In this study, researchers investigated the effects of meditation on cellular health by conducting a controlled trial with healthy women who were non-meditators. Participants were divided into two groups: one underwent a meditation retreat, while the other engaged in relaxing activities on-site. Both groups were compared with regular meditators already enrolled in the retreat. Blood samples collected before and after the intervention were analyzed for gene expression patterns and aging-related biomarkers. All groups showed significant gene expression changes, termed the "vacation effect," characterized by improved stress response, immune function, and amyloid beta metabolism. Although all groups experienced immediate improvements in well-being post-intervention, novice meditators demonstrated greater maintenance of lower distress over time compared to the relaxation group. Regular meditators showed trends toward increased telomerase activity, suggesting additional benefits to cellular health beyond the general vacation effect.

https://www.nature.com/articles/tp2016164

This study, involving a national sample of over 5,700 US adults aged 50 and above, explores the relationship between social stress and immune aging. The investigated stress factors include everyday discrimination, stressful life events, lifetime discrimination, life trauma, and chronic stress. The results of this study were found by utilizing data from the US Health and Retirement Study (HRS) 2016 Venous Blood Study, with a total of 9,934 participants. Flow cytometry was employed to assess counts and percentages of 24 different types of immune cells. The findings indicate that exposure to life trauma and chronic stress is linked to a decrease in the percentage of CD4+ naïve cells. Discrimination and chronic stress are associated with an increase in the percentage of terminally differentiated CD4+ cells. Stressful life events, high lifetime discrimination, and life trauma are correlated with a decrease in the percentage of CD8+ naïve cells, while stressful life events, high lifetime discrimination, and chronic stress are associated with an increase in the percentage of terminally differentiated CD8+ cells. The study suggests that psychosocial stress contributes to accelerated immune aging by reducing naïve and increasing terminally differentiated T cells.

With mediation however this stress could be reduced overall boosting the effeteness of your immune system.

https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.2202780119#sec-3

Researchers from the University of Florida conducted a study on the effects of mediation on the immune system. The study involved a genomic analysis of 388 samples from 106 participants before and after an eight-day Inner Engineering retreat, characterized by silence, more than 10 hours of daily meditation, a vegan diet, and a regular sleep schedule. The study revealed significant alterations in immune-related and cellular pathways after the meditation retreat. Particularly, they found increased activity in 220 genes related to the immune response, including 68 genes associated with interferon signaling, a crucial part of the body's defense against viruses and cancers. Notably, the increased activity in interferon-related genes is of significance, as interferon signaling has been found to be imbalanced in severe COVID-19 cases. The researchers compared interferon gene activity in meditation retreat participants with COVID-19 patients and found stark differences, indicating that meditation activated 97% of interferon-response genes, compared to 76% in mild COVID-19 patients and 31% in severe cases.

https://ufhealth.org/news/2021/meditation-brings-robust-immune-system-activation-uf-health-researchers-find

Mindfulness meditation training effects on CD4+ T lymphocytes in HIV-1 infected adults: A small randomized controlled trial by Irwin et al

This article discusses a study that investigated the effects of an 8-week Mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) meditation program on CD4+ T lymphocyte counts in HIV-infected adults experiencing stress. The study compared the MBSR program to a 1-day control seminar. The study found that participants in the 1-day control seminar showed a decline in CD4+ T lymphocyte counts, while those in the 8-week MBSR program maintained stable counts. This effect was observed regardless of whether participants were taking antiretroviral medications. The findings suggest that mindfulness meditation training can help protect against CD4+ T lymphocyte declines in HIV-infected adults, potentially offering a complementary approach to managing HIV-related stress.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2725018/

Mediation can decrease stress levels. I was curious if there is a relationship between stress and immune response. The immune system protects your body from infection. On a cellular level, the immune system is composed of B lymphocytes and T lymphocytes.

In July 2022, Judith Carroll et al published an article in the journal PNAS called Social stressors associated with age-related T lymphocyte percentages in older US adults: Evidence from the US Health and Retirement Study.

In this study, five stress variables (stressful life events, chronic stress, everyday discrimination, lifetime discrimination, and life trauma) on 5,744 US adults over age 50 was shown to accelerate immune aging by decreasing naïve and increasing terminally differentiated T cells.

Behavioral modifications, such as meditation and increasing resilience, may help to decrease immune aging.

https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.2202780119