It would be an understatement to say that this year has been tough. If you haven't meditated before, you might have thought about doing so in order to de-stress, stop worrying, and improve your quality of sleep. However, it might be intimidating to begin a meditation practice. How are you going to fit it into your already full schedule, and how will you know when you're done?

In my upcoming piece, "How to Make Meditation Part of Your Daily Life," I'll address those queries. I want to inspire you to start a meditation practice this week, therefore I'll provide you with scientific evidence that shows how:

lowers tension, enhances sleep, lessens discomfort, and lowers systemic inflammation

reduces the risk of cardiovascular disease and blood pressure

reduces the risk of cancer

altered brain morphology

enhances thinking

reduces food cravings, obesity, and addictive behavior

increases fertility

lengthens life

Stress is reduced by meditation.

Stress reduction is one of the main motivations for meditation, and scientists are investigating how meditation enhances stress biomarkers in addition to self-reported stress levels. Thankfully, they've discovered that even brief meditation sessions improve our stress response over time.

An eight-week mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) program was tested in 2007 on patients with prostate and early-stage breast cancer. Results at 6- and 12-month follow-ups revealed substantial reductions in cortisol levels, a stress hormone, and overall feelings of stress.

Similar findings were found in a 2014 research on PsychoNeuroEndocrinoImmunology-based meditation (PNEIMED), which blends Buddhist meditation practice and philosophy instruction with a systemic and integrated understanding of human physiology. Following a four-day PNEIMED program, there was a significant reduction in self-rated distress ratings and a concomitant decrease in cortisol levels as psychological well-being improved. Another study assessed how passage meditation instruction, lasting eight weeks and two hours each week, affected the stress levels and mental well-being of medical workers. Both the stress level and mental health were enhanced by the meditation instruction, and the stress reductions were still significant at the 19-week follow-up.

An intriguing 2018 study discovered that glaucoma patients' levels of stress-biomarkers, such as cortisol, intraocular pressure, interleukin 6, reactive oxygen species, and tumor necrosis factor, were considerably lower after completing 21 days of daily MBSR practice. In addition, they exhibited increased levels of β-endorphins, brain-derived neurotrophic factor, total antioxidant capacity, favorable gene expression changes, and higher quality of life ratings.

Sleep is improved by meditation.

I used to have insomnia and would try anything to have better sleep, and I've discovered that meditation before bed makes it much easier and quicker for me to fall asleep. I can no longer compromise on this aspect of my nightly ritual.

Because meditation enhances alpha and theta waves in the brain, it may help you fall asleep more easily. Meditation helps you go from beta to alpha to theta waves, which facilitates a more effortless and natural shift from active beta waves of awake to delta waves of sleep, as opposed to trying to shut down your brain completely.

Pain receptors in our physical bodies convey signals to our brains when they are wounded or in danger of being hurt. Then, a perceptual process involving the emotional regions of our brains produces the unpleasant sense of pain. According to an old Buddhist literature, those who meditate are able to feel pain on a sensory level without experiencing the negative emotional response that usually goes along with it. Recently, researchers have started looking into how meditation could change how the emotional regions of the brain react to pain and trigger the production of endogenous opioids, which naturally reduce pain.

Long-term Zen meditators and vipassana practitioners report pain unpleasantness ratings that are much lower than those of non-meditators, even when their evaluations of pain intensity are within the usual range. These findings are consistent with brain scans that reveal less activity in the brain regions responsible for processing the emotional experience of pain.

For the rest of us, good news: even a little meditation practice can yield comparable effects. Following just four 20-minute mindfulness meditation sessions, participants in good health saw a 40% decrease in pain intensity and a 57% decrease in pain unpleasantness. Brain scans revealed indications that meditation may help prevent pain signals from reaching the brain from peripheral nerves, as well as increased activation in regions related to analgesia, or the reduction of pain.

Try this as an experiment, being careful not to damage yourself in the process:

Shut the eyes. Breathe slowly and deeply into your lower abdomen for one or two breaths, then let go of all tension.

Using one thumb, press your thumbnail into the opposing hand's thumb or finger. Don't quit when the pain becomes so great that you want to give up. Shut your eyes, continue breathing deeply into your abdomen rather than your chest, and try to unwind as much as you can. Give up the anxious, emotional response you would typically have to this uncomfortable feeling. Although you are aware of the discomfort, try to remain calm and not react. Is there a difference between this and your usual response to pain?

Systemic inflammation is decreased by meditation.

Systemic inflammation has been related to almost all chronic diseases, thus we all wish to take steps to minimize it. A three-day intense mindfulness meditation program strengthened the functional connectivity between the brain's dorsolateral prefrontal cortex and default mode network, according to a significant 2016 research. Four months following the mindfulness training, this better connection led to improved levels of Interleukin 6 (IL-6), a biomarker of systemic inflammation. Furthermore, an eight-week mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) program was found to dramatically lower the inflammatory response in a 2013 research.

Our DNA is even changed by meditation. According to a 2017 meta-analysis, mind-body techniques inhibit the nuclear factor kappa B pathway, which in turn lowers the activation of genes linked to inflammation. According to the scientists, mind-body techniques may lower the risk of inflammatory disorders since they have the opposite effect on genetic activity from chronic stress, which raises inflammation.

Additionally, studies demonstrate that the combination of breathing exercises and contemplative meditation reduces blood pressure by an average of 18 mm Hg, which is consistent with a roughly twofold reduction in the risk of dying from cardiovascular disease. A scientific statement by the American Heart Association was published in 2017 and suggested the use of meditation in therapeutic practice for cardiovascular disease.

Cancer risk is lowered with meditation.

Research indicates that via enhancing immunity and decreasing inflammation, meditation can reduce the risk of cancer. An eight-week mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) program was found to dramatically boost the activity of natural killer cells (NK-cells) and improve lymphocyte numbers in a 2017 trial of patients with breast cancer. An eight-week MBSR program was found to lower Th1 (pro-inflammatory) cytokine levels in patients with breast and prostate cancer, both immediately following the program and six and twelve months later.

According to an analysis of 165 research, stress raises the incidence and mortality of cancer, therefore lowering stress is probably another way that meditation lowers the risk of cancer.

Melatonin synthesis is another method that meditation probably lowers the risk of cancer. A lack of melatonin impairs immunity, increasing our vulnerability to cancer. As an antioxidant and scavenger of free radicals, melatonin is crucial to the functioning of our innate immune system, which serves as our first line of protection against harm. Melatonin may help prevent colorectal, stomach, prostate, and breast cancers as well as slow the growth of malignant tumors. It can be added to cancer treatments as an adjuvant since it shields healthy cells from the harm of radiation and chemotherapy.

The brain's structure is altered by meditation.

A number of studies have studied the brain structures of non-meditators and experienced meditation practitioners (Lazar 2005, Kang 2013, Grant 2010). Long-term meditation practice has been repeatedly shown to thicken numerous regions of the brain's cortex, which as we age results in an increase in gray matter, mental capacity, emotional control, and cognitive function.

According to a 2012 study, long-term meditators had a noticeably higher hippocampal capacity. The authors of the study hypothesize that one reason for the cognitive abilities, mental capacity, and character attributes linked to meditation practice may be the enlarged hippocampus. They further speculate that stress reduction brought on by meditation may account for the increase in hippocampus size.