Meditation Won't Boost Health: Study

[Upaseno]

Thu Jul 12, 7:01 PM ET
 
THURSDAY, July 12 (HealthDay News) -- There's no evidence that meditation eases health problems, according to an exhaustive review of the accumulated data by Canadian researchers.
 
"There is an enormous amount of interest in using meditation as a form of therapy to cope with a variety of modern-day health problems, especially hypertension, stress and chronic pain, but the majority of evidence that seems to support this notion is anecdotal, or it comes from poor quality studies," concluded researchers Maria Ospina and Kenneth Bond of the University of Alberta/Capital Health Evidence-based Practice Centre, in Edmonton.

They analyzed 813 studies focused on the impact of meditation on various conditions, including high blood pressure, cardiovascular disease and substance abuse.

Released Monday, the report looked at studies on five types of meditation practices: mantra meditation; mindfulness meditation; yoga, Tai Chi and Qi Gong.

Some of the studies suggested that certain types of meditation could help reduce blood pressure and stress and that yoga and other practices increased verbal creativity and reduced heart rate, blood pressure and cholesterol in healthy people.

However, the report authors said it isn't possible to draw any firm conclusions about the effects of meditation on health, because the existing studies are characterized by poor methodologies and other problems.

"Future research on meditation practices must be more rigorous in the design and execution of studies and in the analysis and reporting of results," Ospina said in a prepared statement.

Bond added that the new report doesn't prove that meditation has no therapeutic value, but it can inform medical practitioners that the "evidence is inconclusive regarding its effectiveness."

For the general public, the report "highlights that choosing to practice a particular meditation technique continues to rely solely on individual experiences and personal preferences, until more conclusive scientific evidence is produced," Ospina said.

The study was funded by the U.S. National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine in Bethesda, Md., part of the National Institutes of Health.

More information

The U.S. National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine has more about meditation for health purposes.

from: http://news.yahoo.com/s/hsn/20070712/hl_hsn/meditationwontboosthealthstudy

[morpheus]

ayo kita adu berita 

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/2725487.stm

Meditation 'good for brain'
Scientists say they have found evidence that meditation has a biological effect on the body.

A small-scale study suggests it could boost parts of the brain and the immune system.

Meditation has been practised since ancient times, mainly in the East.

It is now catching on worldwide as a means to reduce stress or to help with pain caused by various illnesses.

Researchers at the University of Wisconsin-Madison in the United States enrolled 41 people in a trial of so-called "mindfulness" meditation.

It is a technique developed by an American stress reduction specialist - Jon Kabat-Zinn - for helping hospital patients deal with pain and discomfort.

Encouraging

Twenty five of the subjects attended a weekly class and one seven-hour retreat during the study; they were also given exercises to carry out at home. The others did not receive meditation training and acted as a control group.

After eight weeks, the researchers measured electrical activity in the frontal part of the brain. They say this region was more active on the left side in the individuals who meditated and was associated with lower anxiety and a more positive emotional state.

Participants were also given a flu jab at the start of the study and those who meditated had higher levels of antibody, say the researchers, led by Dr Richard Davidson.

"Although our study is preliminary and more research clearly is warranted we are very encouraged by these results," he said.

Caution

A British expert says the results - published in the journal Psychosomatic Medicine - are interesting but need further scrutiny.

"There is increasing evidence that meditation is a useful and, for some people, a powerful therapy," said Dr Adrian White of the department of Complementary Medicine at the University of Exeter.

"But we still need more information to determine who it helps and precisely what its benefits are."

[morpheus]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/410003.stm
http://archives.cnn.com/2000/HEALTH/alternative/07/24/tm.heart/

 

[Sukma Kemenyan]

English only kah... ?

moga-moga kaga...
kita coba kulik2x Sebab-sebabnya...

Mengapa bisa-bisanya meditasi jadi penyakit...

...on the impact of meditation on various conditions, including high blood pressure, cardiovascular disease and substance abuse.

Tekanan darah Tinggi... (kaga stabil)
Hal ini kelihatannya terjadi sama pelaku meditasi yg "kehilangan" objek...

WHAT...? Hilang Objek ?
Yep... Sebab, denyut jantung yg dijadiin Objek...
awalnya sich denger nafas... tapi... terakhir2x... malah "deg-deg" nya jantung yg didengerin...
Ya... jadi ngawur ~_~ sebab secara gak sadar,
si pelaku menjadi bisa mengatur ritme jantung...


ngemenk2x...
cardiovascular disease and substance abuse. endonesianya apa sich... ?
Ga paham gue...

[morpheus]

tul bang. kemungkinan yg diteliti di atas adalah meditasi yg salah 

[Lex Chan]

Menurut saya, objek penelitiannya setidaknya harus meditator rutin yang minimal meditasi 1 jam non-stop setiap hari selama 6 bulan.

Kalau cuma 5 menit berhenti, terus 5 menit berhenti sih kurang berasa efeknya..
Sayangnya di berita yang pertama itu kurang detail informasinya..