Mindfulness and the Immune System

In the Western world, it’s common to talk about the mind and the body as though they are separate beings. Some even think of the mind as “driving” the body, as though the body is an inanimate object, energized by a spark of consciousness that lives somewhere up above the neck. More and more, however, research is showing us what some spiritual traditions have long understood: this separation is an illusion. It’s not just that what we do with our bodies impacts our mood, and vice versa: the entire system flexes and adapts in a unified, dynamic, way.

Our immune systems provide a clear example of the body-mind system in action. It’s widely known that stress makes the immune system more vulnerable—many of us have experienced being taken out by a cold during finals week or a stressful time at work. But what about the rising tide of autoimmune conditions? Around one in twelve Americans currently suffers from one or more of these chronic conditions, in which the immune system attacks the body. Autoimmune symptoms can include skin rashes, fatigue, pain, gut problems, vision problems, and widespread inflammation. They can be treated, but not cured, and are often highly debilitating and distressing to those who experience them.

Fascinatingly, mindfulness meditation may offer a promising pathway to relieving autoimmune symptoms. Clinical trials have shown that an eight week mindfulness training can significantly reduce biomarkers of autoimmune disease. In other studies, mindfulness meditation has been found to act on the same immune pathways as flagship autoimmune treatments such as biologics. While it is still too soon to say with certainty that mindfulness is an effective method for treating immune dysfunction, this body of research is an excellent reminder that the health of the body and the health of the mind cannot be disentangled from one another.

Black, D. S., & Slavich, G. M. (2016). Mindfulness meditation and the immune system: a systematic review of randomized controlled trials. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, 1373(1), 13-24.

Khansari, D. N., Murgo, A. J., & Faith, R. E. (1990). Effects of stress on the immune system. Immunology today, 11, 170-175.