Brain scans and interest by medical doctors have provided answers to the question, “Why learn to meditate?” Researchers made the connection between spiritual meditation and the body’s physical processes through several studies of participants who were practicing meditation. They discovered that, with just 40 minutes of meditation each day, a person could actually alter the makeup of the brain — lessening the effects of aging and increasing the amount of gray matter in the right hemisphere. There are many other positive benefits of meditation for people with depression, chronic pain and insomnia, experts say.

If you’re an insomniac, then you needn’t ask “why learn to meditate” at all — for the secret lies in deep relaxation meditation. At the June 2009 Associated Professional Sleep Societies meeting, researchers from Northwestern Memorial Hospital in Evanston, Illinois reported their findings that daytime meditation improved the quality of sleep in patients with insomnia. Patients noted marked improvement in their sleep latency, total sleep time, total wake time, sleep efficiency, sleep quality and depression symptoms after two months of practicing Kriya Yoga meditation methods. “Results of the study show that teaching deep relaxation techniques during the daytime can help improve sleep at night,” said study leader Ramadevi Gourineni MD.

Zen meditation, one of the types of meditation, can lower pain sensitivity both in and out of a meditative state. The study conducted by the Université de Montréal found that those who meditate breathed at an average of 12 breaths per minutes, compared to 15 breaths per minute in those who don’t meditate. The ultimate result for practitioners was an 18% reduction in pain sensitivity. “If meditation can change the way someone feels pain, thereby reducing the amount of pain medication required for an ailment, that would be clearly beneficial,” explains co-author Joshua A. Grant. The question of “why learn to meditate” becomes less and less significant in the wake of discoveries like this one.

People with early stage dementia know the answer to the question “why learn to meditate.” Qigong and Taiji exercises and meditation classes improved mood and cognitive function in nearly all participants after 20 weeks of meditation therapy, researchers found. “The clinical findings, from my perspective, go far beyond the statistical findings,” said Sandy Burgener from the University of Illinois. “People were happier when they were in the treatment group. Two men came in with walkers and left without them. One is in our Taiji group three years later and is still not using a walker.”

Beth Kaminski is the co-author of Curing Your Anxiety And Panic Attacks which detailed panic attacks help as well as tips on the various panic disorder medications available at anxietydisordercure.com.