For the last 10 years, I have been involved in researching the impact of meditation on health and well-being. This infographic summarized some of the key findings about the scientific benefits of meditation.
When my colleagues at Stanford and at other universities started researching meditation, most of us expected that meditation would help with stress levels. However, what many of us did not anticipate was the extent of the benefits the data ended up showing.
Hundreds of studies suggest that meditation doesn’t just decrease stress levels but that it also has tangible health benefits such as improved immunity, lower inflammation and decreased pain. Additionally, brain-imaging studies show that meditation sharpens attention and memory. Perhaps most importantly, it has been linked to increased happiness and greater compassion.
Inspired to share these findings, I recently wrote a post on the science of meditation that summarizes much of this data. After it went viral on Twitter & Facebook, I thought I’d create this infographic to help readers visualize the data and inspire would-be or regular meditators to keep up with their practice!
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Author: Emma Seppala
Emma Seppala originates from Paris, France and is Associate Director at the Center for Compassion and Altruism Research and Education (CCARE) at Stanford University. Her research areas include: Complementary & Alternative Interventions (yoga, meditation); The Science of Happiness, Health, Well-Being; Stress; Trauma; Emotion and Emotion Regulation; Compassion, Social Connectedness; Cross-Cultural Psychology.
