Could meditation really help slow the ageing process? | Science | ...

https://www.theguardian.com/science/blog/2016/mar/03/could-me...

Could meditation really help slow

the ageing process?
It may seem unlikely, but a small and growing body of evidence suggests that
regular meditation can indeed slow ageing, at least at a cellular level
James Kingsland
Thursday 3 March 2016 07.45GMT

Do people who meditate age more slowly? It seems unlikely on the face
of it. How could sitting immobile with ones eyes closed, perhaps
focusing on the breath, possibly keep the Grim Reaper at bay? That
said, the Buddha surely the archetypal meditator is reputed to have
lived to 80, which must have been an exceptionally ripe old age in 5th
century BCE India. And according to Buddhist scriptures, even after 80
years in this realm of existence, in the end it wasnt old age that
nished him o but food poisoning.
Two and a half millennia later there is a small but growing body of
evidence that regular meditation really can slow ageing at least at the
cellular level. A commonly used proxy for cellular ageing is the length
of telomeres, the DNA and protein caps that protect the ends of each
chromosome during cell division. These shorten slightly every time
the chromosome replicates, until eventually the cell can no longer
divide, becoming senescent or undergoing apoptosis the cellular
equivalent of suicide. Having shorter telomeres in your cells is
associated with the onset of many age-related diseases, including
hypertension, cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes and dementia.
Several lifestyle factors have been found to accelerate telomere
shortening, such as poor diet, lack of sleep, smoking, drinking and a
sedentary lifestyle.
Chronic stress is also known to accelerate the shortening of telomeres.
A study published last month found that long-term meditators had a

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Could meditation really help slow the ageing process? | Science | ...

https://www.theguardian.com/science/blog/2016/mar/03/could-me...

reduced inammatory and stress response to psychological and

chemical stressors in the lab compared with a control group. By
countering the eects of stress, could meditation also indirectly slow
cellular ageing? An older study found increased telomere length in the
immune cells of people after they took part in an intensive meditation
retreat. Another revealed increased activity of an enzyme called
telomerase, which rebuilds telomeres, after a similar retreat.
Now a study by Spanish researchers suggests that highly experienced
Zen meditators have longer telomeres on average than people of a
similar age and lifestyle. The research also hints that the psychological
factors underpinning this benecial eect were that the meditators
had a more compassionate, accepting outlook on life.
Scientists at the University of Zaragoza compared 20 people who had
been practising Zen meditation for an hour or more a day for at least 10
years with 20 people who had never meditated, matched for age, sex
and lifestyle factors such as diet, smoking, drinking and exercise. All of
them were subjected to a battery of psychological tests and gave blood
samples so that the length of telomeres in their immune cells could be
measured.
When the researchers crunched the data they found that the
meditators telomeres were signicantly longer than those of the
controls, by an average of 10%. They then used a statistical technique
called regression analysis to get an idea which factors might be directly
responsible for this apparent slowing of cellular ageing. Many
psychological traits were associated with having longer telomeres,
including greater mindfulness skills, life satisfaction and subjective
happiness. But the statistical analysis suggested that only younger age,
low experiential avoidance and high self-compassion were directly
responsible for longer telomeres.
Experiential avoidance is the natural tendency to suppress painful
memories, thoughts, emotions and sensations in an eort to gain
temporary relief from psychological discomfort. In fact, this mental
shying away seems to cause greater problems for us in the long-run. By
contrast, mindfulness both in its original Buddhist context and in
modern therapeutic programmes for treating conditions such as
chronic pain, depression and drug addiction involves turning ones

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Could meditation really help slow the ageing process? | Science | ...

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attention towards unpleasant physical and mental experiences in a

spirit of nonjudgmental acceptance. So its particularly interesting that
the Spanish study found that experiential avoidance seemingly leads
to faster shortening of telomeres.
So can we add meditation to the list of lifestyle changes, alongside
giving up smoking, exercising more and drinking less, that can lead to
a longer, healthier life? Its worth bearing in mind that this study only
measured cellular ageing. And it was a very small study, with only 40
participants in total, which limits the conclusions that can reliably be
drawn. The meditators were also exceptionally experienced, having
clocked up at least a decade of practice. Ideally, a future study should
randomly assign a much larger number of people who have never
meditated either to a meditation programme or an equivalent activity,
such as relaxation training, and compare the eects on telomere length
over a much shorter period perhaps just a few months.

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Theres cause for optimism, though, that even beginners can start
protecting their telomeres from the ravages of time and cell division. A
study published in 2013 found that just 15 minutes meditation in
novices had immediate eects on the expression of many genes, for
example increasing the activity of the gene that makes telomerase and
reducing the activity of genes involved in inammatory and stress
responses. Its amazing what sitting still with your eyes closed and
focusing on your breath can do for your cells.
James Kingsland is the author of Siddharthas Brain: Unlocking the
Ancient Science of Englightenment, which will be published on 26 April in
the US and 2 June in the UK
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Ageing Meditation Health & wellbeing
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