Meditation and its numerous health benefits have been known for millennia, but a new set of studies explains how meditation can help people lower their blood pressure using only their mind.
Nearly half of all American adults suffer from hypertension or high blood pressure — a condition that doubles a person’s chance of having a stroke. Pharmaceutical and physical solutions can reduce blood pressure, but so can 10 to 20 minutes of sustained meditation, according to Dr. Herbert Benson, director emeritus of the Harvard-affiliated Benson-Henry Institute for Mind Body Medicine.
According to Benson, meditation, the quieting of the mind, can produce a “relaxation response” that triggers a lowering in blood pressure, just as stress can result in a “fight-or-flight response” that triggers an increase in blood pressure.
Studies have shown that self-induced quieting of brain activity can cause increased levels of nitric oxide, a molecule that relaxes and widens blood vessels in the body.
But meditation is not easy for many, as thoughts are constantly running through the mind.
Benson, pulling from both transcendental and mindfulness meditation techniques, suggests setting aside two 10 to 20 minutes breaks a day. During that time, sit with your eyes closed, relax your muscles and silently repeat a word, phrase or sound over and over again.
And, if an errant thought comes up (as it surely will), let the idea come and go, returning to your word, phrase or sound, Benson said.
The studies make clear that meditation is not a total solution to hypertension, but one of many tools to help lower one’s blood pressure.
