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Best-selling author David Michie takes a look at some of the psychological and physical benefits of meditation in these excerpts from his new book, Hurry Up and Meditate

The most obvious physical change that occurs when we bring body and mind together in meditation is that breathing naturally slows and, with it, the heartbeat. Blood pressure decreases and so too the metabolic rate. Muscular tension reduces significantly.

In short, we relax.

It's important to note that these physiological changes do not arise merely by resting. Repeated research shows that we can't get the same benefits simply by sitting down and daydreaming or enjoying a cup of tea. In a state of ordinary physical rest, when we make no effort to manage our mental focus, we do not see a lowered rate of metabolism, a decrease in the use of oxygen, or reduced output of carbon dioxide. Nor do we see the heart rate decrease, as it does in meditation, by several beats a minute—in some cases, by as many as fifteen.

When we meditate the lactate concentration in our blood also decreases by up to a third. Why should this matter? Because blood lactate level is associated with tension and high blood pressure, and the infusion of lactate in the blood produces symptoms of anxiety. Studies have shown a reduction in lactate concentration in meditators of about four times as much as people who are merely resting. A quite separate biological marker of stress-resistance of skin to a mild electric current—has similarly been shown to decline by about four times among meditators.

A different significant effect of meditation is its impact on the hormones released by our bodies. Chocolate, sex, morphine, and acupuncture all stimulate the production of endorphins by our bodies. Joggers and gym junkies are familiar with the postworkout high—nature's way of saying, "keep doing that." So too, meditation increases endorphin output, and the resulting feel-good emotions are only part of the systemic benefits endorphins deliver. In short, meditation not only helps us get rid of unwanted symptoms of stress, it also creates positive body-mind states.

For more than thirty-five years, Dr. Herbert Benson, President of the Mind/Body Medical Institute and Associate Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School, has been studying what he calls "the relaxation response," the state elicited by meditation. And as his research has importantly shown, the relaxation response has impacts which go well beyond any specific medi­tation session. What's more, practicing meditation over a period of time has significant cumulative benefits.

Just as regular gym-goers experience the benefits of their exertions even when they are no longer at the gym—being able, for example, to hurry up a flight of stairs without getting breathless, or effortlessly to carry heavy luggage or grocery bags—so too meditators experience the benefits of their practice when off the meditation cushion. Apart from feeling calmer and better able to deal with the psychological stairs and interpersonal heavy luggage in everyday life, meditators experience benefits that can be measured physiologically. To quote Benson: "Repeated activation of the relaxation response can reverse sustained problems in the body and mend the internal wear and tear brought on by stress."

Like a lot of people, the reason I started to meditate was in an effort to counteract stress. In my early thirties I had a demanding job in one of London's most successful corporate public relations agencies. Having been brought up under the vast blue skies and in the wide open spaces of Africa, it was a tough adjustment for me to live in a shoebox-sized flat, deal with crowded commutes into central London, manage the stresses and long hours demanded of an up-and-coming spin doctor, and then try to find time for a social life. From a career point of view I knew I was in the right place. But I felt stressed out. So much so that I actually began breaking out in rashes.

At first I had no idea what was causing the itchy pink dots which would appear on my wrists and ankles for no apparent reason at random intervals during the day. The public health sector doctor to whom I eventually turned told me I was suffering from an allergic reaction, prescribed an antihistamine, and sent me on my way.

It was a naturopath whose flyer hit my doormat at just the right moment who fully explained my situation. Apprehensive about carrying a bottle of antihistamines around in my pocket for an indeterminate period, I made an appointment with this no-nonsense lady, who peered long and hard into my irises, made disapproving clucking sounds, and started asking about my daily routine. Among her questions was: How many cups of coffee did I drink? To which the answer was: Eight.

It turns out that a caffeine intolerance was the cause of the rashes—after I replaced coffee with water for a while, they disappeared completely. But quite apart from that, the naturopath told me that my whole system was stressed. I needed to do something to restore a sense of balance. She suggested meditation.

I'll never forget the intense self-consciousness I felt those first few weeks when I got out of bed ten minutes earlier than usual to meditate. What I was doing felt contrived and artificial. Who the hell did I think I was sitting cross-legged like Maharishi Yogi, supposedly focusing on my breathing, but in reality distracted by every early-morning jet coming down into Heathrow, the sounds of the trash collectors and street sweepers, the angry hooting of horns as early-morning commuters got off to a bad start?

David Michie

How to Shift Your Baseline Happiness

The idea that we all have a default "set point" for happiness may at first be surprising. But on reflection, it tends to be confirmed when we look at happiness levels during the course of our own lives. Sure, we all go through bleak periods as well as joyful ones. But the overall level from which we tend towards happiness or sadness is usually constant. If we don't see this in ourselves, it may be easier to see in others, especially those we know well. What's more, we have all encountered people who have an ingrained attitude of hostility, victimization, or defeat, just as we less often come across others who always manage to find a positive interpretation no matter what life throws at them.

The "set point" hypothesis is certainly borne out in studies of mood range which have shown that people's self-reported happiness remained about the same even after major negative or positive life events. Investigating subjects ranging from an individual who was left paraplegic by a car accident at the one extreme, and a lottery winner at the other, researchers found that a year after even these monumental life events, people's happiness levels had changed little.

What is really interesting is that along with the revelation that we may all have a default "set point" for happiness comes the finding that this point can be moved. Dr. Kabat-Zinn, founder of the Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction Clinic at the University of Massachusetts Medical School, collaborated in a study with Dr. Davidson to assess the impact of mindfulness meditation.

In the study, Dr. Kabat-Zinn taught mindfulness methods to employees of a biotech business for approximately three hours a week over a two-month period. Before the training, the workers complained of feeling highly stressed, a subjective assessment confirmed during fMRI scanning when they showed a collective tendency to the right of the happiness spectrum. By the end of the training period, however, on average their emotions ratio had shifted leftwards, to the positive end of the spectrum. On a personal basis, they reported feeling more energized, less anxious, and more purposeful about their work. Even in a relatively short period of time, inexperienced meditators can begin to alter their overall mood state. So what happens if we keep on meditating?

Dr. Davidson had the good fortune to meet a highly experienced meditator, a senior Tibetan lama, who agreed to undergo the fMRI process. It should come as no surprise that of the 175 people he had tested until that time, the lama was positioned on the most extreme left of the happiness spectrum.

Subsequent work carried out at the W. M. Keck Laboratory for Functional Brain Imaging and Behavior involved wiring up volunteers to an electroencephalograph (EEG), a net of 256 electrical sensors, while they meditated. Ten student volunteers with no meditation training were used as a control group whose readings were to be compared with eight highly advanced prac­titioners who were Tibetan monks.

The results of the study were dramatic. While the control group showed a slight increase in gamma wave activity when they were asked to meditate, readings from the monks showed much greater activation of fast-moving and unusually powerful gamma waves. What's more, wave movement through their brains was far more efficiently organized. Those monks who had spent the most years meditating had the highest levels of gamma waves, with some of them producing wave activity more powerful than had ever been recorded previously.

This "dose response," reported in the Washington Post, helps establish a clear case of cause and effect. In simple terms, the more we meditate, the better we get at it, and the happier we feel. Why this might be possible can be explained in terms of neuroplasticity. While in the past scientists have believed that the connections between brain nerve cells were fixed once we reached adulthood, this assumption has been overturned. Instead, researchers now understand that the circuitry and inner workings of the brain continue to develop and evolve. To quote Dr. Davidson: "What we have found is that the trained mind, or brain, is physically different from the untrained one."