Kindness Meditation May Slow Biological Aging

New research finds that loving-kindness meditation can slow aging.

Posted June 24, 2019 | Reviewed by Gary Drevitch

New research published in Psychoneuroendocrinology has found that practicing loving-kindness meditation, which focuses on compassion, could slow down biological aging.

Biological aging can be measured by looking at the length of a section of DNA called telomeres. Telomeres are the ends of chromosomes that act like the plastic ends of shoelaces to prevent the unraveling and deterioration of the chromosome . As we age, telomere length shortens.

Researchers measured telomere length in 142 adults two weeks before and three weeks after they participated in the meditation for six weeks. Meditation workshops were held weekly as hour-long group meditation sessions. Participants also were given a 20-minute, audio-recorded, guided meditation for daily practice at home as well.

The study found that people who did loving-kindness meditation had significantly less shortening of telomeres in the same amount of time compared both to people who did not meditate and those who did mindfulness meditation . This suggests that loving-kindness meditation, which encourages compassion toward oneself and others, is particularly helpful in protecting against biological aging.

Mindfulness meditation is a kind of focused awareness meditation. Mindfulness meditation trains the mind to develop an open, non-judgmental attention toward the body and breath and any thoughts or feelings that may come and go. This type of meditation has many benefits for improving mood and reducing anxiety and depression , but it did not have an impact on telomere length in this particular study.

Loving-kindness meditation encourages one to feel compassion toward oneself and others. You can try this at home on your own or find guided meditations online that last 10-20 minutes.

Loving-Kindness Meditation

Try 10 minutes of a loving-kindness meditation every morning before you start the day or as a way to wind down at the end of the evening.

Find more meditation tips in our book, The Harvard Medical School Guide to Yoga.

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Marlynn Wei, M.D., J.D., is a board-certified Harvard and Yale-trained psychiatrist and therapist in New York City.

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This article is part of the Bringwise Psychology Journal — daily insights on human behavior, mental health, and personal growth.