It has long been known that meditation has a positive effect on patients suffering mental distress and anxiety. It has been observed that those who practice meditation appear calmer, and more able to cope with the stresses that life throws at them. But, aside from anecdotal evidence, surprisingly little medical research has been done into these benefits. However, in groundbreaking new research, scientists at have undertaken a study into the effect on the brain that regular practitioners of meditation experience, and their results prove that the practice is indeed an excellent activity for both mental and physical health.
Switching Off
Through the use of MRI brain-scanning researchers were able to demonstrate that regular practitioners of meditation are able to ‘switch off’ certain areas of the brain linked to anxiety, some schizophrenic symptom and other psychiatric disorders. Researchers found an increased capacity to switch off the ‘self-centered thinking’ areas of the brain, known medically as the ‘default mode network’, leading to healthier minds that are more focused on the present moment. The more self-centered focusing areas of the mind become gradually less active and easier to control over time. Meditation practice effectively re-programs the mind to have a different ‘default mode’, allowing practitioners to turn down the anxiety focused area of the mind, or in some cases, switch it off entirely. Significantly, the same results were not shown in those who practiced meditation infrequently.
Regular Practice Is Essential
Scans showed that the brains of experienced meditators were also active in the self-monitoring and cognitive areas of the mind during meditation, activity which was lacking in the scans of infrequent meditators. This is explained by the self-monitoring that is necessary for effective meditation to take place. As teachers of meditation are at pains to point out, it is important to prevent the mind from wandering off into other thoughts – worrying about health insurance renewal and how to pay the mortgage is not conducive to relaxation.
When the experienced meditator has wandering thoughts, which is natural to human beings, he or she will gently bring the mind back to the present moment, focusing on a mantra or image. It is the meditator monitoring their own thoughts that triggers the cognitive areas of the mind. This is the most difficult aspect of meditation, but the most effective for mental health and well-being. It is a technique that has to be practiced and can improve over time. Anyone who has practiced and experienced the power of meditation will have known instinctively what science can now prove. But it is only through the consistent and habitual practice of meditation that the full benefits to mental health are seen over time.
Mindfulness
Religions and belief systems throughout the centuries have understood the power and importance of meditation. Budddists make a life’s work out of perfecting the art of meditation. And science now proves that we are putting our minds in the healthiest state it is possible for it to be in. It is interesting that current thinking in mental health in the West is now turning to the power of ‘mindfulness’, and ways in which just some of the benefits of meditation can be worked into an effective mental health program. Being mindful of the present moment, and trying to experience it fully and becoming aware what it has to offer us is at the center of mindfulness therapy and is strikingly similar to meditation practice. By encouraging the patient to gently stop anxious thoughts taking hold, and guiding them back to the present moment, some of the same principles of meditation are clearly at work. Mindfulness in mental health treatment is at an early stage, but it is rapidly equaling CBT and CAT as a mode of treatment for patients. Doctors and therapists are enthusiastic about the effectiveness of the approach and patients seem to find it easier to manage than other forms of cognitive based approach.
Further Reading on Mental Health – Meditation and Mindfulness
Brewer, J. A., P. D. Worhunsky, J. R. Gray, YY Tang, J. Weber, H. Kober. (2011) “Meditation training is associated with differences in default mode network activity and connectivity.” Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America (in press).
Brewer, J. A., S. Mallik, T. A. Babuscio, C. Nich, H. E. Johnson, C. M. Deleone, C. A. Minnix-Cotton, S. Byrne, H. Kober, A. Weinstein, K. M. Carroll, B. J. Rounsaville. (2011) “Mindfulness Training for smoking cessation: results from a randomized controlled trial.” Drug and Alcohol Dependence (in press).
Brewer, J. A., S. Bowen, J. T. Smith, G. A. Marlatt, M. N. Potenza, (2010) “Applying Mindfulness-Based Treatments to Co-Occurring Disorders: What Can We Learn From the Brain?” Addiction 105: 1698-1706. For further reading on the topic of mindfulness in mental health, visit one of the many research health groups working in this field, such as the Mindfulness Project, and UK’s Mental Health
Foundation’s BeMindful Campaign Page:
