A week of meditation would be more effective in managing stress than a week of vacation, according to an American study.
The Aoutiens returned and went back to work, well tanned and full of energy. Holidays are an opportunity to forget the stress of everyday life, of work, which has a positive impact on health. But according to a team of researchers from the University of California at San Francisco (United States), there would be even more effective than time off and idleness: meditation.
To arrive at this observation, they recruited 94 women aged 30 to 60, in good general health, and invited them to a week’s vacation in a thalassotherapy center. Among them, 30 were meditation enthusiasts, and the rest of the group was divided into two: the first part spent a classic spa vacation, and the rest practiced some sort of meditation-based retreat.
The immune system relieved
Before and after the experiment, the expression of some 20,000 genes of the participants was analyzed. The results, published in the scientific journal Nature Translational Psychiatry, show that the positive effects of vacations and meditation are similar. They act on specific biological markers of stress and immune functions.
Overall, women in all three groups reported feeling much better after their week off, all in similar proportions. A well-being that could be confirmed by their biological state, by examining the expression of genes linked to them. Rather, the difference was made over time: the benefits of meditation turned out to be longer than those of a simple relaxing vacation. And this, up to 10 months after the experience!
Meditate to age better
“These results show that meditation protects our body by relieving our immune system,” said Rudolph Tanzi, professor of neurology at Harvard University and co-author of the study. Managing daily stress is made easier, and the body struggles less. Our work suggests that meditation could help the body to age in better conditions. “
In this back-to-school week, she could help those who (already) feel a little overwhelmed.
.
