Mediate your life with Meditation
By Leila Habib
Mention meditation, and some people will sound a string of “ummmmm” for a few seconds and others may scoff, claiming they don’t have time for such a thing.
“In the past, I had a lofty idea of meditation as spiritual, far out, and otherworldly,” remembered Buddhist Spiritual Advisor and Mindfulness Programs Coordinator Harrison Blum. First year cultural anthropology major Christopher Osborne was also skeptical of the practice at first. “After realizing the potential it had and realizing there is an internal energy in all of us that can be felt, utilized, molded, shaped, and tapped into, I was super excited,” explained Osborne.
Despite the skepticism surrounding meditation, recent studies have found that it has positive effects on both brain structure and function.
In a 2012 study in the Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience journal, meditators were found to have thicker cortices in the frontal and temporal areas of the brain, which are typically responsible for higher-level functioning, likely leading to enhanced attention.
According to a 2015 study in the BioMed Research International journal, areas of the brain such as the precuneus, anterior cingulate cortex, and insula are more active during meditation. These areas are responsible for self-regulation, problem-solving, interoception, attention, and processing self-relevant information. The increased activity of these areas of the brain are in line with the goals of meditation. “Mindfulness meditation is more focused on experiences happening in the present moment, so body sensations, awareness of thoughts, awareness of mood and emotions,” explained Blum. In expert meditators, the same study found that there was a higher activation of the parahippocampal cortex, which is responsible for memory formation and retrieval, leading to enhanced memory and attention.
Osborne is typically “muttled” before meditating. “School, friends, family, social media, my phone, internet, everything is just so taxing on the mind,” commented Osborne. However, after meditation, he is “generally in a zen state … happy to appreciate the exact moment.”
Osborne’s feelings of zen are partly explained by a 2016 study in Psychoneuroendocrinology journal. The researchers found that experienced meditators had lower cortisol responses, which leads to lower anxiety levels as cortisol is associated with stress, and better responses to stress.
The future of meditation seems bright, and it may be introduced to the clinical setting. “It’s like a basic mental and emotional hygiene,” said Blum. So, to those who think meditation is nothing but a short “ummmm,” it might be worth taking the time out of your stressful day for some meditation.