20 Minutes to Less Stress

Two of our favourite stress reducers are laughing and meditating. But there are times when you just can't muster up a hearty chuckle. You can meditate, on the other hand, at will. All you need is a quiet place.

That's one reason we're such avid fans of meditation. Another: Its benefits go far beyond relaxation. For starters, regularly quieting your mind maintains your brain cells and tunes up your memory. There's now new evidence of this:

University of North Carolina researchers gave students 20-minute quickie meditation classes for four days (similar to the Stress Free Now program on www.360-5.com,run by Dr. Mike's home base, the Cleveland Clinic). Then they compared the students' mental test scores to those of a control group. Everyone's mood improved, but those who took the meditation training scored significantly better on critical mental skills, like memory and the ability to pay attention. (MORE)

Source: The Province