Committing to a daily meditation could help lower blood pressure readings and increase longevity, it can "reduce stress, promote relaxation and boost mood".
This is important, as elevated levels of cortisol (the stress hormone) is linked to a higher mortality (i.e. death) rate, Express reported.
In the research paper, published in The American Journal of Cardiology, investigated the long-term effects of meditation on blood pressure.
Pooling data from two randomised controlled, 202 subjects who registered as "pre-hypertensive" or "stage one hypertension" were involved in the observation. The average age of participants ranged from 66 years to 81 years old, with some partaking in daily mediation.
The meditation group was tasked with sitting comfortably, observing their breath, for 15 to 20 minutes, twice a day. It involved observing thoughts as they rose in the mind, and letting them go, returning their focus back onto their breathing.
Three months later, the meditation group reported "significantly lower blood pressure" than the other group. The long-term data is even more promising, as the results demonstrated that in a follow-up period of up to 19 years, participants who meditate were 23% less likely to die of any cause.
Those in the meditation group were also 30% less likely to die of cardiovascular disease during the same period. Subjects were also 49% less likely to die of cancer during the follow-up period.
The researchers concluded that the benefits of meditation include longer longevity.
