Yoga And Meditation Reduces Hospital Visits

Practicing Yoga And Meditation Provides Additional Benefit

We all know that Yoga and meditation are great ways to relax the mind and body. We also know that these practices have long lasting health effects from increased flexibility to heart disease and depression. But there are additional benefits that you may not be aware of. A recent study shows that practicing yoga also reduces hospital visits. Reduced hospital visits translates to pretty hefty savings on health care expenses. As stress and stress-related illnesses are becoming a common problem in society today, it’s nice to see there are more natural ways to solve these issues. Check out the article below to see exactly how the study was conducted.

Yoga and meditation can be great ways to relax and quiet the mind, and a growing body of research has shown that these mindfulness practices may even be effective for treating physical and mental health problems ranging from heart disease to depression.

But the benefits don’t stop there. Mind-body practices may also keep you away from the hospital, according to a study by researchers at Benson-Henry Institute for Mind Body Medicine at Massachusetts General Hospital, and recently published in the journal PLOS One.

For the study, the researchers analyzed 4,000 records from patients, taken between 2006 and 2014, who followed a doctor’s recommendation to use relaxation techniques such as meditation, yoga and Tai Chi as an adjunct therapy for a stress-related health problem. They also studied the records of 13,000 patients whose doctors did not make these recommendations.

Their analysis revealed that people who used relaxation techniques were 43 percent less likely to visit the hospital, be ordered a medical test by their doctor and to need emergency care, compared to those who did not use the practices.

After crunching the numbers, the researchers found that mind-body practices resulted in annual health care savings of $2,360 per patient, based on reduced emergency room visits alone.

Yoga and meditation, which trigger the body’s relaxation response and lower levels of the stress hormone cortisol, seem to prevent hospital visits due to stress-related health problems, which account for between 75 and 90 percent of all doctor’s visits.

Medical experts are hopeful, saying that increasing research on the role of lifestyle factors in preventing and treating disease is part of an exciting shift towards a more prevention-based medical model.

For the full article from the Huffington Post, click here.