New Research Shows Yoga and Meditation Boost Brain Power

A new study shows that people who practice yoga and meditation over the long term can learn to control a computer with their minds faster and better than people with little or no yoga or meditation experience.

For their study, biomedical engineers at the University of Minnesota recruited 36 participants. One group of 12 had practiced yoga or meditation at least two times a week for an hour for at least a year. The second group included 24 healthy participants who had little or no yoga or meditation experience.

Both groups were new to systems using the brain to control a computer. People in both groups participated in three, two-hour experiments over four weeks in which they wore a high-tech, non-invasive cap over the scalp that picked up brain activity. The participants were asked to move a computer cursor across the screen by imaging left or right hand movements, the researchers explained.

The participants with yoga or meditation experience were twice as likely to complete the brain-computer interface task by the end of 30 trials, according to the researchers. Those with yoga or meditation experience also learned three times faster than those in the other group. (MORE)

Source: Psych Central