I’m going to share a not-so-secret secret with you: I love telomeres.
If you follow my blogs, you may remember me mentioning telomeres in the past, because, well…they just fascinate me.
Telomeres reside at the end of chromosomes in order to protect them from deterioration. When cells replicate, telomeres are cut and become increasingly shorter. If the telomere becomes too short, it dies or at the very least becomes dormant.
Many researchers now use telomere length to determine cell age – and with it, brain deterioration.
New researchers at the Universities of California at Davis and San Francisco are continuing our understanding of telomeres, looking at how intensive meditation affects them.
These researchers, who include Nobel Prize winner Elizabeth Blackburn, PhD, are involved with the Shamatha Project, a longitudinal study of the health effects of meditation on the brain and body. 
As part of the project, a study was undertaken with 60 participants, 30 in the retreat group and 30 in the control.
The retreat participants attended a 3-month meditation retreat, with group meditation two times a week and individual meditation practice approximately 6 hours a day.
The wait-listed control group did not attend the retreat, but were otherwise matched in terms of age, gender, body mass index, and meditation experience.
Telomerase activity was measured post-retreat in both groups and was shown to be much greater in retreat participants (telomerase is an enzyme that can rebuild and lengthen telomeres) than in matched controls.
There are some things that you could fault with this study. I wish they had used a randomized design and I wish that they had taken telomerase measurements before the treatment as well as afterwards.
Still, the findings are intriguing and science often begins with imperfect first steps.
You can read the study findings in the June 2011 edition of Psychoneuroendocrinology.
Would you like to know more about the effects of meditation on the brain? If so, check out our Mindfulness Webinar Series.
Please leave a comment below.
Nice Post
I have often wondered about whether mindfulness influenced longevity. I was inclined to feel disappointed in that, from what I have observed, the great mindful gurus seemed not to have had long lives.
Best to read books that have been translated from the sucroe.Guatama Buddha wrote his philosophies and discoveries down .His works have been translated. Locate these and read them .There has been much alteration since he left.The sucroe of Buddhism as we know it in the West is actuallythe Dhyana, ( Dharma was a legendary Hindu sage) this knowledge actually predates Gautama Buddha by quite a bit.This is Jesus taught to the order of Melchizedek
In the study cited above, the meditation retreat people were taken away from all the stressors of daily life. Were the control group people also taken out of their usual environment and given equal respite from daily life? I like and value meditation for many reasons, but the study as presented has a host of confounding factors.
Linda, those prices are too high. There are lots of ways you can learn on your own. On YouTube there are lots of short videos that you can glean much from. Also, Linda, you can get some longer lectures and demonstrations from YouTube.
Herbert Benson’s research appears to support the idea that all meditation techniques are essentially equivalent. While Mindfulness is the Flavor of the MOnth, older research shows that Progressive Relaxation, Autogenic Training, Transcendental Meditation and Self hypnosis all give similar results. All easy to learn. Try some of those. Stick with it and you will reap the benefits.
Lynn
I went to the introductory 2 hr lecture about taking the Mindfulness Classes at our local hospital. The price of the class was $400. way beyond my budget ! I looked into the local medical clinic I go to near Stanford University and it was $395.
Only a select group can afford the classes and the CD’s are expensive too.
Hi Ruth,
I was so excited about your note concerning the telomeres. I read the complete article and I too wish the experimental design was a little “tighter”, but it all starts with an inquiry and a desire to “disprove” the findings. I am in graduate studies and mindfulness and neuropsychology are my passion. I love the teleseminars!
I live in Boulder, Colorado and if there ever is a way I can assist you(NICABM)via telecommunication please let me know. I would love to be involved in any level, and I am always looking for additional support in my studies. Blessings on your wonderful work!!
I have used cd’s from John Kabat Zinn which has helped me to know more about mindfulness and to experience it on my own. A good choice!
I would like to know the type of changes that occur in the brain based on mindfulness practices. There is a difference between spiritual and secular pursuits and I defer in believing that these two areas must be complementary but must not fused.
Jean.
Dear Sonal,
This series was structured so that we first discussed the scientific evidence showing brain changes through mindfulness, then looking directly at how practitioners can apply this information with clients. We will be talking about specific mindfulness application with clients in Tara Brach’s session, as well as the Talk Back teleseminar with Ron Siegel, PsyD and Elisha Goldstein, PhD. Drs. Siegel and Goldstein have also been providing mini-application sessions at the end of each of the more scientific calls. In their longer session, they will be talking about issues like how to introduce mindfulness in a clinical setting, examples of mindfulness practices to use, etc. If you want an entire mindfulness routine to introduce to your clients, Sharon Salzberg will be discussing in detail a 28-day plan for such a purpose.
Best,
NICABM Staff
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Hi there! Really enjoyed your video post I came asrcos your blog searching for meditation resources and your thoughts about acceptance were exactly what I needed to hear today. Thanks for being there with just the right words! Look forward to reading future posts.
Dear Ruth,
I had posed this query to earlier but I havent got a reply.
The effects of meditation and mindfulness are well known in the Eastern spiritual cultures and its good you are highlighting its research through your Mindfulness Teleseminar.But knowing its benefits without learning the techniques have limited value. I have gone through the topics but I am not sure if any of the seminars address which mindfulness/meditation technique has proved to be more effective, what should we be practicing and teaching our clients? Should we focus on breath, or object or body sensations, or just watch thoughts as they passby or? Before meditation, would any chanting or breath excercises help to make meditation process deeper?
Please let me know which session from your Mindfulnes seminar addresses the above queries.
Thanks,
Sonal