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Richard James Havis

How does meditation “work”? That is a question American psychologist Professor Richard Davidson has spent a lifetime trying to answer.
The 73-year-old meditation practitioner, who studied with a guru in India in the early 1970s, has for decades focused on the science that underlies meditation.
Since 1984 he has been a fixture in the department of psychology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, in the US, where he also founded the Centre for Healthy Minds and the affiliated non-profit Healthy Minds Innovations.
Although he admits that much of his research is still a work in progress, meditation is known to have an effect on mind, brain and, almost certainly, body.

After just two weeks of practice, stress levels can fall while concentration can improve, he says.
“Improvements in attention … include better focus, less mind-wandering and improved working memory,” he notes in his book, Altered Traits: Science Reveals How Meditation Changes Your Mind, Brain, and Body, co-written with science journalist Daniel Goleman.
Empathy – which makes us more considerate of the plight of others – improves and “markers for inflammation lessen a bit with just 30 hours of practice,” he writes. That is a key benefit: studies show inflammation in the body is linked to many illnesses.
Long-term meditators – who have achieved over 1,000 hours of practice – experience even more benefits, and the effects last longer. These include lowered levels of the stress hormone cortisol, and lower overall stress levels.
“Shifts in very basic biological processes, such as a slower breath rate, occur after several thousand hours of practice,” Davidson writes.


How does he know this? Davidson and his team combine their knowledge of different meditation practices with the use of technology such as functional MRI scans to record changes in the brain during meditation.
Findings are based on research conducted through his contacts with practitioners in the East – including Tibetan lamas – as well as those in the West.
A long-time friend of the Dalai Lama, Davidson has advised him in the scientific processes behind meditation.
He also offers regular updates on his research in his talks at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. This journalist attended a recent event virtually.
More is better in terms of meditation – the more hours of meditation practised over a lifespan, the more effective it becomes, Davidson says.

To help anyone who wants to try, Healthy Minds Innovations has developed a free award-winning app with active and still meditations lasting five to 30 minutes, and well-being tips from some of the world’s leading scientists and meditation teachers.
While meditation has definite positive effects on human health, Davidson says, it was not invented as a health tool.
“This is a very modern extension of this work. The fact that it has an impact on an illness is amazing, as it evolved to facilitate [spiritual] awakening. This is all very new, and the research is in its early stages.”
Studies show that people who are physically healthy – and who exercise – tend to report higher overall feelings of mental well-being. This suggests mental health and physical fitness are intertwined.
Meditation could tap this connection to have a positive effect on physical health. “That is an important possibility, as it has huge implications for chronic diseases.”
Imagine how an anxious student receiving a prompt for a 30-second mindful moment right before a final exam might perform better
Richard Davidson on the usefulness of smartphone mindfulness prompts
For instance, Davidson and his team recently discovered a link between the brain and asthma, a finding he says surprised asthma researchers at the university.
Inflammation plays a central role in asthma and the brain can make it worse, he says, by changing the stress we feel into a chemical signal – a process known as “transducing” – and sending that signal to the lung.
“If the brain is involved in exacerbating the inflammation response in the lung, then maybe we can change the brain through meditation,” he says.
Inflammation plays a role in dementia, too, and meditation could potentially have an effect on that condition, Davidson says, although much more research needs to be done.
“There are some basic research findings around neuro-inflammation in particular, and its relationship with neurodegeneration, which is really promising,” he says.

Meditation will not cure dementia, he emphasises, but adds, “I do think it has a role to play in decreasing the severity of the symptom expression, and delaying the onset.”
Two other areas that are worthy of more exploration are “micro-supports” and “personal intervention”, he says.
Micro-supports are short well-being practices such as mindful breathing that may help provide a quick mental boost while performing a task.
Studies have shown that short bursts of meditation have reduced the stress that schoolteachers feel while teaching a class, for instance.
Davidson expects that the delivery of micro-supports at the right time and place – through a smartphone app, say – could have an outsize impact on well-being.
“Imagine how an anxious student receiving a prompt for a 30-second mindful moment right before a final exam might perform better, or how a meeting might unfold after a leader receives an appreciation micro-intervention right beforehand,” Davidson says.
“There are endless opportunities that can be tested in real-world settings.”

That is why the Centre for Healthy Minds is developing a solution that uses artificial intelligence to deliver personalised well-being content – such as micro-supports – through a smartphone app to people when they most need it.
The centre is also looking into ways to provide personal intervention by finding a form of meditation that best fits an individual’s needs.
For some it could be a guided meditation while seated; for others it could be a short walk outdoors.
“If we understand more about a person, and his emotional and cognitive styles, maybe we can prescribe certain practices that may be more effective [for them],” Davidson says.
There is no single “best” form of meditation, he stresses. “The best form of meditation is the meditation that you do.”
The important thing, he explains, is just to meditate.
Download the Healthy Minds Innovations app for free from the organisation’s website
Like what you read? Follow SCMP Lifestyle on Facebook, X and Instagram. You can also sign up for our eNewsletter here.


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Davidson and his team use technology such as functional MRI scans to record changes in the brain during meditation. Photo: Instagram.com/healthy.minds

Davidson holds a talk on his research at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Photo: Instagram.com/healthy.minds

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Lifestyle

Health & Wellness

Health

A psychologist who helped develop an award-winning meditation app explains how the practice can lower stress, boost concentration and more


A psychologist who helped develop an award-winning meditation app explains how the practice can lower stress, boost concentration and more.
