This story from the New York Times about meditation. Does it help people feel more focused and energetic, but are the benefits measurable?

 

A new study suggests that they
are. When researchers tested the alertness of volunteers, they found
that the practice proved more effective than naps, exercise or
caffeine. The results were presented at a recent conference of the
Society for Neuroscience.

The researchers, led by Prashant Kaul of the University of Kentucky, took 12 students who did not meditate and taught them the basics in two short sessions.

Then,
over a series of weeks, the students were asked to come in and take a
test devised to measure skills like reaction time. The tests involved a
series of visual cues on a display screen that the volunteers had to
react to by pushing the correct button.

The students were asked
to take the tests in mid- to late afternoon, when people tend to be
sleepiest. They did so before and after 40 minutes of meditating,
napping or exercising, or after taking caffeine. Napping produced poor
results, presumably because of “sleep inertia,” the researchers said.

Caffeine helped, and exercise was unpredictable.

Earlier
studies have found that people are awake while meditating but that
their brains undergo changes similar to patterns found in sleep. Some
studies have found that people who meditate a lot report sleeping less,
so the researchers were curious to see if meditation could serve the
same function as sleep. The results support the idea that it can.

In
fact, when some of the students were asked to skip a night’s sleep and
then take the test, the researchers said, meditation was even more
helpful.

They said they did not know if caffeine and meditation combined would be even better.

Then,
over a series of weeks, the students were asked to come in and take a
test devised to measure skills like reaction time. The tests involved a
series of visual cues on a display screen that the volunteers had to
react to by pushing the correct button.

The students were asked
to take the tests in mid- to late afternoon, when people tend to be
sleepiest. They did so before and after 40 minutes of meditating,
napping or exercising, or after taking caffeine. Napping produced poor
results, presumably because of “sleep inertia,” the researchers said.

Caffeine helped, and exercise was unpredictable.

Earlier
studies have found that people are awake while meditating but that
their brains undergo changes similar to patterns found in sleep. Some
studies have found that people who meditate a lot report sleeping less,
so the researchers were curious to see if meditation could serve the
same function as sleep. The results support the idea that it can.

In
fact, when some of the students were asked to skip a night’s sleep and
then take the test, the researchers said, meditation was even more
helpful.

They said they did not know if caffeine and meditation combined would be even better.