Meditation even affects genetics. The results of research by neurobiologists.
By meditating, we fight stress and disease at the genetic level. This was confirmed by the experiment of neuroscientists from the USA, France and Spain*. Participants did eight hours of mindfulness meditation**. As a result, they have decreased activity of the RIPK2 and COX-2 genes that cause an inflammatory response. With a low level of expression of these genes, we recover faster after severe stress. «The changes affected those genes that are usually targeted by anti-inflammatory and pain medications,» says biochemist Perla Kaliman, one of the authors of the study. These results may open the way to new ways to treat chronic diseases.
* Psychoneuroendocrinology, 2014, vol. 40.