Shared by Lakshmi
We often hear that meditation is good for you or that it’s good to be in the present moment and we often take that on faith. Today, I want to explore why it may actually have practical benefits for us.
In psychology, a concept that has been well-researched is – ” the happiness set point.” We all have a baseline level of happiness that we tend to revert to over time. Whether you win the lottery or face a significant setback, your happiness level eventually stabilizes back to this baseline. This idea was fascinating to me, especially when I saw how families adapt to a “new normal” after life-altering events.
Meditation gained popularity in the West around the 60s, and some meditators who were scientists decided to focus their research on the topic. One of them, Richard Davidson was encouraged by the Dalai Lama to study kindness and compassion. He decided to do that and also study meditation’s effects on the brain. He scanned the brains of Tibetan lamas and discovered some incredible changes. They found that the brains of experienced meditators showed cortical thickening in areas linked to executive function, self-awareness, and logic while the emotionally reactive parts of the brain were downregulated. This means meditation physically enhances areas responsible for critical thinking and self-awareness while reducing reactivity in the limbic system, our brain’s emotional hub. It was also found to raise the happiness set point by creating new neural pathways.
Jon Kabat-Zinn was another scientist who decided to come up with a secular approach to meditation to study the medical benefits for patients in clinics. This led to the development of the Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) program. Since the ’80s, MBSR has grown into a widely recognized program worldwide.
When studying psychology, I was amazed at the sheer volume of research supporting meditation. Studies show meditation’s potential to improve mental health by reducing symptoms of ADHD, depression, and anxiety. At the clinic where I work, I was pleasantly surprised to find mindfulness used as an evidence-based intervention. More importantly, meditation doesn’t just offer a moment of peace but can effectively make us feel better.
In summary, meditation offers profound practical benefits. From enhancing brain functions and emotional regulation to being a proven intervention in mental health treatment, meditation is much more than a spiritual practice; it’s a powerful tool for fostering sustained well-being.
Thanks for joining me on this exploration of the neuroscience of meditation.
Hakone Zendo 