In a recent study reserachers at University of California, San Francisco, have found that a regular habit of meditation brings about pyshological changes of permanent nature which inturns are caused by an increase in the telomerase activity (an enzyme which is responsible for longevity in ur body cells).
For novice among you here is a simple explanation :
Telomeres are sequences of DNA at the end of chromosomes that tend to get shorter every time a cell divides. When telomeres drop below a critical length, the cell can no longer divide properly and eventually dies.
Telomerase is an enzyme that can rebuild and lengthen telomeres.
Though the study does not conclusively suggest that meditation is directly related to increase in Telemerase, it points out towards the fact that meditation improves a person’s sense of well-being which then have a profound effect in his physiology and result in increased Telomerase activity.
This study is the result of UC Davis-based Shamatha Project, one of the first long-term, detailed, matched control-group studies of the effects of intensive meditation training on mind and body.
Read more about this study here:
Positive psychological changes from meditation training linked to cellular health