Regular meditation more beneficial than vacation (2016)
health.harvard.edu
Regular meditation more beneficial than vacation (2016)
1–10 of 29 posts
Re: Regular meditation more beneficial than vacation (2016)
#2Which one improves reading comprehension? Because I had read this headline about three times before I realized it didn’t say ‘Regular medication more beneficial than vaccination’!
More on topic: I did some mindful meditation a few years ago when I had some issues to work through. It really seemed to help. I should probably get in the habit of doing it again.
That said, I won’t be giving up vacations anytime soon. I don’t even go anywhere. I just take a week off from work and get my mind off of that stress.
Re: Regular meditation more beneficial than vacation (2016)
#3Which one improves reading comprehension? Because I had read this headline about three times before I realized it didn’t say ‘Regular medication more beneficial than vaccination’! More on topic: I did some mindful meditation a few years ago when I had some issues to work through. It really seemed to help. I should probably get in the habit of doing it again. That said, I won’t be giving up vacations anytime soon. I d…
Same here, I think 80% of my vacations are staycations.
Re: Regular meditation more beneficial than vacation (2016)
#4Articles like this pop up on my news feed from time to time and I am always interested to read them to see if there is any kind of concrete action item I can take in order to reap the benefits these types of articles espouse. I'm usually disappointed.
I've tried meditation off and on for around a decade and still don't quite "get it." I know my experience is entirely anecdotal but articles like this always feel very pseudo-sciency full of quotes like "Regular meditators showed both the same types of improvements’ at the molecular level" which really turns me off to their conclusions.
With that said, I would love to take another look at meditation with an open mind so if anyone has any resources or websites to recommend that helped them, I am all ears!
Re: Regular meditation more beneficial than vacation (2016)
#5Articles like this pop up on my news feed from time to time and I am always interested to read them to see if there is any kind of concrete action item I can take in order to reap the benefits these types of articles espouse. I'm usually disappointed. I've tried meditation off and on for around a decade and still don't quite "get it." I know my experience is entirely anecdotal but articles like this always feel very…
Totally get where you're coming from. I really recommend the Sam Harris "waking up" app. Really helped me and I think it appeals to the more skeptical and rational people you find on HN.
Re: Regular meditation more beneficial than vacation (2016)
#6Articles like this pop up on my news feed from time to time and I am always interested to read them to see if there is any kind of concrete action item I can take in order to reap the benefits these types of articles espouse. I'm usually disappointed. I've tried meditation off and on for around a decade and still don't quite "get it." I know my experience is entirely anecdotal but articles like this always feel very…
I was the same way. The problem with meditation is that it is like dieting/fitness/going to the gym. You will not see the results right away. It takes a while of consistent effort before you notice any results.
I took a 10 day meditation retreat (Vipassana) to get the hang of it. They make you meditate 6 to 8 hours a day for 10 days. This is one way to "get it."
Re: Regular meditation more beneficial than vacation (2016)
#7Which one improves reading comprehension? Because I had read this headline about three times before I realized it didn’t say ‘Regular medication more beneficial than vaccination’! More on topic: I did some mindful meditation a few years ago when I had some issues to work through. It really seemed to help. I should probably get in the habit of doing it again. That said, I won’t be giving up vacations anytime soon. I d…
> I just take a week off from work
A week...
Maybe this is article is only comparing daily meditation to the US version of a vacation? A week shouldn't even be called vacation.
I find it hard to believe that something as ineffective as meditation could be more beneficial than the 4 weeks to a month of vacation that you have in civilized countries.
Re: Regular meditation more beneficial than vacation (2016)
#8Articles like this pop up on my news feed from time to time and I am always interested to read them to see if there is any kind of concrete action item I can take in order to reap the benefits these types of articles espouse. I'm usually disappointed. I've tried meditation off and on for around a decade and still don't quite "get it." I know my experience is entirely anecdotal but articles like this always feel very…
What technique of meditation did you try?
There are probably dozens if not hundreds of different ways of meditating, and many mistakes one can make in implementing those techniques.
If the one particular way you tried did not work for you, I would not necessarily jump to the conclusion that no kind of meditation would work for you, or that there was no room for improvement in your technique.
Sometimes going to a teacher or experienced meditator with the particular difficulties you're running in to can help. Also, sometimes meditating in a group can work, as you're then all in it together rather than having to motivate yourself all on your own.
Something else to keep in mind is that meditation can take some time to yield results, especially if your practice is brief or sporadic. The more regular and extended your practice is, the more likely you are to notice some results.
Re: Regular meditation more beneficial than vacation (2016)
#9The title seems very misleading to me, because much more than "regular meditation" was involved.
Here is how they describe the study in the article:
> The study was conducted at a resort in Southern California... The mindfulness intervention was an established meditation and yoga retreat consisting of 12 hours of meditation, nine hours of yoga, and self-reflective exercises over a week. The participants were divided into three groups of about 30 each: experienced meditators, women who had never meditated, and a group who simply “went on vacation.” The 30 “vacation participants” listened to health lectures and then did fun outdoor things for a week.
> At the end, all three groups (vacation, novice, and regular meditators) showed statistically significant improvements in scores of stress and depression, which were measured using well-established and commonly used questionnaires. If we stop there, it seems that vacation is just as good as mindfulness exercises for stress reduction and mood lifting.
> But what’s really striking are the result from 10 months later: the regular meditators still showed significant improvements on these scores, the novice meditators even more so. However, the vacationers were back to baseline. The researchers had ensured that all three groups were equal in average age, education level, employment status, and body mass index. This finding is in keeping with prior research showing that vacation has beneficial but very temporary effects, and that mindfulness therapies have sustained beneficial effects.
Re: Regular meditation more beneficial than vacation (2016)
#10Articles like this pop up on my news feed from time to time and I am always interested to read them to see if there is any kind of concrete action item I can take in order to reap the benefits these types of articles espouse. I'm usually disappointed. I've tried meditation off and on for around a decade and still don't quite "get it." I know my experience is entirely anecdotal but articles like this always feel very…
Mastering the Core Teaching of the Buddha might be up your alley. I won't strictly "recommend" it, as the path it espouses is intense and engineered for enlightenment, which is (perhaps ironically) "no fun", in contrast to modern western mindfulness meditation with phone apps which is pleasant and relaxing but won't get you anywhere. But if you want results and are willing to put in the work (which is 1000x the effort of just reading the book), you could give MCTB a shot. Either that or join a Zen monastery for a couple years :)