Mindful meditation offers effective pain relief

New research findings show that meditation contributes more effectively to pain relief than placebo treatments. A study published in the Journal of Biological Psychiatry has refuted a long-standing scientific debate that meditation works similarly to placebos through suggestion. The study, led by UC San Diego and Dartmouth College, involved 115 healthy participants randomly assigned to four groups: mindfulness meditation, sham meditation, placebo cream, or a control group. Participants were exposed to a harmless but painful heat, and the mindfulness meditation group was instructed to focus on their breath for 20 minutes and observe thoughts and feelings without judgment.