Meditation as a Voluntary Hypometabolic State of Biological Estivation.

News Physiol Sci

Laboratory of Cellular Physiology and Immunology, Rockefeller University, and President of Inteplast Corp., Livingston, NJ, USA.

Published: June 1998

AI Article Synopsis

  • Meditation is identified as a wakeful state with low metabolic activity, similar to other conditions like sleep, hypnosis, and hibernation.
  • The physiological similarities between long-term meditators and hibernators highlight intriguing parallels in how different states of consciousness affect the body.
  • The findings underscore the importance of consciousness adaptability as a crucial element in successful biological adaptation.

Article Abstract

Meditation, a wakeful hypometabolic state of parasympathetic dominance, is compared with other hypometabolic conditions, such as sleep, hypnosis, and the torpor of hibernation. We conclude that there are many analogies between the physiology of long-term meditators and hibernators across the phylogenetic scale. These analogies further reinforce the idea that plasticity of consciousness remains a key factor in successful biological adaptation.

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Source
http://dx.doi.org/10.1152/physiologyonline.1998.13.3.149DOI Listing

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