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Meditation in the Western World is often viewed as paying close attention to something and giving it our complete focus. Yet, Eastern philosophy views Buddhist meditation as a way to eliminate earthly desires, overcome barriers to oneness and transcend from the physical to the spiritual realm. These loftier ideas aren’t always grasped by the science-minded Westerners, who generally question the validity of herbal supplements, acupuncture and meditation that have been working for Eastern cultures over the past 2,500 years. Yet this intense curiosity has driven scientific research and the findings confirm that there is something magical about meditation. If you’ve ever wondered “why learn to meditate,” then read on for some of the exciting studies published about how meditation works in the mind and body.

If you’re an insomniac, then you needn’t ask “why learn to meditate” at all — for the secret lies in deep relaxation meditation. At the June 2009 Associated Professional Sleep Societies meeting, researchers from Northwestern Memorial Hospital in Evanston, Illinois reported their findings that daytime meditation improved the quality of sleep in patients with insomnia. Patients noted marked improvement in their sleep latency, total sleep time, total wake time, sleep efficiency, sleep quality and depression symptoms after two months of practicing Kriya Yoga meditation methods. “Results of the study show that teaching deep relaxation techniques during the daytime can help improve sleep at night,” said study leader Ramadevi Gourineni MD.

Zen meditation, one of the types of meditation, can lower pain sensitivity both in and out of a meditative state. The study conducted by the Universit� de Montr�al found that those who meditate breathed at an average of 12 breaths per minutes, compared to 15 breaths per minute in those who don’t meditate. The ultimate result for practitioners was an 18% reduction in pain sensitivity. “If meditation can change the way someone feels pain, thereby reducing the amount of pain medication required for an ailment, that would be clearly beneficial,” explains co-author Joshua A. Grant. The question of “why learn to meditate” becomes less and less significant in the wake of discoveries like this one.

Personal trainers will be the first people to tell you why you should do push ups, lift weights and exercise, which of course strengthens and build muscles! Yet, they hesitate to inform you on “why learn to meditate.” The obvious answer should be to increase your brain mass! Just as physical exercise strengthens our physical bodies, so does concentrative meditation strengthen our minds! Using brain scans, UCLA researchers discovered that 10 to 90 minutes of daily meditation actually increases the amount of gray matter in the brain. Those who meditate showed significantly larger volumes in the hippocampus, orbito-frontal cortex, the thelamus and inferior temporal gyrus. These regions are responsible for regulating emotions, the study authors said. “We know that people who consistently meditate have a singular ability to cultivate positive emotions, retain emotional stability and engage in mindful behavior,” said Eileen Luders, lead author. “The observed differences in brain anatomy might give us a clue why those who meditate have these exceptional abilities.”

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