对心灵和思想的冥想承诺

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Meditation, as a religious practice or mystic experience, may be as old as humanity. 使用它的证据可以追溯到公元7世纪,000年, 一些学者推测，它可能是从坐在洞穴里的人开始的, 凝视着他们的火焰.

今天，它也是严肃的科学关注的焦点. 虽然大部分工作都是初步的, what researchers have learned about potential health benefits has them eager to learn more.

人们对冥想的兴趣是广泛而深刻的. Prab Nijjar, a cardiologist and assistant professor at the University of Minnesota School of Medicine in Minneapolis.

Nijjar, 谁领导了与冥想和心脏相关的研究, cautions that "there's probably more that we don't know than we know" about 冥想's benefits. 但看到潜力的远不止他一个人.

A 2016年的报告 in the Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences said that most accredited medical schools in the U.S. 在他们的课程中加入以正念为基础的练习. 和一个 2017年科学声明 from the 美国心脏协会 noted that as many as 1 in 4 people with heart disease use or have used some form of mind‐body therapy such as 冥想.

Nijjar说 冥想 is loosely described as "bringing awareness to every moment,但定义各不相同, 这给研究人员带来了挑战.

"There's all different types of 冥想 and mindfulness-informed practices,凯伦·萨班说, 她是芝加哥洛约拉大学玛塞拉·尼霍夫护理学院的教授.

萨班的研究重点是正念冥想. “正念是真正意识到你在想什么, and accepting those thoughts and some of those physical sensations and emotions, 不去解读，不去评判,她说. "So you're really in the moment and being present and not trying to change anything."

为了实现这种意识, 正念冥想将注意力集中在呼吸上, Nijjar说, 而其他方法, 比如超验冥想, 可以用念诵.

在研究, 研究人员经常使用正念减压法, 或正念减压疗法, which was developed in 1979 by Jon Kabat-Zinn at the University of Massachusetts Medical School. 这是一个标准化的八周课程，有经过认证的讲师.

Studies have at least hinted at ways mindfulness 冥想 might affect the body.

In 研究 包括早期乳腺癌患者和孤独的老年人, 正念减压训练降低了促炎分子的水平. "Those inflammatory markers are what contribute to the development of things like atherosclerosis and cardiovascular disease,萨班说.

Other research has explored whether chromosomes of long-term meditators show reduced signs of aging. And several 研究 have found evidence that MBSR leads to changes in the structure of the brain.

"There's some belief that practice of mindfulness 冥想 can lead to these neuroplastic changes in the brain that regulate things like attention, 情绪和自我意识,萨班说. 有可能通过改变大脑内部的连接, 它可以帮助培养情绪调节能力, 帮助培养抗压力能力, 然后，希望如此, 最终——提高处理压力的能力."

Nijjar's work has looked at whether 冥想 might help people undergoing cardiac rehabilitation. 他领导了一个 2019年的研究 of 47 heart patients published in Scientific Reports that found those who had MBSR training showed improvements in depression after three months compared with those who did not have the training.

Research published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology showed the 瑜伽的潜力, 它结合了冥想, to improve symptoms and quality of life in people with a type of irregular heartbeat known as atrial fibrillation.

冥想可能有助于心血管疾病的原因尚不清楚, Nijjar说, 但他的研究表明，它可以增强副交感神经系统, 哪个处理“休息和消化”功能, 让交感神经系统平静下来, 是什么驱动了“战斗还是逃跑”的反应.

The 2017 AHA scientific statement said no 结论 could be drawn as to the effectiveness of 冥想 to prevent heart disease. But it said 冥想 could be a "reasonable" approach to include alongside better-established approaches.

萨班说，任何有兴趣开始的人都应该意识到这需要练习.

“听起来很简单。, but it's very difficult to sit quietly and not let your mind wander all over the place,她说.

专家表示，由持证的正念减压导师授课可能会有所帮助. 冥想应用也可以提供介绍.

Future research might provide better information about how 冥想 could help different subgroups of people, 萨班说. She's preparing to publish findings from a randomized clinical trial about how it affected women veterans. 一位同事正在研究它的潜在好处 刚生完孩子的黑人母亲.

In the meantime, 萨班说 there are good reasons for just about anybody to learn how to meditate.

“很安全，”她说. “它不涉及药物治疗. 它相当便宜. 这是他们可以控制的事情. 你可以在任何地方做."

美国心脏协会 沙巴足球体育平台' mental health coverage is supported by Diane and Daniel Shimer. AHA沙巴足球体育平台对所有内容和编辑决定全权负责.

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