Why Meditate? with Billy Wynne

I first started meditating almost two decades ago. After graduating from law school, I was early in my career as a health and well-being entrepreneur, living in Washington, D.C., and quite stressed. My cardiologist handed me The Relaxation Response and suggested I get started. At the time, that was a pretty innovative thing to do. Now, references to meditation are everywhere.

Since then, I became a Zen Buddhist and mindfulness-based coach and, not to mention, quit drinking alcohol almost six years ago. Now I teach meditation classes at the Zen Center of Denver under certification I received from Jack Kornfield and Tara Brach’s Mindfulness Meditation teacher training Program. At the same time, I have watched as meditation entered the mainstream and, with it, an array of confusing and often misleading information about the practice.

In this series, I will clear away the underbrush to help you understand what you need to know about meditation to feel confident in starting your own, consistent practice. Each post will address the Who, What, Where, When, and Why of the tradition. I’m going to start with “Why” in hopes it motivates you to continue following this series and begin to realize the benefits of meditation for yourself.

Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in these contributions are those of the individual authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of Recovery.com.

Summary of Meditation’s Benefits

The benefits of mindfulness meditation can be divided into three broad categories: (1) mental health; (2) cognition; and (3) overall well-being. Much of the contemporary evidence about meditation stems from the work of Jon Kabat-Zinn, a molecular biologist who adapted traditional meditation practices into a more clinical framework called Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR). Numerous other studies have been performed on secular mindfulness meditation techniques.¹

Mental Health Benefits

A recent meta-analysis found that mindfulness meditation can reduce anxiety and depression, including in a diverse cohort.² A subsequent meta-analysis reinforced these findings, demonstrating that mindfulness-based interventions significantly reduce symptoms of anxiety, depression, and stress.³

Evidence suggests that meditation yields these mental health benefits because it supports emotional regulation.⁴ By training the practitioner to be aware of their experiences, it diminishes the tendency to react to events unreflectively. This correlation has been identified via fMRI showing participants in an MBSR program had increased activation of the portions of the brain associated with regulation and decreased activity in areas associated with autonomic, stress-related responses.⁴

In simpler terms, meditation can help us take a beat for what clinical psychologist and mindfulness pioneer Tara Brach calls the sacred pause, a moment of grace that can make the difference between a stress-triggered reaction and a peace-empowered response.

These psychological and neurological benefits are why mindfulness meditation can also assist with the treatment of various addictive behaviors, including alcohol and drug abuse.⁵ In addition to regulating emotional reactivity to stress, it can impact cognitive functions and neurologically-based reward mechanisms, which play key roles in addiction.

Cognitive Benefits

As alluded to above, mindfulness meditation can enhance cognitive functioning, such as increasing focus and strengthening memory. For example, a study of military service members during high-stress pre-deployment training showed that meditation improved their attention span and working memory capacity.⁶ Another study showed that even brief mindfulness interventions can improve focus and memory.⁷ Participants in that study had no prior meditation experience and demonstrated benefits after only four sessions.

The mechanism by which meditation can achieve these results likely relates to structural changes it promotes in the brain. A study of MBSR program participants showed increases in gray matter in parts of the brain, such as the hippocampus and prefrontal cortex, that are associated with learning, memory, and other higher functions.⁸ Scientists believe this speaks to the capacity of mindfulness to improve neuroplasticity, the ability of the brain to create new neural pathways that manifest as more adaptive responses to life circumstances.

Overall Well-Being

One of the most accessible benefits of meditation is the impact it can have on the overall quality of your experience of daily life. Studies of these benefits generally examine a holistic array of indicators that encompass physical, psychological, social, and environmental factors. One meta-analysis found substantial benefits for meditation practitioners across each of these domains.⁹

While it also aligns with findings in the mental health arena, the evidence of the stress-reducing power of meditation indicates the way it can improve quality of life for all people, not just those with a specific mental health diagnosis. This has been documented by, among other things, measurable reductions in levels of cortisol (commonly referred to as the “stress hormone”) and other stress symptoms.¹⁰

In this broader category of overall health and well-being, it is notable that mindfulness has also demonstrated the ability to reduce symptoms of chronic pain, treat hypertension, and strengthen the immune system.^11,12,13 Perhaps as importantly, tailored meditation techniques can improve self-compassion, which can support overall happiness and likely contributes to the power the practice has in these other areas.¹⁴ As we will see in subsequent posts, self-compassion is also a key asset for building and sustaining a meditation practice itself.

Next Steps

As you can see, the scientific evidence documenting the benefits of mindfulness meditation is extensive and persuasive. Most of all, I hope it inspires you to deepen your interest and investigation of this powerful tool. In the next post, I will explain what mindfulness meditation is (and what it is not), including its origins and the primary forms it takes in modern practice.