Name of Lecture: …Vipassana Meditation and Sleep

Name of Speaker: …R. Nagendra   

Program Time: …1230-1300pm

Location: ...Meditation Hall, SRSG

Name of Chairman:… Arnuad Delorme
Name of Reporter: …Yeahee Kim

Reference Material/Presentation/Other Information Collected: …Powerpoint

Main Points of the Lecture: Dr. Ravindra presented a paper about the research findings on “Meditation, Pain and Sleep.” 

In the past, the brain was considered only as a passive receptor of pain stimuli. However, it has been found that the attention and attitude towards pain relates to the experience of pain at the cortical level of the brain. Psychological states can modulate pain perception. In an experimental study, it was found that pain is reduced when a cognitive task is undertaken. This could be because different areas of brain are activated for pain and cognitive processes so while engaging in a cognitive activity, the attention from pain is diverted. Although the content of pain remains the same, the experience of pain can be changed by mindful meditation. It was noted that mindfulness meditation also reduced automatic behavior in the subjects of experiment.

Effects of meditation on sleep were also studied. It was found that meditation affects the quality of sleep. The subjects who did vipassana meditation and sudarshan kriya yoga, had enhanced deep sleep and their REM sleep was reduced. However, the sleep duration and sleep efficiency in meditators and nonmeditators was found to be the same. Meditation helps to stabilize hormone (Melatonin) levels with possible beneficial health consequences.