Neuroscience Reveals the Secrets of Meditation’s Benefits

We previously reported reduced blood pressure, psychological symptoms, and other cardiac risk factors in hypertensive patients who participated in a nonpharmacologic, outpatient behavioral program. The present study is a 3 to 5 year follow-up of 59 (60%) of the same patients (who served as their own controls) to assess continued efficacy of the program. At entry into the study, patients had hypertension for a median of 6 years. Therefore, it is unlikely that placebo effect could expla […]

Over the last 20 years, medical researchers from a variety of disciplines, including behavioral medicine, neuro-immunology, neuroendocrinology, social medicine, and psychiatry, have converged in an effort to produce greater understanding and acceptance of the effects of psychological factors on physical health. Many in the medical profession have remained somewhat skeptical, claiming that psychological components of healing are largely "folklore", unsubstantiated by hard evidence. The […]

Mind–body medicine is an evidence-based approach to health and healing that focuses on interactions between the mind, body, and behavior. It encompasses a wide range of interventions that are similar yet different in meaningful ways. Mindfulness and relaxation practices are 2 mind–body techniques that have similarities and differences; however, these techniques are often used or discussed interchangeably, such that the differences between them become obscured. A greater understanding […]