(NaturalHealth365)  Meditation has been popularized lately, with dozens of new mindfulness apps coming out aimed to help you establish a meditation practice and learn new mindfulness strategies.  However, the practice has been around for thousands of years – for good reason.

In fact, there are many health benefits associated with the regular practice of meditation.  What’s even more exciting is that these benefits can be relatively long-lasting, as recent research from the University of California Davis indicates.

How committing to a meditation practice can maximize brain function – with as much as a 7+ year carryover effect

A study published in the peer-reviewed Journal of Cognitive Enhancement shared some key findings from UC Davis’s Shamatha Project, a first-of-its-kind comprehensive and longitudinal study on meditation.

The study involved 60 experienced meditators who attended two three-month-long meditation retreats at Shambhala Mountain Center in Red Feather Lakes, Colorado.  During these retreats, meditators received instruction and guidance from B. Alan Wallace (Wallace is a well-known Buddhist scholar and author from the Santa Barbara Institute for Consciousness Studies).

They attended group meditation sessions twice daily and engaged in individual practice for about six hours a day.  These retreats were intense: attendees went to group meditations twice a day and did solo meditation for as many as 6 hours per day.  Plus, the meditators are all experienced.

Even still, the study’s authors found that after 7 years, those participants who maintained a more diligent practice still demonstrated improved sustained attention, a benefit also seen immediately after the retreats ended.  “Importantly,” the authors add, “aging-related decrements in measures of response inhibition accuracy and reaction time variability were moderated by levels of continued meditation practice across the follow-up period.”

In other words, meditation practice was shown to be anti-aging.

But that’s not all!  Research suggests that additional health benefits of meditation – even as little as 20 minutes per day a few days per week – include:

• Improved resiliency to stress
• Reduced pain severity
• Improved self-control and regulation (which has major implications for people challenged by addiction)
• Improved brain neuroplasticity (the ability of the brain to grow new neurons)

Not sure how to meditate?  Here are 5 ways to get started

Try these tips for starting a new meditation practice:

1. Start small.  Even just 5 minutes per day can be a great place to start.  Gradually build up your length of time – most people recommend between 20 to 60 minutes per day, which can be broken up into smaller intervals.
2. Be consistent.  For optimal results, meditate daily, ideally at around the same time.  This helps you build a consistent practice and allows you to gain the most benefits over time.
3. Be comfortable.  Most meditation teachers instruct students to sit in a chair or crossed-legged on the floor during meditation.  There’s no specific position – the point is to find one that is comfortable for you.
4. Don’t worry about doing it “wrong.”  There are many styles of meditation, but the most basic technique is to close your eyes and simply focus on your breath.  People often believe they’re meditating “wrong” because they find themselves thinking.  This isn’t true!  The true point of meditation isn’t necessarily to “empty the mind” but to recognize when thoughts come up, acknowledge them non-judgmentally, and then return your attention to the breath.
5. Seek guidance.  Find the support you like, whether attending a class, downloading an app, or simply checking out guided meditations available online.  You’ll be amazed at how this simple, holistic, and FREE strategy can improve your mental health.

Sources for this article include:

NIH.gov
MedicalNewsToday.com
ScienceDaily.com
Springer.com