(13-04-13) Meditation decreases stress and weight gain hormone cortisol in the body, research shows

by Jonathan Benson, staff writer

(NaturalNews) The things you think about and dwell on throughout your day have
a direct effect on your stress levels, which regulate how much cortisol, or
stress hormone, is produced in your body. And new research published in the
journal Health Psychology has found that meditation, and particularly
mindfulness thinking, can help lower stress and cortisol levels, which in turn
can help you lose excess weight and avoid developing "cortisol belly."

Researchers from the University of California, Davis have been working on a
long-term study known as The Shamatha Project that seeks to ascertain how
meditation practices influence brain activity and mental health. The Shamatha
Project is said to be the most comprehensive study on meditation to date,
having thus far made a number of fascinating discoveries about the ways we
think and feel can be modulated through meditation.

As far as stress and cortisol production are concerned, a team of researchers
led by Clifford Saron, an associate research professor at UC Davis, found that
cortisol levels rise and fall in direct correlation with stress levels. And
when people engage in meditation practices like mindfulness of breathing, for
instance, or observing their own mental states and nature of consciousness,
both their stress and cortisol levels decrease, which leads to greater feelings
of joy, kindness, compassion, and empathy for others.

"This is the first study to show a direct relation between resting cortisol
and scores on any type of mindfulness scale," says Tonya Jacobs, one of the
lead authors of the study and a postdoctoral researcher at the Center for Mind
and Brain at UC Davis. "The more a person reported directing [his] cognitive
resources to immediate sensory experience and the task at hand, the lower [his]
resting cortisol."

Dwelling on the past, future instead of living in the present can have serious
health consequences
On the flip side, people who dwell on painful memories they have from the
past, or who develop anxiety about their future, typically have higher stress
levels, and thus higher cortisol levels. Long-term release of cortisol in
response to stress can lead to a condition known as adrenal fatigue, which is
when the adrenal gland is no longer able to properly produce and release
hormones. The health consequences of adrenal fatigue include lowered immune
function, hypertension, high blood sugar, reduced libido, and bone loss, among
many other symptoms.

"The idea that we can train our minds in a way that fosters healthy mental
habits and that these habits may be reflected in mind-body relations is not
new; it's been around for thousands of years across various cultures and
ideologies" adds Jacobs. "However, this idea is just beginning to be integrated
into Western medicine as objective evidence accumulates. Hopefully, studies
like this one will contribute to that effort."

If you already suffer from stress-induced adrenal fatigue and are looking for
natural remedies, be sure to visit: http://blog.lef.org/2012/10/manage-adrenal-
fatigue-naturally.html

Sources for this article include:

http://news.ucdavis.edu/search/news_detail.lasso?id=10538

http://www.lef.org

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In evidenza

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