People have been meditating for thousands of years, for spiritual enlightenment, inner peace, heightened states of mind, longevity and more. Research shows that meditators are not just feeling better because they are spending time being serene, but there are actual changes in the brain structure, which are responsible for these improvements.
Scientists have measurable proof that the brain grows and changes when you meditate. In 1966, researchers at the University of Tokyo conducted a study of Zen teachers and their students, measuring brain waves using electroencephalographs (EEGs) and tracking pulse rates, respiration, galvanic skin response, and responses to sensory stimuli.
They found that the meditators underwent an orderly progression in brain wave changes, beginning with a shift to more and larger alpha rhythms (brainwaves associated with relaxed attention) and culminating, as the meditation deepened, in an increase in theta (associated with deep relaxation, spiritual experience, and enhanced creativity).
In subsequent studies, the predominance of alpha and, in more advanced meditators, theta, has been proved to be a consistent characteristic of meditation. The researchers found that the Zen masters consistently maintained a calm, alert awareness to both internal and external sensations no matter how often they were stimulated.
How meditation benefits the brain
Researchers have been studying the correlations between meditation, the activation of different parts of the brain, and changes in behaviour, cognition, and emotion.
Here are some notable changes:
1. More grey matter
Researchers at Massachusetts General Hospital found that study participants who practiced mindfulness meditation for about a half hour a day for only eight weeks actually grew more grey matter (the neurological material of the neocortex) in regions associated with attention and memory, stress management, empathy, and emotional integration.
By contrast, the amygdala, the seat of stress and anxiety in the brain, shrank in size.
2. Reduced pain
Numerous studies have reported that meditators experience less pain than non-meditating controls. In 2016, the journal ‘Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences’ reports MRI research reports that after just four days of mindfulness meditation training, participants reduced their perception of pain by a whopping 57% and the intensity of pain by 40%.
When researchers measured their brains, they found reduced activation in regions associated with pain as well as increased activation in the anterior cingulate cortex and other areas involved in regulating and reframing emotional intensity. Not only were their brains registering less pain, but they were also processing the experience in ways that made it more bearable.
3. Enhancing brain connectivity and slowing age-related decline
- Meditation strengthens and accelerates the connections between different regions throughout the brain and slows age-related brain atrophy.
- Researchers at UCLA found that subjects who meditated had white matter fibres involved in brain connectivity were more in volume, they were also denser, and more insulated than those who didn’t meditate.
- Researchers also found that these fibres declined far less as the meditators aged.
4. Stress reduction
Meditation brings down the levels of cortisol (the primary stress hormone produced by the adrenals) by as much as 25% in advanced practitioners and lactate (a chemical released into the bloodstream during stress) by as much as 33%.
5. Ability to control response
- Yogic meditators gradually become less responsive. The practice of meditation is specifically associated with an enhanced ability to regulate body states occurring in the context of acute physiological stimulation.
- This means they are less likely to be triggered by sudden external stimuli.
6. Improved memory
- As per 2020 research published in the journal ‘Frontiers in Systems Neuroscience’, transcranial direct current stimulation together with mindfulness meditation is a way to improve working memory.
- A 2019 research that appears in the journal ‘Frontiers in Psychology’, also shows that transcranial alternating current stimulation improves visual imagery.
7. Feelings of peace and enhanced awareness
- Meditators experience more alpha rhythms, both during and between practice sessions.
- Advanced meditators also have brief bouts of theta, during which they report feeling peaceful, spacious, and self-aware.
8. Rewiring the brain for success
- One of the most accurate ways to focus and clarify scientific evidence is to conduct a meta-analysis of diverse studies on a particular question to determine whether and how much they agree.
- A 2020 meta-analysis that appears in the journal ‘Journal Psychiatry’, shows how meditation alters eight regions of the brain positively. Two regions, in particular, receive special attention because of their impact on qualities that lead to success in business and other endeavours: The anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) and the hippocampus.
- Activation of the ACC improves self-regulation which is the ability to purposefully direct attention and behaviour, suppress impulsivity, and switch strategies flexibly and appropriately — which is crucial to effective decision making and problem solving.
- Growth in the hippocampus correlates with greater resilience, that can help you to bounce back and persevere in the midst of stressful situations. Other areas that showed positive change as the result of the practice of meditation were associated with perception, emotion regulation, introspection, complex thinking, and a sense of self.
9. Enhanced spiritual satisfaction
- A 2011 research published in the book ‘Introduction to Chan’ shows that meditation encompasses four dimensions of the physical, conscious, subconscious, and the spirit and wisdom of the universe.
- Through the practice of breathing and concentration, the observation of chakra points within the body, practitioners can surpass their physical, mental, and subconscious states and enter into the spiritual realm.
Conclusion
Meditation has been used for a few thousand years to feel more centered, grounded, and balanced. There is solid evidence that meditation practice can improve brain health, fight brain ageing, enhance perceptual clarity, creativity, peace and focus that all contribute to superior performance at work and in other areas of life.
It encourages an inner mental spaciousness where difficulties and pain no longer seem so threatening, and constructive solutions can naturally arise. It also brings a certain detachment, which allows for greater objectivity and peace. And if you’re looking for enlightenment, the spiritual benefits just accumulate by themselves.
Meet our expert
Meet our expert
Dr. Pulyk Nataliya Omelanivna is an Internal Medical Expert who is based out of Ukraine. With a special interest in internal medicine Dr Pulyk graduated from the Ternopil National Medical Academy in Ukraine, in the year 2001. Between the years 2002-2009, Dr Pulyk worked as an emergency physician. Her years of work as an emergency physician gave her immense exposure to a range of patients and an opportunity to learn on the job, and gather extensive experience.
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