Meditation has been practiced from ancient times. The earliest records come from India, 1500 B.C. But, it stood the test of time and came out victorious. Meditation is still being practiced worldwide. If anything, it has become more popular with time at least in the western world. But how much of the claims of these meditation masters and gurus, that ‘meditation will bring about massive changes in you’ is right? Let us see how meditation, more specifically mindfulness meditation affects our brain.
Mindfulness meditation is a simple technique in which the person sits in a comfortable position and focus on one single aspect, mostly the pattern of their breath. In essence, the meditator is trying to live just in the present, without ruminating on the past or thinking about the future. Kind of the ‘carpe di em’ philosophy, but with less vigor. But does it actually affect our brain?
The thing is that most of the research done on meditation is on small groups to give out a general conclusion and almost all of them are restricted to long term or regular meditators. So, if you have meditated once last year, don’t expect these results. One of the major cognitive abilities that meditators seem to enhance through the practice is attention. Regular meditators score better at attention tests as compared to non-meditators and are better able to concentrate. Meditation also normalizes or in some cases, reduces emotional reactivity. This means if you are someone to jump from your seat if you spot a tiny spider on your lap, meditation could be a life-saver. Meditation also promotes cognitive flexibility and awareness. By being fully present at the moment, they can perform more effectively and efficiently. Another research sheds light on the therapeutic properties of meditation. Meditators showcase fewer symptoms of depression and anxiety. Again, through the practice they learn to be in the present and stop themselves from dwelling in the past, making them invulnerable to common depressive symptoms.
Well, but how does it actually affect our brains? For starters, it promotes alpha and theta wave activity in the brain (according to EEG studies conducted in meditators), which relaxes the mind and body. Also, fMRI (functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging) studies conclude that blood flow to cortical brain regions are enhanced as a result of meditation. Cortical brain regions are the outermost layer of the brain that is responsible for higher-level cognitive functions. The aspect that we concentrate on while meditating also seems to influence the effect it has on the brain. Monks who focus on compassion show better activity in ‘insula’, a brain region associated with detecting emotions and responding physically to those emotions. Similarly, those who concentrate on ‘love for others’ or on other emotion-provoking aspects that involve others have more activity in their temporal parietal juncture associated with empathy. There are studies that suggest meditation can even help you fight against aging to some extent. For instance, in a study of 100 long-term meditators, less gray-matter loss was found as compared to non-meditators in the same age-group.
There is still a lot of research being done in the area and we are almost always showered upon the benefits of the practice. This should make us think; just spending some time doing nothing, well not nothing, focusing on one thing would bring about some amazing changes. We would spend millions to buy a medicine that claims to have these benefits. Don’t underestimate the act of sitting in your living room and thinking about the world you live in. And don’t you dare disturb a person in meditation, because a minor surgery is in process…
