It’s nothing new but rather a proven truth to everyone, including the scientists as well as the ordinary, of 21^st century, that 'meditation is beneficial in every aspect of lives'. And, more and more researches are being performed on the matter disclosing further new benefits of meditation, if not then, strengthening the previous found benefits.

In 23^rd of February and 2^nd of March 2015, a cover story was published in the world famous TIME magazine, which mentioned that researches done by the top scientists, researchers and professors of universities in USA, say, 'Regular practice of meditation provides us with peaceful life, healthy lifestyle along with positive and hopeful attitude over life, which slows down aging; i.e. fuels longevity.'

All the scientists involved are saying it’s a revolutionary discover. And the scientists include, Dr. Dean Ornish- the pioneer to introduce the cure and prevention of coronary heart disease by changing lifestyle, along with Nobel Prize winning senior doctors and psychologists.

According to them, "Regular meditation practice, scientific and healthy diet, exercise, sufficient sleep, and a positive and hopeful attitude on life- affects the size of telomere of the cells, halting the corrosion or reduction of its size; which in turn slows down aging."

Apart from that, it was also found that meditation slows down the corrosion/degradation of neurons due to age, in the regular meditators compared to non-meditators. As they get less influenced by negative emotions like, depression. That’s not it. Even after going through bypass surgeries, the heart patients who took up this healthy lifestyle are far less likely to get afflicted by heart problems and/or visit hospitals for heart issues.

Based on these recent reports, the doctors suggest to explain these things to patients elaborately, so they can understand, realize and follow, properly.

The details of the cover story, "This baby could live to be 142 years old" are summarized below:

Do we have to get old after 40?

Yes it is the popular belief that you start getting older once you turn 40. But does it always have to be like this? Well, the recent studies say "Not Necessarily". Researches show that if we exercise, have a healthy diet, peaceful lifestyle with hopeful and positive perspective through meditation, then the rate of aging is ought to decline; resulting in increased longevity. And a person can live a healthier, more active and longer life than usual.

Scientists say that our mood, our emotions, thoughts and feelings affect our body and physiology. Therefore, the nutritionists asks to relax our mind and body. This would stabilize the blood pressure, reducing the negative emotions like depression or sadness. And the immunity system would also become more active and stronger.

Meditation, alongside, results in stronger bones and lesser reduction in bone density that come with age; as well as, is helpful for coronary heart disease. It also plays a important role in preventing the corrosion of neurons due to aging. And therefore, the researchers say, "you are as old as you think you are."

Meditation and Positivity would induce longer life

The professor of psychology of Harvard University, Alan Langer, has been studying for last 40 years regarding the impact of mind on aging. He says, 'When we take care of our mind, we also take care of our body, because the body follows the mind. These two aren’t two separate entities. And realizing that would make it easier for us to follow a healthy lifestyle which includes meditation, exercise, socializing, and being hopeful and empathic towards others; which would lead us to a longer life.

It was seen in a research that practicing meditation, even for one day, stopped the genes responsible for unnecessary inflammation in the body, which play an important role for preventing aging. And the first and foremost benefit of meditation is stress-release, which destroys the free-radicals in the body.

Therefore, meditation should become a part of our daily routine. Based on various researches, Professor Elissa Epel- Psychiatrist at University of California, San Francisco (UCSF), said that the longevity of a person is not completely dependent on the genes, but is rather determined by the lifestyle s/he adapts.

Mind: the source of all change

Back in the ‘70s, when Alan Langer only started working in Harvard University, he ran various researches out of curiosity. In one of them, he made a team of male subjects of 8 individuals, aging more than 70, with mixed health conditions (good and bad).

During the research, he made them listen to the songs and radio programs, that they used to in their youth. They also spoke about things that they used to when they were young, rather than the current affairs and frustrations. Other than that, they were not provided with any help that an aged person receives in general, like carrying their bags or wrapping a blanket around him. Hence, they did everything by themselves.

After 5 days, the results were amazing! Their physical and mental abilities increased, dramatically. They were able to relieve themselves from many old-age issues, without anyone’s help.

In another research of professor Langer, he accumulated a team of hotel housekeeping staffs who wanted to lose their weight. At first, they were divided into two groups, one of which were told that the industrious work they do as a part of their job is good enough to burn sufficient calories, and the other group weren’t told anything as such.

The research results were quite astounding! The staffs who were hopeful that they were burning fat through their daily labor- did actually lose weight. However, the ones who weren’t said anything didn’t lose a single pound, despite doing the same work and giving the same physical effort.

Based on the results, the scientists are now saying, that this can only happen when the mind and body work simultaneously. They say it is possible to control the size of the telomere through this, which in turn is going to slow down aging.

Telomere: The Influencing Factor of Longevity

Chromosomes are threadlike structure found in the nucleus of every cell. And there are protective caps on the ends of each chromosome called telomeres. Telomeres tend to get shorter every time a cell divides, playing an important role in aging.

The research about telomere was first initiated in 1978 by scientist Elizabeth Blackburn along with a biologist of Harvard-Jack Szostak. Afterwards, in 1984 Blackburn and her student- biologist Carol Greider- discovered the enzyme ‘telomerase’, that protects and repairs telomere. All the three scientists were honored with the Nobel Prize for this astonishing discovery in 2009.

They say, ‘When the size of the telomere declines the risks of heart disease, diabetes and corrosion of neurons also increases. This weakens the immunity system as well.’

Then how exactly should it be controlled? According to the scientists it could be done by controlling stress.

The Main Requirement is Peaceful Life and Healthy Lifestyle

In 2014, a whole year study performed on 239 women, found that women who spent a stress-free life through meditation, scientific diet, regular exercise, sufficient sleep and an overall healthy lifestyle, did have a reduced telomere but far lesser than those women who suffered from stress and lead an unhealthy lifestyle without much physical work.

And based on the results of the research, Professor Elisa Epel and her team suggest that the telomeres would, undoubtedly, shrink after birth due to stress or other reason; however it could also start to shrink even before the birth of the baby, if the mother suffers from stress. They say, stress is quite unavoidable in life, but the point is: Are you going to give up and surrender yourself to stress or Would you rather fight it with meditation and healthy lifestyle?

In 2013, based on the research conducted in University of Wisconsin for Medicine, Neuroscientist Richard Davidson said- Meditation is the most effective way to release stress compared to any other method. He judged, based on the MRI performed on the meditators, 'The corrosion of the grey matter in the brain caused due to aging, is much slower than others.'

And therefore, the saying of all those top scientists or researchers are the same- 'It is true that you are ought to age with time, however, you can earn a happy, healthy and long life if you follow healthy lifestyle with proper diet, exercise, and meditate.