Redirecting Brain Waves: Examining the Effects of Meditation on the Brain
People have recognized the benefits of meditation for millennia. Many report that it increases attention span, promotes calmness, and enhances insightful thinking. In recent years, modern science has begun studying the specific physiological effects of meditation on the brain, and the findings provide hard evidence supporting these claims.
Types of Meditation
Meditation practices come in many forms, but science usually focuses on two main types: focused attention (FA) and open-monitoring (OM). Both types are equally effective in scientific studies.
In focused attention meditation, you concentrate on a single thought or object, like your breath or a candle flame. This practice helps improve concentration and brings a sense of calm.
Open-monitoring meditation is different. Instead of focusing on one thing, you stay open to all thoughts and feelings that arise, observing them without getting attached or assigning meaning. This practice can enhance self-awareness and emotional regulation.
Both FA and OM emphasize the importance of maintaining good posture and practicing nonjudgment. This means sitting comfortably and not judging any thoughts or sensations that come up during meditation. By incorporating these elements, you can experience the benefits of both types of meditation.
The Immediate Neurological Effects of Meditation
Meditation can quickly impact your brain’s functions. It slows down or reduces activity in several key areas. For example, it calms the frontal lobe, which handles reasoning, planning, emotions, and self-awareness. It also affects the parietal lobe, which processes sensory information, and the thalamus, which controls your attention and focus. Even the reticular formation, which keeps you alert to new stimuli, is influenced. Overall, meditation slows down the brain’s beta waves, the electrical activity that powers your mind.
Neuroplasticity and Its Distinctions in Meditators vs. Non-Meditators
Neuroplasticity describes the changes that occur in the brain in response to experiences. When a child learns to read or a car crash victim relearns how to walk, this is neuroplasticity in action.
Scientists have discovered that neural processes differ in the brains of those who meditate vs. those who don’t, particularly over time. Dr. Rebecca Gladding, a psychiatrist, explains how parts of the brain can actually rewire themselves after extended meditation practice in Psychology Today.
Gladding describes the relevant sections and functions of the brain:
In the brains of non-meditators, strong connections exist both within the medial prefrontal cortex itself and between it and the insula.
“This [connection],” Gladding says, “means that whenever you feel anxious, scared or have a sensation in your body (e.g., a tingling, pain, itching, whatever), you are far more likely to assume that there is a problem (related to you or your safety). This is precisely because the Me Center is processing the bulk of the information. What’s more, this over-reliance on the Me Center explains how it is that we often get stuck in repeating loops of thought about our life, mistakes we made, how people feel about us, our bodies … and so on.”
However, meditation can cause significant neurological changes to occur, essentially rewiring pathways and resulting in alternative outcomes.
Gladding explains that regular meditation actually loosens the connections between the vmPFC, insula and amygdala. In contrast, a stronger connection begins to form between the lateral prefrontal cortex, amygdala and insula. Meditation can also strengthen the connection between the dmPFC and insula. These rewirings lead to changes such as increased empathy, a higher ability to tolerate or ignore anxiety and a stronger tendency to see life rationally.
Furthermore, studies demonstrate that regular meditation is associated with an increased thickness of certain cortical regions, specifically those related to sensory, cognitive and emotional processing. Meditation may fight age-related decline of these areas.
While regular meditation can significantly change the physiology of the brain, it is important to note that these changes are not permanent. Like muscle mass, one must exercise the brain regularly to have a sustained result. Otherwise, the brain may revert back to its original structures.
How Meditation Shapes Your Personality Traits
Several experiments have noted key ways in which meditation can alter personality. The following effects of meditation have been documented.
Increases Kindness
Regular meditation practice can enhance kindness and empathy. People who meditate often display more considerate behaviors, like offering their seat to others in a waiting room.
Improves capacity to forgive
Three Dutch studies claim that subjects who practiced meditation were more likely to forgive others. One of the studies demonstrated that people who practice mindfulness tend to be more accepting of their romantic partners and to more readily forgive past offenses.
Calms neuroses
Those who are considered “neurotic” are regarded as individuals who tend to ruminate and worry, experience obsessive negative thoughts and experience elevated levels of loneliness and mood swings. The Journal of Research and Personality suggests that mindfulness can have an inverse effect on those disposed to neuroticism. It may also increase one’s capacity for self-control.
May uncover (and partially mend) racial biases
A study in Social Psychological & Personality Science found that subjects who listened to a 10-minute audio recording about mindfulness meditation were less likely to associate white faces with words holding positive connotations and black faces with negative ones.
Enhances a Sense of Awe
Meditation can heighten your appreciation for the world’s beauty. After practicing mindfulness, people are more likely to find images of majestic scenes, like the Grand Canyon or Earth from space, truly awe-inspiring.
Studying Psychology at TUW
At Touro University Worldwide (TUW), you’ll explore the fascinating complexity of the human brain and how we can change it. Dive into topics like meditation and gain skills to help others. TUW offers fully online psychology degree programs, giving you a flexible and comprehensive education to pursue a meaningful career.
