Meditating really is a workout for the mind, according to scientists who have found it can make the brain bigger.
Practising
simple meditation techniques such as concentrating on your breathing
helps build denser grey matter in parts of the brain associated with
learning and memory, controlling emotions and compassion.
Just
eight weeks of meditation can produce structural changes large enough
to be picked up by MRI scanners, American scientists have discovered.

Harvard
neuroscientist Dr Sara Lazar said: ‘If you use a particular part of your
brain, it’s going to grow because you are using it. It really is mental
exercise. Basically, the idea is “use it or lose it”. It’s like
building a muscle.’
In
a study run by Dr Lazar and her colleagues, 16 volunteers had their
brains scanned before and after an eight-week ‘mindfulness’ course.
Mindfulness
is an increasingly popular form of meditation where the aim is to focus
thoughts on the body’s physical sensations and detach yourself from the
‘chatter of the mind’.
The
volunteers had weekly group sessions in which they did breathing
exercises, gentle yoga and a ‘body scan’, focusing their thoughts on one
part of the body at a time. They were also asked to practise for about
half an hour each day.
MRI scans were taken before and after the sessions and compared with volunteers who had not taken part in the meditation course.
In a study, 16 volunteers had their brains scanned before and after an eight-week ‘mindfulness’ course
After
eight weeks, those who went on the course had thicker grey matter in
several parts of the brain. These included the left hippocampus, a small
horseshoe-shaped structure in the central brain involved in memory,
learning and emotional regulation.
Other
parts ‘strengthened’ were the posterior cingulate cortex – again
important for memory and emotions; the temporo-parietal junction,
involved in empathising; and the cerebellum, which helps coordinate
movement.
Those who did not go on the course experienced no such structural brain changes.
Dr Lazar said mental exercise stimulated the neurons that make up grey matter to form denser connections among themselves.
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