The stereotype of meditation as a spiritual practice with dubious health benefits has long persisted. The practice has commonly been associated with New Age ideas, like homeopathy, healing with crystals, and other unscientific medicines. But a growing body of research supports a surprising conclusion: meditation provides a number of clear psychological benefits that go beyond reducing stress, as studies show that a meditation practice reduces one’s likelihood of developing dementia, increases productivity and concentration, and promotes an overall sense of well-being. The research is so strong that doctors are even recommending the practice as a treatment for certain mental ailments, including anxiety and depression.
A recent study provides evidence that practicing meditation can benefit people who have mild cognitive impairment and are at risk for developing Alzheimer’s disease. The study showed that meditation helps relieve chronic stress, which has been shown to be a risk factor for the progression of dementia. People who have mild cognitive impairment have difficulties developing new skills, the researchers claim, but as the practice of mindfulness meditation is fairly straightforward, these individuals readily demonstrated the capacity to learn how to meditate. Although mindfulness meditation is fairly easy to understand, the actual practice requires fairly complex cognitive activity, which could explain how the practice reduces one’s risk of dementia.
Many entrepreneurs and CEOs contribute their success at least in part to their daily practice.
The cognitive benefits of a meditation practice also apply to those without any form of impairment. Research shows that meditation can enhance an individual’s productivity, and many entrepreneurs and CEOs contribute their success at least in part to their daily practice. Mindfulness meditation, which promotes a non-judgmental and objective moment-to-moment awareness of one’s experiences, has been empirically shown to lower rumination and stress and improve memory, focus, and emotional control. These benefits, of course, apply to all parts of life, but have particular significance for individuals in highly stressful positions that require decision-making and prolonged attention.
Though proponents of meditation have claimed these benefits for thousands of years, usually in the context of a spiritual or religious practice, recent psychological research has illustrated how meditation causes changes in the brain in both religious and secular practices. For instance, research has shown that chronic stress inhibits the growth of new neurons in the brain, which hinders one’s ability to learn; as meditation reduces stress, it also helps people form and retain memories and actually expands the hippocampus, the area of the brain associated with storing information. And because a meditation practice requires intense focus on a single subject for an extended period of time, it trains the brain to avoid attempting to multitask, which has been shown to impair learning.
Because of the demonstrated positive effects of meditation on the brain, the practice is being recommended as a form of treatment for various mental illnesses.
The key to understanding how meditation achieves these effects lies in understanding the effects of different brain waves, which are the types of electrical signals the brain produces during different types of activity. Mindfulness meditation, experts have found, causes the frontal lobe of the brain to produce theta waves, which are associated with relaxed attention. Over time, these types of waves build up white matter, which consists of nerve fibers that connect different areas of the brain. Meanwhile, the posterior of the brain produces alpha waves, which helps to block interfering stimuli and distractions. The effect of a prolonged meditation practice is so pronounced that these changes in brain waves persist even during an individual’s ordinary waking life.
Because of the demonstrated positive effects of meditation on the brain, the practice is being recommended as a form of treatment for various mental illnesses. For instance, patients with depression who may not respond well to talk therapy or antidepressants can benefit from a meditation practice as a supplement to, or a replacement of, other forms of treatment. A mindfulness meditation practice has a particular benefit in improving the effectiveness of cognitive behavioral therapy, a form of talk therapy which encourages patients to assess their thoughts about themselves and how they impact their mood. And because meditation hones an individual’s focus, it can treat symptoms of ADHD, particularly in children and young adults.
If you’re interested in starting a meditation practice, there exist a plethora of resources on the Internet to help you get started. Apps like Headspace and Calm provide a structured schedule and instructions for maintaining the practice, and books such as Mindfulness in Plain English provide more detailed information. The versatility and effectiveness of meditation has allowed the practice to endure for millennia, and will surely continue to improve the health of generations to come.
Tyler Olhorst is a Contributing Editor at The National Digest based in New York. You can reach him at inquiries@thenationaldigest.com.
