Meditation has been widely touted as a health practice with a range of benefits, including increased focus and decreased stress. It’s a simple and effective way to deal with the chaos of everyday life, but did you know that meditation may even have the potential to change your brain?
In a recent study from UCLA, researchers investigated the relationship between age-related brain atrophy and meditation, and they found that meditation was associated with a decreased loss of gray matter in the brain. Gray matter has been associated with cognitive function in elderly people.
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The study involved 100 participants divided into two groups, each consisting of 28 men and 22 women from ages 24 to 77. One group was composed of people who did not meditate, and the other group was composed of people who had been meditating for an average of 20 years, ranging from four to 46 years. The researchers took MRI scans of the participants’ brains and observed that increased age correlated with decreased gray matter. However, those who meditated had less of a decline in gray matter than those who did not. In fact, Dr. Florian Kurth, co-author of the study, states:
“We expected rather small and distinct effects located in some of the regions that had previously been associated with meditating. Instead, what we actually observed was a widespread effect of meditation that encompassed regions throughout the entire brain.”
It is not clear whether meditating slows the loss of gray matter, increases new gray matter, or if people who meditate are likely to embrace other habits that have protective effects on the brain. While the study can only suggest correlation and not causation, these findings point to meditation as a promising target for further research.
Our average lifespan is increasing, but our brains begin to deteriorate as early as in our mid-twenties. This can lead to mental illness and neurodegenerative problems in old age, so it is important to find ways to increase the health of our brains as we get older. Science is showing that meditation may be a way to achieve this.
Luders, E., Cherbuin, N., & Kurth, F. (2015). Forever Young (er): potential age-defying effects of long-term meditation on gray matter atrophy. Frontiers in Psychology, 5, 1551.
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