Meditation can fasten post-operative recovery

Yes! Meditation can help shorten recovery time after surgery. Read on…

Going under the scalpel is what we all dread. But at times, a surgery could be the only option left for the medical fraternity to cure your ailment. A surgery brings with it, the pangs of pre-operative and post-operative stress for the patient and his family.

When we are stressed and anxious, our mind could turn a culprit by conjuring up frightful images of pain. Post-surgery, our body becomes susceptible to infections. The accompanying stress could make the immune system even weaker. Meditation can be your best bet during these stressful times by helping you relax and focus on healing, rather than the pain.

Meditation aids parasympathetic ‘rest and heal’ response.

Dr. Herbert Benson of the Harvard University Medical School believes that meditation triggers increased activity in parasympathetic nervous system, which is responsible for the body’s rest and digestive functions.

Meditation reduces brain activity in the somatosensory cortex.

Fadel Ziedan of Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center feels that meditation training can dramatically reduce both the experience of pain and pain related brain activation. Meditation can significantly reduce brain activity in the primary somatosensory cortex, an area that is crucially involved in creating the feeling of where and how intense a painful stimulus is.

Meditation paves the way for lesser amount of stress hormone cortisol.

Tonya Jacobs, a postdoctoral researcher at the University of California, scientifically proved this after her three-month long observation of 57 meditators. Regular meditation is also found to release the neurotransmitter oxytocin, which helps the healing process by allowing a patient to remain calm during the post-operative days.