"Herbert Benson, Harvard Medical School, is a pioneer in the field of mind-body medicine. In the late 1960s he began studying subjects who practiced meditation. Benson and colleagues measured physiological functions while the subjects were meditating and while they were engaged in everyday thoughts. Benson (1993) summarized the remarkable results of this study: Breath rate, oxygen consumption, and levels of blood lactate (a chemical which in high levels has been associated with anxiety and in low levels with calm) all decreased markedly when the subjects were meditating. Also, brain waves associated with rest and relaxation (alpha, theta, and delta waves) increased in frequency, while beta waves (associated with normal waking activity) became fewer.
Benson had measured and named something meditation practitioners had known for thousands of years. Human beings have the ability, by directing attention and awareness, to enter extraordinary states of calm and relaxation. Benson named this the relaxation response, and in the years since he coined that term, much has been learned about the body's ability to calm and relax, and the mind's power to activate this state.
The ability to calm and relax the mind and body is an important ally. By learning to calm and ease your mind and body, you can begin to balance the distortions of hyperarousal from stress. This will bring many benefits."
