Meditation, The Moment When Our Brain Finds Peace

Using meditation to relax and relieve stress is a practice that is becoming more and more fashionable, due to the obvious benefits to our mental health.

However, it is the practice of mindfulness meditation that is receiving the most attention, as its benefits go beyond stress relief.

Mindfulness meditation appears to help with psychological as well as physical issues, such as hypertension, chronic pain, psoriasis, as well as problems with sleep, anxiety, and depression.

This type of meditation has also been shown to boost immune function and help stop compulsive cravings for food.

In addition, mindfulness meditation, or mindfulness, helps improve brain function.

Studies on meditation and brain functions

A new study at the University of California suggests that one effect of all this focus is increased brain connectivity.

The researchers compared the brain activity of volunteers after eight weeks of attention-based stress reduction training with volunteers who had not gone through this kind of practice.

Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) images showed stronger connections in various regions of the brain, particularly those related to attention and auditory and visual processing.

In a later study at Massachusetts General Hospital, researchers used magnetic resonance imaging to document the before and after changes in the gray matter of the brain.

The researchers found that meditation could literally change the brain, making it grow significantly and thereby improve all of its functions.

The researchers explain that after eight weeks of meditation, they found differences in the brains of the two groups studied. In the group that practiced the meditation, the magnification was seen in four regions.

The main difference was found in the posterior cingulate cortex, which is involved in the wandering mind, and self-importance.

They also found differences in the left hippocampus, which helps with learning, cognition, memory, and emotional regulation.

The temporal wall junction, which is associated with perspective-taking, empathy and compassion, has also increased.

Finally, they observed changes in the bridge (Varole bridge), an area of ​​the brainstem where many neurotransmitter regulators occur.

They also found a change in the amygdala, the part of the brain where fight-or-flight reactions take place, and which is important for anxiety, fear and stress.

This area became smaller in the group that underwent the mindfulness-based stress reduction program. The change in the amygdala has also been correlated with a significant reduction in stress levels.

Meditation and genetic changes

For now, scientists can only speculate on the relationship between these changes in the brain and the health benefits of mindfulness meditation.

However,  this research adds to the growing evidence that meditation practices can modify the body at a fundamental level, even at a genetic level.

In this sense, the relaxation response caused by meditation is studied, as is how the state of deep relaxation triggered by relaxation techniques can convert certain sets of genes in people who practice them regularly.