Less Than an Hour of Training = A Lifetime of Pain Relief
Searching for ways to manage pain without the side-effects of pain medications? Hoping to quell the anxiety associated with chronic pain? Fadel Zeidan, a neuroscientist at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center has found that ”just a little over an hour of training in meditation can dramatically reduce both the experience of pain and pain-related brain activation.”
The study included MRI brain scans which showed pre-meditation pain reactions as intense and widespread activity in the primary somatosensory cortex (the area associated with the specific area of the body affected by pain). After the subjects were trained in and employed the meditation techniques, the activity in the region was not even detectable.
NPR wrote of the study’s results, “After meditation training, the subjects reported a 40 percent decrease in pain intensity and a 57 percent reduction in pain unpleasantness. And it wasn’t just their perception of pain that changed. Brain activity changed too.”
The mind’s effect on the body is considerable. Emotional health informs the physical, with studies like these proving the importance of caring for ourselves mentally.
Click here to read more about this study
Interested in the brain and mind connection?
Attend Dr. Dan Siegel’s free webinar on “Mindsight: Learning a New Science of Personal Transformation” to explore how a person can strengthen their mind, their brain, and their interpersonal relationships. Learn more here
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