Scientific community: Relaxation can prevent genetic degradation

Has the scientific community discovered a breakthrough in slowing genetic degradation? Or, has it merely caught up with the long-held (and often refuted) mantra of the metaphysical "New Age" community that 'all healing starts in the mind?'

Researchers at Massachusetts General Hospital recently discovered that the evocation of "relaxation reponses", via methods such as meditation, yoga and repetitive prayer do, in fact, keep genes healthier than normal. The experiment showed that sujects who practiced "relaxation response"-inducing activites "enhanced expression of genes associated with energy metabolism, mitochondrial function, insulin secretion and telomere maintenance, and reduced expression of genes linked to inflammatory response and stress-related pathways." Furthermore, the experiment showed that subjects who maintained these practices for a longer period of time had significantly better results than the short-timers. The study concludes that the research results "for the first time indicate that relaxation response elicitation, particularly after long-term practice, may evoke its downstream health benefits by improving mitochondrial energy production and utilization and thus promoting mitochondrial resiliency."

Source: Bhasin, Dusek, et al

Photo credit: ddpavumba

Categories: medical research