Nov 10, 2023 07:04 PM
(This post was last modified: Nov 10, 2023 07:50 PM by C C.)
https://undark.org/2023/11/08/uncertain-...n-science/
EXCERPTS: [...] For more than two decades, various studies have suggested that meditation and mindfulness — that is, being aware of the present moment — can help reduce and improve pain management, lending some credence to the notion that the brain can affect the body. Such results have helped the field grow into a multibillion-dollar industry, populated by meditation apps, guided workshops, and upscale retreats.
Yet the field has also faced sharp criticism from psychologists and researchers who say the health benefits are overstated and some of the research methodologically flawed. Meanwhile, claims that alternative approaches, including meditation can, by themselves, cure serious illness have been called dangerous by medical experts, who fear a true believer might forego a life-saving treatment.
As researchers investigate meditation’s effect on nearly everything from chronic pain to ADHD to brain function post-stroke to emotional regulation, the practice continues to be popular among converts and curious alike. And while no scientific findings suggest that meditation can go so far as to cure cancer, some researchers are interested in precisely how the brain affects the body’s immune system.
[...] A study recently published by the group described an association between meditation and enhanced resiliency against Covid-19.
Overall, there are still a lot of unknowns about how meditation can affect disease processes, wrote Emily Lindsay, a researcher who specializes in the biological effects of mindfulness meditation at the University of Pittsburgh, in an email to Undark. “We know it impacts stress and sometimes stress biology, and we know that it can impact certain disease processes, but there’s still a black box in between.”
[...] Joe Dispenza, who holds week-long meditation retreats that regularly attract thousands of people [...is...] a chiropractor who has written various self-help books, has said he believes the mind can heal the body. [...] Whether Dispenza’s collaboration with mainstream scientists will shed light into that black box is an open question, and many scientists are skeptical.
[...] Whether results from the other ongoing UCSD studies will show significant effects remains to be seen. And while research has found meditation can improve some health outcomes — such as decreasing blood pressure and biomarkers of stress — its effect on the biological mechanisms underlying human health is less clear. It’s known to do some good in some situations, but it’s still unclear which situations and how... (MORE - missing details)
EXCERPTS: [...] For more than two decades, various studies have suggested that meditation and mindfulness — that is, being aware of the present moment — can help reduce and improve pain management, lending some credence to the notion that the brain can affect the body. Such results have helped the field grow into a multibillion-dollar industry, populated by meditation apps, guided workshops, and upscale retreats.
Yet the field has also faced sharp criticism from psychologists and researchers who say the health benefits are overstated and some of the research methodologically flawed. Meanwhile, claims that alternative approaches, including meditation can, by themselves, cure serious illness have been called dangerous by medical experts, who fear a true believer might forego a life-saving treatment.
As researchers investigate meditation’s effect on nearly everything from chronic pain to ADHD to brain function post-stroke to emotional regulation, the practice continues to be popular among converts and curious alike. And while no scientific findings suggest that meditation can go so far as to cure cancer, some researchers are interested in precisely how the brain affects the body’s immune system.
[...] A study recently published by the group described an association between meditation and enhanced resiliency against Covid-19.
Overall, there are still a lot of unknowns about how meditation can affect disease processes, wrote Emily Lindsay, a researcher who specializes in the biological effects of mindfulness meditation at the University of Pittsburgh, in an email to Undark. “We know it impacts stress and sometimes stress biology, and we know that it can impact certain disease processes, but there’s still a black box in between.”
[...] Joe Dispenza, who holds week-long meditation retreats that regularly attract thousands of people [...is...] a chiropractor who has written various self-help books, has said he believes the mind can heal the body. [...] Whether Dispenza’s collaboration with mainstream scientists will shed light into that black box is an open question, and many scientists are skeptical.
[...] Whether results from the other ongoing UCSD studies will show significant effects remains to be seen. And while research has found meditation can improve some health outcomes — such as decreasing blood pressure and biomarkers of stress — its effect on the biological mechanisms underlying human health is less clear. It’s known to do some good in some situations, but it’s still unclear which situations and how... (MORE - missing details)
