It is now a known fact the changing your mind can change your brain. Neuroscience has made amazing progress in this area by using powerful equipment such as the Functional MRI. Studies of meditators confirm this same conclusion.<\/p>\n
Over the December holidays, my husband went on a 10-day silent\u00a0meditation<\/strong>\u00a0retreat. Not my idea of fun, but he came back rejuvenated and energetic. He said the experience was so transformational that he has committed to\u00a0meditating<\/strong>\u00a0for two hours daily, one hour in the morning and one in the evening, until the end of March. He\u2019s running an experiment to determine whether and how meditation actually improves the quality of his life.<\/p>\n I\u2019ll admit I\u2019m a skeptic.<\/p>\n But now, scientists say that meditators like my husband may be benefiting from changes in their brains. The researchers report that those who\u00a0meditated<\/strong>\u00a0for about 30 minutes a day for eight weeks had measurable changes in gray-matter density in parts of the brain associated with memory, sense of self, empathy and stress. The\u00a0findings appear in the Jan. 30 issue of Psychiatry Research: Neuroimaging<\/a>.<\/p>\n MRI brain scans taken before and after the participants\u2019 meditation regimen found increased gray matter in the hippocampus, an area important for learning and memory. The images also showed a reduction of gray matter in the amygdala, a region connected to anxiety and stress. A control group that did not practice meditation showed no such changes.<\/p>\n But how exactly did these study volunteers, all seeking stress reduction in their lives but new to the practice, meditate? So many people talk about meditating these days. Within four miles of our Bay Area home, there are at least six centers that offer some type of meditation class, and I often hear phrases like, \u201cSo how was your sit today?\u201d<\/p>\n Britta H\u00f6lzel, a psychologist at Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School and the study\u2019s lead author, said the participants practiced mindfulness meditation, a form of meditation that was introduced in the United States in the late 1970s. It traces its roots to the same ancient Buddhist techniques that my husband follows.<\/p>\n \u201cThe main idea is to use different objects to focus one\u2019s attention, and it could be a focus on sensations of breathing, or emotions or thoughts, or observing any type of body sensations,\u201d she said. \u201cBut it\u2019s about bringing the mind back to the here and now, as opposed to letting the mind drift.\u201d<\/p>\n Generally the meditators are seated upright on a chair or the floor and in silence, although sometimes there might be a guide leading a session, Dr. H\u00f6lzel said.<\/p>\n Of course, it\u2019s important to remember that the human brain is complicated. Understanding what the increased density of gray matter really means is still, well, a gray area.<\/p>\n \u201cThe field is very, very young, and we don\u2019t really know enough about it yet,\u201d Dr. H\u00f6lzel said. \u201cI would say these are still quite preliminary findings. We see that there is something there, but we have to replicate these findings and find out what they really mean.\u201d<\/p>\n It has been hard to pinpoint the benefits of meditation, but\u00a0a 2009 study suggests that meditation may reduce blood pressure<\/a>\u00a0in patients with coronary heart disease. And\u00a0a 2007 study found that meditators have longer attention spans<\/a>.<\/p>\n Previous studies have also shown that there are structural differences between the brains of meditators and those who don\u2019t meditate, although this new study is the first to document changes in gray matter over time through meditation.<\/p>\n Ultimately, Dr. H\u00f6lzel said she and her colleagues would like to demonstrate how meditation results in definitive improvements in people\u2019s lives.<\/p>\n \u201cA lot of studies find that it increases well-being, improves quality of life, but it\u2019s always hard to determine how you can objectively test that,\u201d she said. \u201cRelatively little is known about the brain and the psychological mechanisms about how this is being done.\u201d<\/p>\n