What Meditation Does To Your Brain
I’m fairly certain that you have heard of someone who enjoys meditating and it has peaked your curiosity, which is pretty great. As some or most of you know, I am a follower of meditation and I really do recommend it to whoever asks, it is a great way to relax and recollect yourself after a hard days work. Additionally this practice goes hand in hand with yoga, which is a wonderful way to really get the blood going and settling the mind down, it’s such an alleviating experience and I would love it if people could experience it as well. Now the question is what happens to us really when you go into meditation, and today I am here to share with you the wonderful things that occur in your mind when you take a moment to meditate on a regular basis.
Technology has opened the doors to really study what happens to our brains during meditation and you’d be really surprised at how effective it can be to really allow you to take stock of what is happening in your life.
An MRI scan during meditation shows that the brain’s activity has a noticeable decrease in beta waves, which is the signal that the brain is processing or is active. During meditation however, the beta waves are much less active, showing that the brain is more at rest during the exercise. What exactly does that mean for us?
Let me give you a head’s up, there are quite a few effects that were found after various studies on meditation and to be frank I am astounded as to how amazing the findings were. Let’s not dally on the what ifs and let’s dive in immediately into the effects of it on our brains.
First off you’ll be in better position to relax, this is why a lot of people want to step back from their work desk and take a second or two to refocus through a quick bout of meditation. When it has less beta waves it allows you to just relax if even for a little bit before you have to get back to what you need to do.
Meditation increases creativity, so whether you are good in the kitchen or pitching in reports to your boss, a dedicated time to relax and meditate is a must to boost your creative juices.
Second, it allows you to focus on what you need to really concentrate on. When you aren’t bothered by other thoughts, which will happen when you go through a prime meditation session, you can finally focus on what you need to do without any background noise. Doing regular sessions of meditation makes the time of focus last longer and longer as you keep at it, try it while doing yoga and you’ll see how effective it is in the long run.
Third, it decreases anxiety, when things cause you some concern and anxiety is rising, it is best to step back and do some meditation. Studies show that regular meditation sessions decreases the size of your amygdala, which is in charge for your fight or flight response, pretty much gives off the fearful and anxious emotions. So by regular sessions of meditation, you will be sure to reduce anxiety and fear, simply by taking the time to breath in and relax. That’s a pretty awesome add on if anyone asks me.
Fourth, the decreased amygdala also paves the way for something that a lot of people would want, increased strength in attention. A lot of people tend to drift off when topics lose their interest, however with regular meditation you can pretty much say hello to enhanced focus and attention that you can use on a daily basis.
Fifth, one of the found results of regular meditation is the reduction of quick judgment. Being able to step back and relax is a superb practice, it really allows you to avoid rash decisions, think things through and be able to come up with the ideal answer to whatever the problem arises. I’m sure a lot of people can benefit from having this newfound ability that stems from meditation.
Sixth, studies have shown that there is a possibility of increased creativity. While the aspect of creativity is a little difficult to measure, there have been signs of increased abilities for new ideas however being completely truthful, measuring it is kind of insurmountable and can be negated immediately. To tell you the truth as someone who considers herself as a creative person, this was one of the ideas that really attracted me however I cannot say this is an actual effect since it cannot be quantified, in the mean time let’s say that this can be included in our imagination for now. Besides, I came up with some great articles as I do some meditation while I am in the middle of a yoga session, so I really am leaning towards meditation leading to more creativity, but that’s personal bias, I’ll let you be the judge after you try it.
Seventh, as another study progressed they went and tested the compassion of those who underwent meditation and those who did not. It was apparent from reactions that those who do regular meditation experienced higher compassion when exposed to disturbing images. While you are in a relaxed state you are more likely to feel compassion for other people given various scenarios, this does make more sense considering your mind is more available and understanding after a meditation session.
While stress is inevitable in our life, there is this thing called eustress which is the positive side of it. Meditation helps clear the mind and helps us give a better, optimistic outlook on things.
Eighth in line is better memory. Another study concludes that those who have undergone regular meditation have better recall than those who have not. Given how clear your mind is and how much easier it is to focus, it does stand to reason that this would be a byproduct of regular meditation. I have noticed that after a yoga session and while I can relax, I tend to remember more things on my to-do list, coincidence? Perhaps not after all.
Ninth, people who meditate, are less stressed. Well considering that meditation usually leads you to relax, I can see how this study was able to conclude this result but it is good to know there are studies who continue to confirm what a lot of people who do yoga or meditate already know: if you want to relax, meditate. There is something about meditation that just really calms the nerves down and the results are all but magical in my opinion, however I cannot be the only one who voices this opinion. Give meditation a try and you will see how much it reduces your stress.
As you can see the studies have been rather conclusive: meditation is something that can really help a lot of people. Whether you do yoga or just want to relax, there is no harm in taking the time to learn how to meditate. I am a very strong supporter of meditation however in the end my words are nothing but words, these studies are the same as well, the only way you will ever be convinced as to how wonderful and life-changing meditation is, is but to give it a try. You’ll see that your world will change after a few regular moments of meditation, you won’t be sorry at the very least. Stay healthy!
