‘Prayer could reduce inflammation and stress hormones – science is discovering what Christians have known for centuries’

A few months ago I was amazed when I first discovered that fasting doesn’t just have spiritual significance. Scientists have found that fasting can stimulate a process in the body called autophagy, where cells break down and recycle damaged or unnecessary components. 

Of course, Christians have been fasting for centuries, long before scientists began exploring its potential health benefits. But what if other spiritual disciplines, such as prayer, also have measurable effects on our physical health?

I recently came across a conversation that suggested they might.The conversation was on the podcast What’s My Age Again?, hosted by comedian Katherine Ryan. One of her guests was Fatiha El-Ghorri, a British Muslim comedian who has experienced considerable hardship, including cancer, homelessness and two divorces.

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Joining the discussion was Dr Nichola Conlon, a molecular biologist specialising in cellular ageing

Joining the discussion was Dr Nichola Conlon, a molecular biologist specialising in cellular ageing and the founder of Nuchido, a company researching ways to support healthy ageing. When Dr Conlon asked Fatiha what she did for self-care, her answer was: “Maybe praying, as that makes me feel nice and light on the inside.”

Dr Conlon explained that people who practise a faith appear to show benefits in some of the biological markers associated with health and ageing, including inflammation and stress hormones. Although research has not established that prayer itself slows biological ageing, she described how taking time to pray may help shift the body away from its fight-or-flight response and towards the parasympathetic nervous system.

This is sometimes called our rest and digest state. Rather than remaining on high alert, our bodies can settle, our breathing can slow and our nervous systems can begin to relax. The Bible tells us to be still, to rest and to bring our anxieties to God. Could there be physical benefits to something Christians have been practising for centuries?

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A 2021 systematic review examined eight experimental studies measuring physical changes during prayer. Most found measurable changes in brain activity or bodily functions. Two of the three studies examining cardiovascular and related responses found that prayer slowed certain physiological processes, although none measured inflammation directly. Another study, involving 1,423 older adults, found that people who attended religious services more frequently tended to have lower levels of several inflammatory and clotting markers, including interleukin-6. However, this was an observational study, meaning it could not establish whether faith itself caused those differences.

Meanwhile, a 2023 review of 58 studies involving more than 3,500 participants found that stress-management techniques, particularly meditation and relaxation, could produce favourable changes in cortisol levels. These studies weren’t specifically about Christian prayer, but they help explain why regular moments of quiet may benefit our bodies. Of course, cortisol isn’t bad in itself. We need it to function. Problems can arise when our stress-response systems are persistently activated.

Prayer was a regular rhythm of his life.

In Luke 5:16, we read: “But Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed” (NIV). Notice that word often. Jesus didn’t just pray when things went wrong. Prayer was a regular rhythm of his life. He was surrounded by people who needed him. Crowds followed him, people demanded his attention, and there were seemingly endless opportunities to teach, heal and minister. Yet Jesus repeatedly stepped away from it all to spend time with his Father. Mark 1:35 tells us that he got up very early, while it was still dark, and went to a solitary place to pray. And in Matthew 14:23, after feeding the five thousand, he went up a mountainside by himself to pray. Jesus showed us that withdrawing to pray isn’t a distraction from the important things in life. It is an important thing in itself.

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One of my favourite verses is Philippians 4:6–7, where Paul encourages us not to be anxious but to bring everything to God through prayer and thanksgiving. He promises that God’s peace, which transcends understanding, will guard our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Perhaps we’re beginning to understand a little more about how that peace might be experienced physically as well as spiritually.

For me, it is another reminder of how wonderfully and intricately we have been made. Perhaps the next time we feel overwhelmed, rather than immediately reaching for our phones, scrolling through social media or adding another task to our lists, we could follow Jesus’ example. Withdraw for a moment. Find somewhere quiet, bring our worries to our heavenly Father, because we know He is the One who offers us peace. And if our bodies benefit from that time in his presence too, what a wonderful added blessing.