Meditation found to increase brain size

[Celebration]

http://www.physorg.com/news10312.html

People who meditate grow bigger brains than those who don't. Researchers at Harvard, Yale, and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology have found the first evidence that meditation can alter the physical structure of our brains. Brain scans they conducted reveal that experienced meditators boasted increased thickness in parts of the brain that deal with attention and processing sensory input.

In one area of gray matter, the thickening turns out to be more pronounced in older than in younger people. That's intriguing because those sections of the human cortex, or thinking cap, normally get thinner as we age.

"Our data suggest that meditation practice can promote cortical plasticity in adults in areas important for cognitive and emotional processing and well-being," says Sara Lazar, leader of the study and a psychologist at Harvard Medical School. "These findings are consistent with other studies that demonstrated increased thickness of music areas in the brains of musicians, and visual and motor areas in the brains of jugglers. In other words, the structure of an adult brain can change in response to repeated practice."

[WillParkinson]

1. Drat....My brain isn't what I was meditating on.

Though, perhaps, I might take a 2nd look at it.

[Speck Tater]

2. That old Buddha Dude knew what he was talking about. NT

[Mrs. Overall]

3. Yes, I've known quite a few nuns who pray/meditate daily and who have lived well into their 90s

or past 100 with no signs of dementia. I also think a contributing factor is being celibate and not having kids. I think not having the stresses of marriage and raising children adds a few years, too.

[blue sky at night]

4. Hey thanks......

I have kicked the idea around for some time now, and actually can do a couple of simple techniques, but after looking into the CD they sell I am going to try it!

Here is an awesome book I read by DEEPAK CHOPRA, M.D.




Grow younger, live longer : 10 steps to reverse aging