Intense meditation can boost immunity: Study

A study conducted by the University of Florida suggests eight days of intense meditation causes robust activation of the immune system. The results of the study have been published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences Journal. The research is believed to be the first comprehensive genomic study of how meditation affects the biological processes directly involved in disease development.
Assistant professor of pediatrics and neuroscience in the UF College of Medicine, Vijayendran Chandran said that while the positive effects of meditation are well documented, far less is known about its molecular and genetic effects. His own experience with meditation piqued his curiosity. To establish his findings, his team studied the genetic profiles of 388 samples obtained from 106 people before and after an April 2018 advanced Inner Engineering retreat at the Isha Institute of Inner-Sciences in McMinnville, Tennessee.
Participants at the retreat remained silent for eight days, meditated for over 10 hours a day, ate vegan meals and followed a regular sleep schedule. Blood samples from the participants were collected five to eight weeks in advance, then just before, and after the retreat as well as three months later.
Chandran said, “What we found was that multiple genes related to the immune system were activated, dramatically, when you do Inner Engineering practices.” The increased gene activity among interferon-signalling genes is particularly significant, he said. Interferon proteins rally other parts of the immune system to defend against viruses and several recent studies have shown that interferon signalling is imbalanced in patients with severe Covid-19.
“This is the first time anyone has shown that meditation can boost your interferon signalling. It demonstrates a way to voluntarily influence the immune system without pharmaceuticals,” he said.