infections to
a whack by a hammer. But chronic inflammation is now known to be a primary
player in the pathology of many diseases and psychological disorders.
"Our work presents the first evidence showing that a
psychological intervention that decreases loneliness also reduces
pro-inflammatory gene expression," Cole said. "If this is borne out
by further research, MBSR could be a valuable tool to improve the quality of
life for many elderly."
In the study, 40 adults between the ages of 55 and 85
were randomly assigned to either a mindfulness meditation group or a control
group that did not meditate. All the participants were assessed at the
beginning and the end of the study using an established loneliness scale. Blood
samples were also collected at the beginning and end to measure gene expression
and levels of inflammation.
The meditators attended weekly two-hour meetings in which
they learned the techniques of mindfulness, including awareness and breathing
techniques. They also practiced mindfulness meditation for 30 minutes each day
at home and attended a single daylong retreat.
These MBSR participants self-reported a reduced sense of
loneliness, while their blood tests showed a significant decrease in the
expression of inflammation-related genes.
"While this was a small sample, the results were
very encouraging," said Dr. Michael Irwin, a professor of psychiatry at
the Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior at UCLA and director of
the Cousins Center. "It adds to a growing body of research that is showing
the positive benefits of a variety of meditative techniques, including tai chi
and yoga."
Just last month, for example, Dr. Helen Lavretsky, a UCLA
professor of psychiatry and a Cousins Center member, published a study showing
that a form of yogic meditation involving chanting also reduced inflammatory
gene expression, as well as stress levels, among individuals who care for
patients with Alzheimer's disease.
"These studies begin to move us beyond simply
connecting the mind and genome, and identify simple practices that an
individual can harness to improve human health," Irwin said.
Image Source: http://www.sxc.hu/photo/1199543
Image Source: http://www.sxc.hu/photo/1199543
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