Asian Traditions of Meditation
October 31, 2016
Are Holen
The first big wave of scientific research on meditation came in the 1970s and mainly focused on the physiology of relaxation. The second wave, which is still ongoing, has a stronger focus on modes of attention and their neural correlates. In both waves of meditation research, Anglo-American scientists have dominated the arena, but the kinds of meditation investigated have almost exclusively...
European journal of preventive cardiology
August 2012
Anders Nesvold, Morten W Fagerland, Svend Davanger et al.
Meditation practices are in use for relaxation and stress reduction. Some studies indicate beneficial cardiovascular health effects of meditation. The effects on the autonomous nervous system seem to vary among techniques. The purpose of the present study was to identify autonomic nerve activity changes during nondirective meditation. Heart rate variability (HRV), blood pressure variability...
Perceptual and Motor Skills
August 1, 2010
Svend Davanger, Øyvind Ellingsen, Are Holen et al.
Some of the most popular meditation practices emphasize a relaxed focus of attention in which thoughts, images, sensations, and emotions may emerge and pass freely without actively controlling or pursuing them. Several recent studies show that meditation activates frontal brain areas associated with attention focusing and physical relaxation. The objective of the present study was to assess...
Journal of alternative and complementary medicine (New York, N.Y.)
November 2009
Jim Lagopoulos, Jian Xu, Inge Rasmussen et al.
In recent years, there has been significant uptake of meditation and related relaxation techniques, as a means of alleviating stress and maintaining good health. Despite its popularity, little is known about the neural mechanisms by which meditation works, and there is a need for more rigorous investigations of the underlying neurobiology. Several electroencephalogram (EEG) studies have...
British journal of sports medicine
December 1995
Erik E Solberg, R Halvorsen, J Sundgot-Borgen et al.
To test the hypothesis that stress reducing techniques such as meditation alter immune responses after strenous physical stress. The hypothesis was tested by studying six meditating and six non-meditating male runners in a concurrent, controlled design. After a period of six months with meditation for the experimental group, blood samples were taken immediately before and after a maximum oxygen...