In this article, you will learn what happens to the brain during meditation and how the daily lives of those who practice it change. We will not focus on any one specific type of meditation, although in the scientific community, mindfulness meditation is the most studied. All types of meditation are, in essence, variations of a common theme, offering ways to work on different levels of consciousness. The goal for any practitioner, regardless of the specific practice, is to find a path to their inner self and become free from stress, fear, and anxiety. It is about finding a foundation within oneself and not being dependent on external things, which can change over time.
By the 1970s, a wave of popularity for meditative practices had already swept through Europe and America, and it became clear that meditation was not a fleeting trend but a serious practice that had become a long-term part of people's lives. Scientists became interested in this phenomenon and began to study the behavioral and neurophysiological effects of meditation, its influence on mood improvement, stress reduction, and its impact on various cognitive functions.
In the last decade, it has become known that meditation leads to long-term structural changes in the brain. In one experiment, subjects showed proven improvements related to memory, self-awareness, empathy, and stress in just eight weeks. (https://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2011/01/eight-weeks-to-a-better-brain/).
The results of another study showed that meditators had an increased volume of gray matter, which was linked to emotional regulation and enhanced self-control. The loss of gray matter and cellular connections in the brain is an indicator of aging. Only 10% of older adults are genetically protected from memory decline and the loss of brain cells; the other 90% inevitably experience memory loss. Perhaps now there is hope for preserving cognitive functions in old age? (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/23158231/).
To understand the influence of meditation on a person, it is necessary to know how the brain works and what its different regions are responsible for.
The amygdala is a small, almond-shaped part of the brain that activates the body's alert system in the presence of stimuli and stressors. The amygdala is connected to the prefrontal cortex, which helps manage the chain reaction of brain signals.
The prefrontal cortex regulates the stress response that originates in the amygdala. When signals received by the amygdala are perceived as a threat, the prefrontal cortex helps to assess the situation rationally, without emotion, and maintain calm. The connection between the amygdala and the prefrontal cortex does not fully develop until late adolescence, which is why it is more difficult for a child or teenager to calm down during stress. Meditation improves the ability to slow down this reaction and process more information.
The cerebral cortex is responsible for more complex thought processes, such as introspection and abstract thinking. For experienced meditation practitioners, stress is experienced much more easily. In many cases, it doesn't arise at all, as calmness and a sober assessment of the situation eliminate the very cause for concern.
The hippocampus is the memory center, influencing cognitive abilities. Studies have shown that the size of this area increases by up to 15% in meditators.
The temporoparietal junction is associated with perspective-taking, empathy, and compassion.
Regardless of whether we are busy, resting, or sleeping, the brain always exhibits activity that can be recorded as frequencies or waves: gamma, beta, alpha, theta, and delta.
Gamma waves are the fastest. They are associated with heightened mental activity, including perception, learning, awareness, and problem-solving.
Beta waves are present during concentration, conversation, or focused work. Electroencephalograms (EEGs) have shown a small number of beta waves during meditation.
Alpha waves are active in a calm, relaxed, yet alert state of mind, such as during creative activities, the state before falling asleep, and during meditation. It is suggested that the brain's normal state of calm is a silent flow of thoughts, images, and memories that arise spontaneously and are not amplified by deliberate reasoning or sensory stimulation. This spontaneously wandering mind is one of the brain states during meditation that is often underestimated. In essence, it is the "mental processing" of residual experiences and emotions. Immersing oneself in alpha oscillations through meditation can nurture creativity. This is the beginning of accessing a calmer, more creative life experience.
Theta waves are measured during deep meditation, daydreaming, or REM sleep. They can also be detected when performing automatic, repetitive tasks that allow the mind to switch off, such as washing dishes. During meditation, theta waves are more active in the frontal and middle parts of the brain.
Delta waves occur during deep, restorative sleep when awareness of the body is completely lost. During meditation, delta waves show no activity, confirming that meditation is different from sleep.
Stress is the body's natural defense against danger caused by an event or a thought; it can manifest as frustration, aggression, or nervousness. When a stressful event occurs, the body is flooded with hormones to either avoid or confront the danger. This is known as the "fight or flight" response.
Chronic stress causes chemical changes in the body that increase blood pressure, heart rate, and blood sugar levels.
Prolonged or high-level stress can lead to mental health problems.
Ignoring or denying stress, or distracting yourself for a short time, provides only temporary relief and can undermine your health in the long run. Stress research suggests that awareness of the present moment—a key feature of mindfulness—increases resilience and leads to overcoming stress. A person's tendency to remain in the present moment reduces levels of anxiety and depression and improves mood and well-being. (https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0092656616301118?via%3Dihub).
How does meditation reduce stress?
- You become more aware of your thoughts and understand the difference between a real threat and your own projection.
- You do not react to situations immediately; instead, you pause, allowing you to draw on your wisdom and respond appropriately.
