Meditation Nurtures the Brain
Everyone has heard that meditation promotes improved mental clarity, decreased stress, and decreased anxiety. But what are the brain’s benefits of meditation? Research has indicated that engaging in mindfulness practices leads to favourable physiological alterations that strengthen the correlation between meditation and the brain.
Over the past few decades, meditation has gained popularity. People are practicing mindfulness, breathing exercises, and developing an appreciation for the power of the present moment. There are more and more online meditation groups and courses available everywhere: in elder centres, communities, schools, and other places. Silicon Valley is obsessed with meditation, and there’s new data to support this obsession, according to a recent Business Insider piece. It’s gotten so ubiquitous that even the business community has joined the cause.
Psychology research has validated what all regular meditation practitioners already know: meditation benefits both the body and the soul. Science can now substantiate the claims by demonstrating the physical effects of meditation on the incredibly intricate organ located between our ears. The positive aspects of the brain are nourished by meditation, according to recent scientific research. Moreover, research appears that consistent meditation practice can help mend the mind-body continuum by starving the brain regions linked to stress and anxiety.
Effects of meditation on the brain
Harvard biologist Sara Lazar introduces the effects of meditation on the brain in a Washington Post interview. She describes how the four parts of the meditators’ brains that are linked to healthy brain function actually get bigger, whereas the one linked to bad behaviour actually gets smaller. Let us examine these domains.
Left Hippocampus
The learning process is carried out by this area of the brain. This is where we find the cognitive and memory tools we use, as well as the emotional regulators linked to empathy and self-awareness. Studies verify that when the hippocampus’s cortical thickness expands in volume through meditation, grey matter density rises and all these critical processes are supported.
Posterior Cingulate
The posterior cingulate is linked to self-relevance and meandering thoughts, or the extent of subjectivity and self-reference during information processing. It appears that a more robust and larger posterior cingulate cortex can lead to a more authentic sense of self and less mind wandering.
The capacity to stay in the present now without regret, guilt, or expectation, as well as the capacity to notice feelings and sensations that come up in the mindstream without necessarily connecting with them, are two of the most significant changes that meditation brings about in the mind. There appears to be an increase in posterior cingulate density during meditation.
Pons
Produced in this highly active and significant area of the brain are many of the neurotransmitters that aid in controlling brain function. Its name, pons, means “bridge” in Latin and refers to its location in the centre of the brain stem. Numerous vital processes, like as sleep, facial expressions, processing of sensory information, and fundamental bodily functions, are mediated by the pons. Concentration fortifies the pons.
The Temporo Parietal Junction (TPJ)
We prefer to believe that we are just, compassionate, and sympathetic individuals. Our sense of perspective and the temporoparietal junction, or TPJ, are linked to empathy and compassion. We may say that the TPJ illuminates everything else, while the posterior cingulate concentrates on “me.” When we, for instance, put ourselves in another person’s shoes, the TPJ becomes more active. Together with other benefits of meditation, such as reduced stress and present-moment awareness, a stronger TPJ can help us become the kind of people we want to be.
Amygdala
The amygdala is another part of the brain that is altered by meditation. However, it contracts rather than grows. Expert meditators’ brains have a physically smaller amygdala—that bothersome part of the brain that causes sensations of worry, fear, and general stress. For the rest of us, the size of the amygdala decreases noticeably even after an eight-week intensive course in mindfulness-based stress reduction. It is less likely to control our emotions, particularly those belonging to the “fight-or-flight” category, the smaller it is. It makes sense why incorporating a daily meditation routine into our lives makes us feel so amazing. And we can use online progressive meditation teaching to establish a regular daily practice!
If you’re interested in learning more about meditation’s impact on the brain, check out our companion article What Happens to your Mind, Brain and Body During Meditation, or even better signup for the greatest free online meditation course available.
It goes without saying that practicing meditation on a regular basis is necessary to improve your brain! Einstein, what are you waiting for?
