Meditation has become increasingly popular, and also increasingly available, to the average consumer in the past five to 10 years.
While anyone who practices meditation on a regular basis can attest to its positive benefits — reduced stress and anxiety — going "om" may also lessen physical pain and provide other benefits.
How and why meditation is so effective in this way has been somewhat of a mystery in the past, but now thanks to modern technology, scientists are beginning to discover the brain changes that occur during meditation and that contribute to its benefit.
In fact, there's a new field of inquiry known as contemplative neuroscience, which is the study of how the brain physically changes when people meditate. This area of science has exploded in the past 10 years, especially with the development of functional MRI scans that allow scientists to literally see how brain structure and function change in response to meditation and other interventions.
Researchers have found that people who meditate on a regular basis actually develop thicker brains — they increase the connections between their brain cells, and they also increase the network of blood vessels in the brain, especially in those areas that help us to focus and pay attention, as well as areas of the brain involved with self-awareness and empathy. (MORE)
Source: Seattle Times
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