Meditation Better Than Pain-Killers

Meditation can be better at relieving pain than the best pain-relieving drugs, according to a new report published in the Journal of Neuroscience. The study into the effects of the mind and pain was led by Dr Fadel Zeidan in the USA. The research looked at a technique called “focused attention,” which is a form of meditation where people focus their thoughts only on their breathing. Dr Zeidan said: “This is the first study to show that only a little over an hour of meditation training can dramatically reduce both the experience of pain and pain-related brain activation”. Zeidan added: “We found a big effect - about a 40per cent reduction in pain intensity and a 57 per cent reduction in pain unpleasantness.”

The study involved a group of volunteers who had never meditated before. They attended four 20-minute classes to learn about focused attention. Before and after the meditation training, the researchers examined the participants’ brain activity using MRI (magnetic resonance imaging). During the scans, a heat device was placed on their leg to create pain. The MRI scans showed that after the meditation training, pain felt by every volunteer decreased from between 11 to 93 per cent. Zeidan compared these results to medicines, saying: “Meditation produced a greater reduction in pain than even morphine or other pain-relieving drugs, which typically reduce pain by about 25 per cent.”

Question 1 (2 points) Indicate whether these sentences are true or false. Justify your answers with evidence from the text.
a. The technique focuses people’s attention on the source of the pain.
b. Only an hour of meditation can make you feel 60% less pain.
c. The group of people who took part in the sudy were used to meditating.
d. The meditators had their brains scanned before and after meditating.

Question 2 (2 points) Answer the following questions in your own words.
a. Where did they conduct the research? What technique did they use?
b. How did they carry out the study?

Question 3 (1.5 points) Find words or phrases in the text that correspond in meaning to the words and definitions given.
a. discomfort (par.1) b. strength (par.1) c. put (par.2)

Question 4 (1.5 points) Complete the following sentences without changing the meaning.
a. “This is the first study to show that only a little meditation can reduce the experience of pain.” Dr. Zeidan said that ……………………………………………
b. The researchers examined the participants’ brain activity.
The participants’ ………………………………………………….
c. People who use the “focused attention” technique feel less pain.
If they didn’t ……………………………………………………….

Question 5 (3 points) Write a short essay (about 120-150 words) on the following topic: Would you like to “volunteer” for anything? Give reasons.