Your brain is like a muscle. Without exercise, it can begin to weaken — just like any muscle. Researchers from Harvard University have been studying the effects of meditation on brain erosion, with surprising results.
In your early 20s, your brain begins to erode — specifically the areas that deal with decision making, attention span, and memory. The Harvard study compared the MRI scans of people who meditated daily with those of people who did not meditate at all. The long-time meditators had thicker brains in the areas that eroded in non-meditators: the areas that deal with attention, memory, and decision-making. Forty-year-old meditators had brain scans that looked more like twenty-year-old brains.
Researchers believe the “thickness” seen on the scans could either mean bigger and healthier neurons or just a better blood supply to the brain. Either one can help the brain function better.
So why meditation? MRI scans show that meditation engages the areas of the brain where the erosion occurs. Just like your muscles need exercise, your brain does too! The people involved with the Harvard study suggest meditating twice a week to keep your brain healthy.
There are lots of different meditation styles out there, both religious/spiritual and nonreligious. Try something simple, like closing your eyes and counting as you breathe. Slowly count 1-2-3 as you inhale, then 1-2-3 as you exhale. When I meditate, I like to imagine my entire body filling up with a sparkling fluid, washing away all my aches and pains and all my negative thoughts. Starting with my toes, I visualize the liquid level rising until every bit of me is full.
Need more guidance? Look for a yoga class or a meditation tape, where a recorded voice (often over music) will lead you through a simple meditation or relaxation technique. With a yoga class, you also get social interaction with your instructor and classmates — and that’s good for your brain, too.