Study reveals benefits of vacation, meditation

Scientists from Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, the University of California, San Francisco, and Harvard Medical School have employed a rigorous study design to assess the actual biological differences in the effects of meditation versus vacation. It was observed that a holiday taken at a 'resort' provided a strong and immediate impact on molecular networks associated with stress and immune pathways. This was in addition to short-term improvements in well-being, as measured by feelings of vitality and distress. In contrast, a meditation retreat, for those who already used meditation regularly, was associated with activation of molecular networks most often identified as being associated with antiviral activity. The molecular signature of long-term meditators was distinct from the non-meditating vacationers.

From their findings the researchers conclude that benefits gained from meditation are not wholly psychological - there bein clear and quantifiable changes in how the body functions. Clearly, meditation is one way to engage in restorative activities that may provide relief to our immune systems, easing the day-to-day stress of a body constantly trying to protect itself. The prediction is that this would then lead to healthier aging. The study was published in Springer Nature's journal Translational Psychiatry.