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Review
. 2023 Jun 19;15(6):e40650.
doi: 10.7759/cureus.40650. eCollection 2023 Jun.

Meditation and Its Mental and Physical Health Benefits in 2023

Aneeque Jamil  1 , Sai Dheeraj Gutlapalli  1   2 , Marya Ali  3 , Mrinal J P Oble  1 , Shamsun Nahar Sonia  4 , Sherie George  5 , Srushti R Shahi  6 , Zahra Ali  6   7 , Abdelrahman Abaza  8 , Lubna Mohammed  1
Affiliations
Review

Meditation and Its Mental and Physical Health Benefits in 2023

Aneeque Jamil et al. Cureus. .

Abstract

This article discusses the power of meditation and how beneficial it is for the body. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) has shown many positive brain changes and improved several brain functions. Meditation has several benefits improving the immune system and inflammatory processes by decreasing cytokine; appropriate telomere shortening also has helped healthy aging. Regarding physical health, meditation has been beneficial in various multi-factorial diseases like diabetes, hypertension, and fibromyalgia. It has also helped bring down blood cholesterol levels and increase high-density lipoproteins (HDL) levels. Improvement was also seen in systolic and diastolic blood pressure. Mental health is another aspect influenced by meditation, as positive emotion brought about by meditation helps address various mental problems like social anxiety disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), anxiety, and depression. Overall, it seems to have some impact in all health areas. However, the magnitude of its effect is not known. More diverse and detailed studies should yield more beneficial clinical outcomes.

Keywords: meditation; meditation and genetics; meditation and immunology; meditation and mental health; meditation and physical health.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1. Meditation and its influence on different areas of health
The image is the author's creation.
Figure 2
Figure 2. Meditation and its effect on mental health
PTSD, post-traumatic stress disorder The image is the author's creation.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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