Placebo refers to a placebo that has the same appearance as a drug but does not have a medicinal effect. And when patients taking this placebo have a positive psychological state, such as expecting an improvement in their condition, their physical health improves, which is called the placebo effect or the placebo effect . When evaluating the effectiveness of a new drug or treatment, whether it is greater than the placebo effect is also used as a criterion.
However, according to a recent American study, psychological stability through meditation was found to be much more effective in treating disease than placebo. Meditation, which is thought to be effective only in activating the placebo response, is now effective in reducing pain and discomfort in the body. Learn more about the effects of mindfulness meditation and how to use it properly.
Psychological stability through meditation is effective in treating diseases | Source: Clipart Korea
Meditation itself has a pain-relieving effect… More effective than ‘placebo’
According to a study published on August 29 in Biological Psychiatry, an academic journal in the field of psychiatry, mindfulness meditation was found to activate specific brain structures in reducing pain compared to the placebo effect. .
Researchers at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD) randomly divided 115 participants into four groups and had them do mindful meditation, fake meditation with just deep breathing, administer a placebo cream, and listen to audiobooks. At this time, the audiobook listening group was set as a control group with no pain relief effect.
The research team examined the participants’ brains after applying thermal stimulation to the back of the participants’ legs at a level that was harmless to the human body, although they may feel pain, and they found that the pain reduction effect of the group that used mindfulness. Meditation was significantly higher than the group given sham meditation and placebo cream.
In addition, pain relief based on mindfulness meditation has been found to reduce synchronization between brain regions responsible for tolerance, self-awareness, and emotional regulation. These parts of the brain together make up the neural pain signal (NPS), and the mindfulness meditation group used completely different brain structures compared to the sham meditation and placebo groups, which showed no difference no significant difference in NPS from the control group.
The researchers said, “The results of this study show that the brain responses of the placebo effect and mindfulness meditation are completely different and support the fact that meditation directly intervenes in pain, ”saying that this could have a significant impact on the development of new treatments. for chronic pain recommended.
The pain relief effect is greater than the effect of painkillers … The risk of developing heart disease is reduced by half↓
In the past, research results showed that meditating for 20 minutes a day was more effective in reducing pain than powerful painkillers such as morphine. Meditation reduces pain by causing relaxation in the part of the brain that is supposed to detect pain.
A study at North Carolina’s Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center found that meditation reduced the intensity of physical pain by 26% and emotional pain by 44%. This figure is far higher than the known fact that morphine reduces physical pain by about 22%.
In addition, many experts advise that simply meditating every day can keep your heart healthy. In fact, a joint study by the DeBakey VA Medical Center, Mayo Clinic, and others, published in the American Journal of Cardiology in 2020, found that people who meditate have better health than those who don’t. benefits are comparable to
A study of 61,267 American adults from 2012 to 2017 found that those who meditated daily had a 35% lower risk of having cholesterol above normal levels, a 14% lower risk of high blood pressure , and a lower risk of type 2 diabetes It was shown that strokes were reduced by 30% and strokes were reduced by 24%. The risk of developing coronary artery disease was reduced by 49%.
Mindfulness meditation techniques introduced by experts
Mindfulness meditation not only improves concentration and reduces stress, but also reduces pain and reduces the risk of disease. Dr. Colleen Campbell, founder of Ignite Potential, introduced the meditation method, saying, “Learning to meditate consciously takes some practice and time, but it can be learned by self-study.”
Mindful meditation techniques recommended by experts
1. First, choose a peaceful place to practice mindful meditation, such as a quiet room or in nature. As soon as you find a place where you will not be disturbed, take a short break to allow your body to adjust to the environment.
2. Set a time to meditate and set an alarm on your phone. If you are meditating for the first time, it is recommended that you first spend about 10 minutes to start meditating, and it is better to set the alarm sound to a soft sound, not loud, such as a piano.
3. When meditating, it is also helpful to find a comfortable position and try different positions. However, you have to be careful about lying down because he can fall asleep.
4. Once the preparation process is complete, breathe slowly and feel the sensation of inhaling and exhaling. As you shake off distracting thoughts and begin to focus on your breath, take deeper and longer breaths to calm your body and mind.
5. It is also good to remember that you can control your thoughts and emotions by focusing on your breathing. Even if you think about things you have experienced in your daily life, such as making mistakes, you should be careful not to judge those thoughts as good or bad. This is because self-evaluation interferes with reflection.
6. If you are used to meditation, you can try daily habits such as eating, walking, or brushing your teeth with meditation. Be aware of texture, taste, and your own movement, and focus on those sensations.
On the other hand, there is no wrong way to meditate, so if you feel relaxed after meditating, you don’t need to worry if you are doing it the right way.
2024-10-14 10:00:00
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