Return on Investment
Reduction in health care costs per $1 invested in Wellness Program
- Coors Brewing Co. ........................................$6.15 over six years
- Steelcase Inc. ............................................... $5.80 over five years
- Equitable Life Insurance ................................$5.52 over one year
- Travelers Corp. (now part of Citigroup Inc.)....$3.40 over one year
Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, 2002
• Stress Reduction: “Medical research has shown that mindfulness-based stress reduction is effective for the physical and emotional symptoms of general stress, as well as stress due to illness.”
Univ. of California San Francisco Medical Center, online at ucsfhealth.org/adult/special/m/42116.htm
• Productivity and Focus: “In response to distracter sounds…[longer-term] meditators vs. novices had less brain activation in regions related to discursive thoughts and emotions and more activation in regions related to…[reactivity] inhibition and attention.”
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, July 3, 2007, Vol. 104, No. 27, pp 11483–11488
Neuroscientists note higher mental activity, heightened awareness, and changes in brain activity that correlate to increased happiness and positive thinking (additional Proceedings citation below).
• Physical and Mental Health: Meditation is recommended to help alleviate allergies, anxiety, arthritis, asthma, cancer, chronic pain, depression, high blood pressure, and heart disease.
The Mayo Clinic, April 20, 2007, online at mayoclinic.com/health/meditation/HQ01070
Over time, meditators experience improvements in their immune systems, resilience to difficult experiences, and ability to cope with stress (Davidson et al citation below).
Corporations are taking advantage of the health benefits of meditation by including it in coaching and wellness programs (Shin), which produce substantial returns. In addition to health care cost reductions (see figure above), employers enjoy increased worker productivity and satisfaction—meditators think more clearly, creatively, and are more energetic and at ease. The legal field is a leader in its recognition of mindfulness practices for improving focus and judgment, and for cultivating a calming presence (Riskin). Harvard Law School, the University of Missouri’s Columbia School of Law, and the ABA and AALS Sections on Dispute Resolution all support mindfulness programs for lawyers or mediators.
Click here to read Legal Times article quoting Klia Bassing, Director of Visit Yourself at Work, on Lawyers practicing meditation.
References
Davidson, Richard J. et al. Psychosomatic Medicine 65:564-570 (2003), “Alterations in Brain and Immune Function Produced by Mindfulness Meditation”
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (November 2004), as reported in “Meditation Gives Brain a Charge, Study Finds” by Mark Kaufman. Washington Post, January 3, 2005; A5.
Riskin, Leonard L. Journal of Legal Education 79-90 (March 2004). “Mindfulness: Foundational Training for Dispute Resolution”.
Shin, Annys. “More Area Firms Paying Employees to Relax: Yoga, Meditation Seen As Health Care Boons”. Washington Post, March 3, 2005; GZ12.
