Meditation: its long-term anti-stress effects confirmed

Three out of four French working people say they are stressed at least from time to time by their work. To reduce this feeling, the best would be to do mindfulness sessions, a form of meditation. Indeed, according to a new study published in the journal Psychosomatic Medicine, practicing this discipline reduces the level of cortisol present in the hair. Cortisol is one of the stress hormones, which is released when an individual is in a stressful or distressing situation. The more the stress is chronic, that is to say repeated over time, the higher the concentration of cortisol that circulates in our body and accumulates, among other things, in our hair. To measure it, it is possible to do a urine or saliva test, a blood test or directly by hair analysis.

A mental training program…

To reach their conclusion, the researchers measured the participants’ stress levels – via their hair – to a nine-month mental training program. This consisted of three three-month sessions, thirty minutes a day, six days a week. The sessions addressed more specifically attention, mindfulness, socio-affective skills – such as compassion and gratitude – and so-called socio-cognitive ones, in particular the ability to put into perspective one’s own thoughts and those of others. Thus, three groups of about 80 participants followed these training modules. To measure their stress, hair samples were taken every three months from the first three centimeters of hair, starting at the scalp.

…which reduces cortisol levels by 25%

Results: After six months of training, the amount of cortisol in participants’ hair decreased significantly, an average of 25%. During the first three months, the effects of meditation were very mild but increased over the next three months. The researchers therefore believe that only a long workout can reduce the amount of cortisol. On the other hand, the nature of the exercises done during the program had no influence on the reduction in cortisol levels. This means that all the mental approaches studied are effective in combating stress. “There are many illnesses in the world, including depression, which are directly or indirectly linked to long-term stress, explains Lara Puhlmann, one of the authors of the study. We must continue research in order to control the effects of chronic stress in a preventive way. Our study uses physiological measures to prove that meditation-based training interventions can alleviate overall stress levels even in healthy individuals“.

Chronic stress, a risk factor for certain pathologies

Chronic stress can be defined as a lasting state linked to various known and/or sometimes unsuspected sources of stress. The second form of medically recognized stress is called “acute”. It is due to an event experienced as difficult and sudden and results in an intense and brutal emotion. In both cases, stress is a natural adaptation reaction of the body to external physical or psychological aggressions or to difficult situations. Acute stress can also become chronic, such as post-traumatic stress. The consequences of this state on health can be numerous because stress is a risk factor for several pathologies: depression, skin problems, autoimmune diseases or even certain types of cancer.