Meditating on Telomeres

© Paul Foreman

We know that stress ~ both psychological and physical ~ can age one faster than almost anything, and we know why. It's the telomeres, the protective "caps" on the ends of our chromosomes. They wear down each time a cell divides and DNA is copied, and that leads to aging as the cells begin to fail and become less able to divide. But there's an enzyme that can repair them. It's called telomerase. In 2004, a study of 58 women, half with high stress levels due to their situations as mothers of chronically ill children and half used as controls, showed definitively that stress wears on our telomeres and lowers our levels of telomerase. And, 10 years later, science is proving that that's where the healing power of meditation comes in: http://www.bbc.com/future/story/20140701-can-meditation-delay-ageing