5 ways about how meditation changes the brain

Movement and exercise/17 January 2021

An informative piece where I describe the main positive aspects of meditation with links to scientific studies for those who like to dig even deeper.

1. Meditation helps preserve aging brains

A study that was conducted at the University of California, Los Angeles, found that those people who practiced meditation for a long time had much better brain preservation than others. The volume of gray matter throughout the brain was significantly higher in those participants who had been meditating for an average of about 20 years.

Source: https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2014.01551/full

2. Meditation can lead to changes in volume in key areas of the brain

Harvard found that meditation can change brain structure: it found that reducing stress over 8 weeks increased cortical thickness in the hippocampus, which governs memory and learning, as well as in certain brain regions that play a role in regulating emotions and processing self-reference. There was also a decrease in the volume of brain cells in the amygdala, which is responsible for fear, anxiety and stress.

3. Just a few days of meditation practice improves concentration and attention

One recent study found that just a couple of weeks of meditation classes helped people focus, memorize, and develop verbal reasoning, mathematical reasoning, and writing skills.

4. Meditation reduces social anxiety

Studies have shown that even years after the initial 8-week course, the benefit of meditation is a reduction in anxiety. Likewise, meditation can reduce anxiety, as opposed to concentrating only on breathing.

5. Meditation can help with addictions

A growing number of studies have shown that given the effects of meditation on the self-control areas of the brain, it can be very effective in helping people recover from various addictions.

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