Meditation is beneficial for heart patients

Practicing the meditation method not only relaxes your mind but also reduces the effects of stress on the body, such as heart disease and diabetes.

Meditation benefits heart patients (Photo: tailormadejourneys)

In a 16-week trial on heart patients with an average age of 68, researchers found that those who were taught meditation methods derived from Hinduism all benefited from health.

Meditation has long been known to lower blood pressure, but researchers at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Los Angeles, have also found that meditation helps reduce fluctuations in heart rate and insulin sensitivity.

The heart rate is controlled by the automated nervous system in the body, which can cause stress on the nervous system. The fluctuating heart rate will lead to damage to the cardiovascular system. Meanwhile, insulin resistance, a precursor to diabetes, occurs when the body is unable to receive insulin by the pancreas to turn sugar into glucose in the blood and generate energy.

Researchers who draw chronic stress may be a common cause of altering bodily functions. "Meditation will help regulate the body's response to stress, rather than directly altering stress, similar to the psychological effect of exercise," said lead researcher Maura Paul-Labrador.

MT