'Mindfulness' meditation being used in hospitals and schools

Studies suggest the practice can ease pain, improve concentration and immune function, lower blood pressure, curb anxiety and insomnia, and possibly even help prevent depression. Newer research tools, such as high-tech brain scans, show how meditation might have diverse effects.

In a brain-scan study of long-time meditators compared with a control group that never meditated, the meditators had increased thickness in parts of the brain associated with attention and with sensitivity to internal sensations of the body.

More than 240 programs in clinics and hospitals teach meditation, says Jon Kabat-Zinn, who developed mindfulness-based stress reduction 30 years ago at the University of Massachusetts Medical Center. Other types, such as transcendental meditation, use a mantra or repeated phrase.

A cutting-edge approach to meditation practice starts with children. In scattered pockets across the USA, students are learning meditation at school. Preliminary research shows that Los Angeles preschoolers who were taught meditation improved in their ability to pay attention and focus.