The brain during meditation
Science has proven that meditation can actually restructure your brain. Recent evidence shows that meditation – even in small doses – can affect the perception of the environment by changing the physical structure of the brain.
This was proven by Eileen Luders (University of California Los Angeles School of Medicine) using an MRI. “In the past, scientists believed that the brain reached its peak in adulthood and does not change – until it begins to decline in late adulthood,” says Luders. “Today we know that everything we do, and every experience we have, changes the brain.” In fact, Luders finds several differences between the brains of meditators and non-meditators
Meditators show more gray matter in the regions of the brain responsible for attention, emotion regulation, and mental flexibility. Increased gray matter typically makes an area of the brain more efficient or more powerful in processing information. Luders believes that the increased gray matter in the brains of the meditators makes them able to control their attention, their emotions, and make mindful decisions.
More and more neuroscientists, such as Luders, assume that learning to meditate is no different than mental abilities like music or mathematics. Like anything else that requires exercise, meditation is a training program for the brain.
If you practice quiet acceptance during meditation, you will develop a brain that is more resistant to stress. And when you create feelings of love and compassion during meditation, the brain will develop to spontaneously feel more connected to others.
Further studies show that mediation can improve their alertness, reduce stress, and reduce anxiety.
For more information, follow the link: https://www.mindful.org/your-brain-on-meditation/
