Meditation has many desirable effects for an individual’s quality of life. According to studies, meditation improves not only the mental health of its practitioners, but also their physical health (Shaku, Tsutsumi, Goto, & Arnoult, 2014, p.406). Because of its known beneficial effects, meditation has been used as intervention or therapy for various clinical and non-clinical cases. Meditation, for instance, has been used to improve the quality of life and attention span of adults with mental issues and is also proven effective in easing depression and anxiety of patients suffering from terminal diseases such as cancer and HIV (Kim, Kim, Ahn, Seo, & Kim, 2013; Agarwal, Kumar, & Lewis, 2015). Non-clinical tests of meditation have also proven effective in alleviating stressors and improving the quality of life of respondents. Individuals who are subjected to tough and rigorous training such as the Japanese monks, for instance, are found to benefit from meditation. In 2014, Shaku, Tsutsumi, Goto and Arnoult tried to measure the psychological and mental benefits of meditation by studying Japanese monk trainees that regularly practice meditation (Shaku, Tsutsumi, Goto, & Arnoult, 2014, p.406). The scholars provided two types of questionnaires: the International Quality of Life (QOL) Assessment Short Form-36 (SF-36) and General Health Questionnaire-28 (GHQ-28). The SF-36 was designed to measure quality of life in subscales such as body pain, mental health, physical functioning, role emotional, role-physical, vitality and general health (Shaku, Tsutsumi, Goto, & Arnoult, 2014, p.406). The GHQ-28 questionnaire, on the other hand, was designed to measure depression, anxiety, somatization and social dysfunction. After the consolidation of the questionnaires, the scholars found that Japanese monks who were practicing meditation longer also scored higher on the subscales. The scholars concluded that Zen training, improves the quality of life and mental health of Japanese monks even though they are being subjected to rigorous training (Shaku, Tsutsumi, Goto, & Arnoult, 2014, p.410). For the same reason, practices that emphasize meditation such as Zen and yoga training have gained popularity over the years. Recently, studies regarding the authenticity of such claims have been published and there is growing experimental evidence that meditation, indeed, has a positive impact to the practitioner’s mental health and quality of life.
Knowledge about the benefits of meditation in improving health and quality of life is of enormous importance. Such knowledge can have practical application, especially in improving the mental health of persons with mental disabilities. Scholars, for instance, observed that meditation improves the attention span of adults with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) (Bueno, Kozasa, da Silva, Alves, Louzã, & Pompéia, 2015, p.1). The findings promoted the idea that meditation can be used as an intervention and complementary treatment of adults with ADHD (Bueno, Kozasa, da Silva, Alves, Louzã, & Pompéia, 2015, p.1). The psychological benefits derived from meditation are also exploited and utilized as treatment initiatives for persons that suffer from emotional and mental disturbances such as anxiety and depression. People who suffer from hypertension and anxiety, for instance, are observed to benefit from Sahaja yoga meditation. According to scholars, individuals that undergo yoga meditation showed significant improvement in blood pressure and their overall quality of life (Chung, Brooks, Rai, Balk, & Rai, 2012, 589). A significant improvement was also observed among individuals that suffer from life-threatening illnesses such as breast cancer and HIV. According to a study conducted in 2013, women suffering from breast cancer and are undergoing radiation therapy experienced reduced anxiety and depression after they undergo meditation therapy (Kim, Kim, Ahn, Seo, & Kim, 2013, p.379). Similar results were also observed among individuals suffering from HIV. Many HIV infected persons experience anxiety and depression, pushing them to engage in self-incriminating lifestyles such as drug abuse. Through yoga and meditation, these behaviors are significantly reduced and mitigated (Agarwal, Kumar, & Lewis, 2015, p.152).
Meditation is not only recommended for use as an intervention or therapy for clinical cases. In fact, there is a consensus among scholars that meditation is also observed to have an enormous potential to “enhance attention, mood, and quality of life in nonclinical populations” (Bueno, Kozasa, da Silva, Alves, Louzã, & Pompéia, 2015, p.14). One good example of applying meditation to non-clinical cases is its utilization as a tool to improve the retention of employees, particularly those who are working in stressful work environments such as in the healthcare industry (Prasad, Wahner-Roedler, Cha, & Sood, 2011, p.46). The healthcare industry is considered by many as one of the most stressful work environments. A study conducted by the American Health Care Association revealed that healthcare professionals, particularly nurses that have direct contact with patients, are among those who leave their job often because of the enormous amount of stress at work. Through self-practice meditation, it was observed that healthcare professionals experience reduced levels of stress and anxiety; thereby, improving their quality of life (Prasad, Wahner-Roedler, Cha, & Sood, 2011, p.46).
There is a growing number of empirical studies, which proves that meditation improves the mood and mental health of individuals. For the same reason, most scholars reach a consensus that meditation and its therapeutic qualities can be used for practical applications, particularly in clinical cases wherein lowering the levels of anxiety and stress is desirable. Studies have shown that meditation is an effective reliever of stress and anxiety even in patients with terminal sickness such as those suffering from cancer and HIV. These patients who are most vulnerable to stress, anxiety and depression experience improved quality of life when they undergo meditation therapies. By improving a person’s mental and emotional health, meditation, in general, improves the overall quality of life of an individual. People who are exposed to stressfull work environments and rigorous training, for example, have also been observed to benefit from the stress relieving effects of meditation. For the same reason, experts recommend meditation not only for individuals that are suffering from mental and physical illnesses, but also to those non-clinical cases that also suffer stress and anxiety.
References
Agarwal, R. P., Kumar, A., & Lewis, J. E. (2015). A Pilot Feasibility and Acceptability Study of Yoga/Meditation on the Quality of Life and Markers of Stress in Persons Living with HIV Who Also Use Crack Cocaine. Journal Of Alternative & Complementary Medicine, 152 - 158.
American Health Care Association. (2011, May). REPORT OF FINDINGS 2009 NURSING FACILITY STAFF RETENTION AND TURNOVER SURVEY . Retrieved December 2014, from http://www.ahcancal.org/: http://www.ahcancal.org/research_data/staffing/documents/staffsurvey_2009_full_report.pdf
Bueno, V. F., Kozasa, E. H., da Silva, M. A., Alves, T. M., Louzã, M. R., & Pompéia, S. (2015). Mindfulness Meditation Improves Mood, Quality of Life, and Attention in Adults with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder. Biomed Research International, 1 - 14.
Chung, S., Brooks, M. M., Rai, M., Balk, J. L., & Rai, S. (2012). Effect of Sahaja Yoga Meditation on Quality of Life, Anxiety, and Blood Pressure Control. Journal Of Alternative & Complementary Medicine, 589 - 596.
Kim, Y. H., Kim, H. J., Ahn, S. D., Seo, Y. J., & Kim, S. H. . (2013). Effects of meditation on anxiety, depression, fatigue, and quality of life of women undergoing radiation therapy for breast cancer. Complementary Therapies In Medicine, 379 - 387.
Prasad, K., Wahner-Roedler, D., Cha, S., & Sood, A. (2011). Effect of a single-session meditation training to reduce stress and improve quality of life among health care professionals: A "dose-ranging" feasibility study. Alternative Therapies in Health and Medicine, 46 - 49.
Shaku, F., Tsutsumi, M., Goto, H., & Arnoult, D. S. (2014). Measuring the Effects of Zen Training on Quality of Life and Mental Health Among Japanese Monk Trainees: A Cross-Sectional Study. Journal Of Alternative & Complementary Medicine, 406 - 410.
