People suffering from life-crippling, chronic conditions such as heart disease and diabetes cope far better if they take up meditation, a new study has found.

Mindfulness meditation, as practised by Buddhists, allows patients to manage their problem far better.

After a six-week course of meditation, patients were sleeping better, were more relaxed, and were worrying less about their health, a University of Manchester study has found.

The researchers tested the meditation technique on 40 patients, who all had at least five sessions during the six weeks. Long-term effects – or benefits of longer-term meditation – weren’t assessed.

Source: Behavioural Medicine, 2014; 40(2): 53
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