Past studies have also indicated that meditation reduces stress hormone levels and dampens the sympathetic nervous system, which triggers the body's stress response.
See Lieberman (2011) and Creswell (2007) for studies indicating that meditation focused on cultivating compassion in oneself can be effective through enhancing one's ability to identify and gain better control of one's emotions.
This study adds to the compelling body of scientific research indicating that meditation can play a role in improving sleep.
Results indicate that meditation leads to activation in brain areas involved in processing self-relevant information, self-regulation, focused problem-solving, adaptive behavior, and interoception.
The authors interpreted their results to indicate that meditation training can "decrease resource demands and thus improve vigilance (tonic alertness)" [ 120].
Regarding this study, the lead researcher Alexander Stell, said: "This indicates that some meditation techniques are about much more than feeling good, and might be an important tool for enhancing inter-group harmony".
While the majority of panellists rated meditation as important, qualitative comments indicated they viewed meditation as less acceptable or accessible to novice yoga practitioners compared to mindfulness practices.
Using PET and MRI data, studies of meditation indicate that the hippocampus has been found to be activated during meditative states, compared to control states [4], [16].
One study indicated that mindfulness meditation helped chronic insomniacs regulate their stress levels and their attitudes toward insomnia, which helped them gain a greater sense of control over their sleep.
Novices and experts showed similar positive activation in the auditory cortex during both rest and meditation, indicating, as expected, sensory correlates of the auditory sounds (Figs. 4.E H).
This indicates that while research often correlates meditation experience with hours/years of practice, it may not capture the individual variability of practitioners' progress.
