Research on Meditation

A 2013 metastudy of mindfulness meditation found moderately improved anxiety and depression
.A 2003 meta-analysis found that Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) may be broadly useful for individuals attempting to cope with clinical and nonclinical problems. Diagnoses for which MBSR was found to be helpful included chronic pain, fibromyalgia, cancer patients and coronary artery disease. Improvements were noted for both physical and mental health measures

Sahaja yoga and mental silence[edit]

Sahaja yoga meditation has been shown to correlate with particular brain and brain wave activity.Some studies have led to suggestions that Sahaja meditation involves 'switching off' irrelevant brain networks for the maintenance of focused internalized attention and inhibition of inappropriate information

Kundalini yoga

Kundalini yoga meditation research has found that there "appears to produce structural as well as intensity changes in phenomenological experiences of consciousness",

Theoria

Fifteen Carmelite nuns came from the monastery to the laboratory to enter a fMRI machine whilst meditating, allowing scientists there to scan their brains using fMRI while they were in a state known as Unio Mystica (and also Theoria).

Slowing Ageing Process.

he researchers concluded saying "We have reviewed data linking stress arousal and oxidative stress to telomere shortness. Meditative practices appear to improve the endocrine balance toward positive arousal (high DHEA, lower cortisol) and decrease oxidative stress. Thus, meditation practices may promote mitotic cell longevity both through decreasing stress hormones and oxidative stress and increasing hormones that may protect the telomere.

Work stress

A study of GPs attending a meditation workshop found subsequent falls in their Kessler Psychological Distress Scale.

Calming effects

It is thought that some types of meditation might work by reducing activity in the sympathetic nervous systemand increasing activity in the parasympathetic nervous system,or equivalently, that meditation produces a reduction in arousal and increase in relaxation.

Relaxation response

Herbert Benson, founder of the Mind-Body Medical Institute, which is affiliated with Harvard University and several Boston hospitals, reports that meditation induces a host of biochemical and physical changes in the body collectively referred to as the "relaxation response"

Sleep need

Kaul et al. found that sleep duration in long-term experienced meditators was lower than in non-meditators and general population norms, with no apparent decrements in vigilance

Brain activity

The medial prefrontal and posterior cingulate cortices have been found to be relatively deactivated during meditation (experienced meditators using concentration, lovingkindness and choiceless awareness meditation). In addition experienced meditators were found to have stronger coupling between the posterior cingulate, dorsal anterior cingulate, and dorsolateral prefrontal cortices both when meditating and when not meditating.

Another study (of Tibetan Buddhist, QiGong, Sahaja Yoga, Ananda Marga Yoga and Zen meditators) found reduced functional interdependence between brain regions in meditation.

During meditation a modest increase in slow alpha or theta wave EEG activity has been observed

conclusion:

Wikipedia is big help for my blog. while exploring on research on meditation helped me to understand meditation benefit. it helped to understand that meditation help is calming our mind, relaxation,change in our perception, improvement in our performance and many. i also came to know that long term meditator sleep is lower than non meditators. 

i used to practice my meditation not regular but yes i used to do... but never different form of meditation. what type of meditation is good for what. 

in my next blog  i will writing about how to meditate..... 

thank you!