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HomescienceHow meditation speeds up the brain

How meditation speeds up the brain

Doctor. Karen Zoffel | 08/20/2021

Meditation appears to improve connectivity between two brain networks: one is active as “standard mode” when the brain is awake and the other is not focused on the outside world, for example when daydreaming or when thoughts wander. The other is for focus and is used for tasks that need attention. Students who completed a course only with the eight-week meditation exercises showed a faster change between these two networks, so they could focus and “break” more quickly. The researchers write this in the journal Scientific Reports.

“Tibetans have a term for ease of switching between countries – they call it mental flexibility,” said Professor George Winchink of Binghamton University in New York. He came across this subject by chance through his office neighbor Professor Wing Dai, who has personal connections to the Namgyal Monastery in Ithaca, where he was tutored by the Dalai Lama’s teachers and obtained a degree in Buddhist studies.

Although Weinchink initially doubted that the effects of meditation exercises would become visible in the brain after only a few weeks, the two began a collaboration: Day taught the students how to meditate, and Weinchink examined their brain activity using imaging methods. In the next step, they now want to investigate how meditation affects brain activity in older adults and people with Alzheimer’s disease.

what should I do 10.1038 / s41598-021-90729-y

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Zoe Barker
Zoe Barker
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