New research: Stress-reduction technique is effective for ordinary people
Stress reduction for ordinary persons is documented in a recent Swiss study
Stress reduction for ordinary persons is documented in a recent Swiss study
A recent study of cancer patients, who were under stress, found that they obtained stress management through counselling (economist.com). This is fine, but perhaps no big surprise. However, the study also investigated the link between chronic stress and biological markers of changes due to the stress. This evoked my interest.
Success is a challenge and must be met with a flexible attitude. When Acem's founder Dr. Are Holen was interviewed by a Barcelona newspaper, there was a boom in the interest in Acem Meditation in Spain. Activities were rescheduled, and within half a month 442 people had learnt the technique.
"There is a pressing need for a rigorous investigation of how meditation affects brain function." Professor Jim Lagopoulos, Sydney University, studied electrical brain waves in Acem meditators. There was an abundance of theta waves in the frontal and middle parts of the brain, different from ordinary relaxation.
In an interview in the Barcelona newspaper La Vanguardia, Acem's founder Dr. Are Holen discusses implications of recent scientific studies of Acem Meditation. After the interview, Acem Spain received more than 600 e-mails and 400 registrations for beginner's courses.
A recent American review of meditation research refers to seven studies on Acem Meditation, including several studies by Dr. Erik Solberg. The general conclusion is that meditation has a positive effect on a number of ailments, including high blood pressure. Many of the studies reviewed are discussed in the recent Acem book Fighting Stress.
If you meditate, you do as ten million American adults do, among them film stars Goldie Hawn and Richard Gere, and former Vice President Al Gore. You are also an object of study for serious scientists, who are now discovering that some kinds of meditation have interesting effects that can be measured.
First PhD on Acem Meditation.
Meditation is in Vogue - not only in a recent issue of the magazine, but in the international press generally.
Meditation affects an area of the brain that influences our ability to make decisions, regulate emotions, and to understand and control our attention, reactions and impulses. Meditation even seems to strengthen the cerebral cortex in areas involved in emotional control. And it is not all about alpha waves; theta waves play an equally important part, writes Dr. Svend Davanger.