- Meditation activates a "being" mode, which is associated with relaxation.
- The state of meditation allows you to better hear your body's needs. Therefore, you can notice pain and other signals of poor health earlier.
- You become more aware of the emotions of others as your emotional intelligence increases. Therefore, you are less likely to get into a conflict or find yourself in a stressful situation.
- Your level of compassion for yourself and others increases. A compassionate mind is calming and suppresses the stress response.
- The practice of mindfulness reduces activity in the brain's amygdala, which plays a key role in triggering the stress response. Therefore, your background level of stress noticeably decreases.
- Your relationship with stress changes. Instead of seeing only the negative consequences of stress, mindfulness provides an opportunity to look at stress itself in a new way.
Some studies indicate that non-directive meditation, in which a person refrains from controlling the mind, works best for managing stress. To escape a stressful situation, you need to allow thoughts to pass effortlessly without getting involved in them.
Mindfulness is the ability to focus on the present moment and tune out distractions or memories. This quality is often used to treat patients with depression, anxiety, and other disorders. Research has shown that mindfulness training increases the density of the hippocampus, which plays a key role in both working and long-term memory. Furthermore, the hippocampus has demonstrated plasticity after just a few hours of regular meditation.
A memory property called "proactive interference"—the difficulty in remembering new material due to past and currently irrelevant information—is linked to the hippocampus. Proactive interference can be partially reduced by influencing the structure of the hippocampus through meditation.
Mindfulness regulates attention to the experience of the present moment and improves the encoding of new material. Scientists have identified an increase in the gray matter density of the hippocampus in healthy individuals and adults with Parkinson's disease, as well as a reduction in hippocampal atrophy in adults with mild cognitive impairment.
The link between hippocampal size and working memory in healthy adults is particularly important because working memory affects many other cognitive functions, such as problem-solving efficiency, language comprehension, and the ability to reason. The quality of all these vital brain functions can be enhanced through mindfulness meditation.
In addition to helping improve critical cognitive functions, mindfulness can be a useful component in the treatment of other conditions associated with memory decline and reduced hippocampal volume, such as post-traumatic stress disorder. (https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11682-018-9858-4).
We all experience feelings of worry from time to time. But there is a difference between everyday worry and clinical anxiety. Normal anxiety becomes a generalized anxiety disorder when fear or worry does not subside but instead escalates into panic, a sense of impending doom, or constant rumination about catastrophe.
Stress can also cause anxiety, and there are similarities between the two states in terms of physiological reactions. Stress is a heightened emotional state that passes after the stressful situation ends, whereas anxiety tends to persist for a long time.
Diagnosable anxiety disorders include:
- Generalized Anxiety Disorder
- Social Anxiety Disorder
- Separation Anxiety Disorder
- Panic Disorder
- Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder
Through meditation, a person learns to understand the deceptive nature of worry and to recognize triggering thoughts. From this state of awareness, you can find ways to bypass mental patterns, avoiding falling back into the trap of anxiety. Consistent meditation practice reprograms your perception of reality and improves your ability to regulate emotions.
How does meditation work on anxiety? Through meditation, you become familiar with anxiety-provoking thoughts and storylines. You learn to see them, analyze them, and let them go. In doing so, you learn two important things: thoughts do not define us, and thoughts are not real. From this new perspective, you change your relationship with anxiety, distinguishing between irrational triggers and genuine concerns. If you engage in authentic, time-tested meditation practices, you will develop stability in your perception of reality, and the very foundation for anxiety will disappear.
Brain scans of meditators have shown an increase in the thickness of brain regions responsible for attention and sensory information processing. Notably, the increase in gray matter was more pronounced in older practitioners than in younger, non-meditating individuals. This fact has particularly interested scientists because these areas of the cerebral cortex typically thin with age.
Meditation causes physical changes in the brain thanks to neuroplasticity—the brain's ability to change continuously. Life forces the brain to constantly create new neural connections, so neurons (nerve cells) actively adapt to respond to changes in the environment.
How you think and feel changes the neural structures and shape of your brain. Studies have shown that it takes only eight weeks of practice to change the brain's shape and increase gray matter. This type of tissue is important in areas responsible for muscle control, sensory perception, emotions, memory, decision-making, and self-control.
Meditation can relax you and calm your emotions for a short time. But it is also capable of permanently changing your brain if you approach this practice as a form of mental training. Different teachers can teach all sorts of meditation types, but you will have to find your own path yourself. Science proves that if you make regular efforts to reprogram yourself, it will definitely have an effect, improving not only the quality of your brain's work but also changing your perception of the world. The world of thought, which meditation works with, directly influences both your daily well-being and the events of your future. After all, what you think today becomes your reality tomorrow. The practice of mental hygiene will determine the future of a more enlightened humanity. Strive to keep your thoughts pure.