Why Meditate?
Regular meditation can change your mind, your body and enhance your quality of life.
The Scientific Evidence Supporting the Benefits of a Daily Meditation Practise
The 1970s marked the beginning of the presence of mindfulness and meditation in Western culture and the amount of scientific research exploring the benefits of meditation on the mind and the body has increased, and more recently, dramatically accelerated as interest has snowballed.
In The Science of Meditation, Daniel Goleman and Richard David describe the leap from the small smattering of scientific articles on the subject in the 1970s to some 6,838 articles at the most recent count. Some of the most prominent scientific research has attempted to measure the affects of meditation on the brain.
The brain could be described as the engine room of the body as it plays a vital role in every one of the body’s systems. It stands to reason that any changes that occur in the brain will have consequential impacts on our entire physiology.
The effects of meditation on brain activity have been studied using neuroimaging technology such as MRI (Magnetic Resonance Imaging) and EEG (Electroencephalograph), which capture and monitor changes in the brain. An fMRI test is like a 3-D video of brain activity while an EEG uses electrodes attached to the scalp to track the brain’s electrical activity. Used together one compliments the other. The EEG is more accurate at tracking the timing of changes over seconds, while the fMRI maps the regions where brain activity occurs.
A 2008 study published in the Neuroimage Journal found that, after only 8 weeks of meditation, the left and right "hippocampi" of participants had grown in neural thickness, size and density. Given that studies have shown that the brain shrinks in people who experience long-term depression – findings concluded that meditation will counter act and/or reduce depression.
Other studies have looked at how brain waves change during meditation. There are five different types of brains waves, Beta, Alpha, Theta, Delta and Gamma. When our brainwaves are out of balance, there will be corresponding problems in our emotional or neuro-physical health. While Theta and Delta most commonly occur during sleep, Theta can also happen during deep meditative states and links to memory, and intuition. Beta is a common waking state brain wave, found during arousal and concentration but if this is dominant it can lead to a fight or flight response and increased cortisol. Alpha is the resting state of the brain and happens when we are relaxed and at ease. It helps with mental coordination, calmness, alertness, mind/body integration and learning. Gamma waves are the subtlest of the brain oscillations and the mind has to be very quiet to access them. Gamma occurs when different brain regions fire in harmony, such as in moments of insight. Researchers have found it is most active when in states of compassion, universal love and the ‘higher virtues’. A greater presence of Gamma relates to expanded consciousness and spiritual emergence.
A study published in the neuroscience journal Brain Research Bulletin, revealed that the brains of people who meditate regularly had elevated Alpha rhythms – the healthy brain waves that induce calm, and the ‘Relaxation Response’. A number of key studies have found that Alpha brain waves are likely to occur even in the brains of beginner meditators during meditation. A study at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology discovered both Theta and Alpha brainwaves in participants while they practised a nondirective meditation. In these tests Neuro-imaging showed that Alpha brainwaves were more active in the posterior part of the brain during the meditation sessions while Theta waves occurred in the frontal and middles parts of the brain.
In an experiment at the University of Wisconsin –Madison, Tibetan Buddhist master Mingyur Rinpoche and 21 Buddhist monks allowed lead researcher Richard Davidson to conduct a series of tests on their brain activity during meditation. What Davidson found was that during meditation Rinpoche and the monks were able to generate constant Gamma brainwaves and even had increased Gamma oscillations after the meditation during everyday neural activity. Gamma waves are the most elusive and normally only occur for brief periods in most people’s brains. What the above studies show is that meditation has positive and long-term benefits for the brain even for beginner meditators, but that these benefits and changes to the brain become more dramatic in very experienced and regular practitioners.
Chronic stress will cause an imbalance in brain activity, and vice versa and threatens both mental and physical health. Inflammation has been linked to chronic stress and is a major cause of illness including heart disease, diabetes, stroke, arthritis, depression and a range of autoimmune disorders, (it has also recently been linked to gut health).
A recent study carried out by Dr. David Creswell, a professor of psychology
At the Carnegie Mellon University found that inflammation was reduced in participants after a course of mindfulness and meditation. Brain scans showed increased functional connectivity between two brain areas that normally work in opposition. Blood samples showed that participants who underwent the mindfulness training had lower levels of Interleukin-6, a biomarker of inflammation, than those who did relaxation alone.
To conclude, meditation has the power to dramatically impact neural activity and improve brain health, which in turn can help to improve emotional and mental wellbeing and reduce the stress hormones that lead to chronic disease.
These benefits have been recorded in both beginner and experienced meditators but long term and regular practise pays the highest dividends.
Sources and further reading
· Data relating to number of scientific articles on mediation: The Science of Meditation. Daniel Goleman & Richard J. Davidson. Penguin
· EEG and fMRI explanations: The Science of Meditation. Daniel Goleman & Richard J. Davidson. Penguin
· Brain Waves research: https://brainworksneurotherapy.com/what-are-brainwaves
· Effect of meditation on hippocampi: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3004979/
· Meditation increases Alpha brain waves: https://www.technologyreview.com/s/425109/your-brain-on-meditation/
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/03/100319210631.htm
· Gamma brain waves during meditation in brains of Buddhist monks:
and https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/zen-gamma/
· Effects of meditation and mindfulness on brain and inflammation: huffintonpost.co.uk/entry/meditation-brain-changes-study-us/