Mindfulness is a type of
meditation that involves focussing your attention on the present moment – for
example, your body state and your breathing. It has been suggested in recent
research studies that practising meditation can boost physical and mental
health as well as cognitive abilities. Meditation is a way to build
physiological and psychological resiliency, and so reduced stress is also a
commonly reported side effect.
In our daily activity most of our
minds wander to any worries or distractions we may have, but we can train
ourselves, by building a mindful muscle, to be focussed and present. The key to
this is strengthening the prefrontal cortex - the cerebral cortex covering the
front part of the frontal lobe. This brain region has been implicated in
planning complex cognitive behaviour, personality expression, decision making,
and moderating social behaviour. This is like the conductor of an orchestra; by
bringing our attention back to the body and present moment, the prefrontal
cortex is activated – it’s forming new synapses and connections, getting
thicker and stronger like a muscle.
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| Structures in the human brain |
An electroencephalogram (EEG) is
a test used to evaluate the electrical activity in the brain, since brain cells
communicate with each other through electrical impulses. Synchronised signals
on an EEG are brain waves; when you meditate, alpha and theta waves (types of
brain wave) increase and activity in some parts of the brain decreases allowing
a person to focus. The idea is that after a sustained period of mediation (i.e.
8 weeks of regular practice), the changes in brain activity experienced during
meditation will have a lasting effect on the brain. According to doctors, a
person will in theory be able concentrate better, make faster decisions and
remember more information. Most extraordinary, the brain may even become more
energy efficient; this happens because you’re performing better but the brain
is using less energy, meaning a decrease in neural activity. You might be able
to just as well in your job but exert less mental energy so when you are
finished a task you are less tired.
Can mediation change the physical
structure of your brain? Recent research form Harvard University showed that
just 8 weeks of meditation could physically change the shape of the brain. Everything
we do, from learning a new skill to a daily routine, affects the brain;
repeated practice of something, in this case meditation, will strengthen
certain connections in the brain and may cause changes in grey matter density. Grey
matter contains most of the brain's neuronal cell bodies, and changes in
density are caused by neurogenesis – the growth of new neurons in the brain.
Harvard research has shown that for those who meditate, grey matter has
increased in key areas such as the prefrontal cortex – i.e. the parts of the
brain that help us focus, learn, inhibit impulses and regulate emotions.
In terms of physical health, can meditation
change the body? Knowledge on this area is limited, but some research shows it
may be good for our health, by reducing inflammation and stress hormones.
A major focus of research in the
field of meditation is the question of whether this practice can slow down the aging
process. Signs of aging are present in all cells, specifically in a part of
every cell called the telomere – telomeres are the caps at the end of each
strand of DNA that protect our chromosomes. Without this protective coating,
DNA strands become damaged and our cells can't do their job efficient –
effectively this degradation of cell function is ‘aging’. As we age these
protective caps get shorter and shorter and the shorter these are, the faster
the aging process. Comparison between telomeres of meditators and
non-meditators, showed that the telomere length (a measure of immune cell
aging) of meditators was more stable and didn’t shorten as rapidly. Other
studies have measured telomerase, the enzyme that protects the telomeres – they
have shown telomerase can go up and consequently telomere length can be better
maintained for those in the mediation group.
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| Telomere |
Psychologically, meditation also
has been proven to have great benefits; for example, a number of people use
mediation to manage depression. People who practise mindfulness on average show
better mental health than 70% of the population and those with depression and anxiety
have even larger gains. Data shows that meditation reduces depressive symptoms
and it halves the rate of depressive relapse. Meditation can be an alternative
to medication, and statistics show it to be as effective as antidepressants at
preventing relapse. It works by breaking the cycle of depressive thoughts –
notice the thought, let it go and bring focus back to the present.
So how does mindfulness train the
brain? Through exercising the ‘attention’ muscle, a certain level of control
can be exerted over the amygdala. The amygdala is a roughly almond-shaped mass
of grey matter inside each cerebral hemisphere of the brain, which when
activated is involved with the experiencing of emotions such as fear and
anxiety - in depression or anxiety it becomes overactive. After mediation,
other parts of the brain (including the prefrontal cortex and the hippocampus) appear
more in control of the amygdala and those regions exert more regulation which
dampens the effect of that anxiety or fear. However, most researchers are only
looking at the positive effects – if you, for instance, have a psychotic
disorder or severe anxiety, allowing yourself to completely focus on your mind
may not be so beneficial.
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