Loneliness triggers higher levels of pro-inflammatory genes; meditation can both lower those levels and decrease feelings of loneliness, as the Dalai Lama found when he meditates on how he is just one of 7 billion people on the planet (recall his remarks about this in Chapter 1, on individual differences). Mindfulness meditation is also associated with increased telomerase. In people with mild cognitive impairment and early-stage Alzheimer’s, meditation has been shown to slow or reverse cognitive decline, reduce stress, and increase quality of life, along with the neuroplastic changes I just
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