The Brain as a Mechanism for Mindfulness
Welcome back to our weekly StudyStream blog, where we discuss aspects of mindfulness, health and wellbeing. We have been focussing the past few weeks on the mechanisms of mindfulness, and why or how mindfulness may produce some of the effects that it does. So far, we have covered the rhythm of paying attention, and how this may influence our nervous system and our stress & immune response. Today we will discuss why — and how — mindfulness can change your brain. Let’s get started!
The Brain
Mindfulness can change your brain. Studies have shown that mindfulness can thicken the part of the brain called the prefrontal cortex, which is the part of the brain that we use when we pay attention, focus, and involve what’s called ‘sensory processing’ (ie paying attention to how we’re feeling and what’s going on in our body). Mindfulness can literally strengthen or thicken this part of your brain, almost like a muscle. It’s not surprising, then, that when you practice training your attention in mindfulness practices, you can see the associated changes in the relevant part of the brain.
Amygdala reduction? No, we aren’t suggesting brain surgery.
Mindfulness has also been shown to decrease the size of a part of the brain called the amygdala. This is a small part of the brain that is named after the ancient Greek word for ‘almond’ because of its’ shape. The amygdala is involved in feeling high levels of emotions like anger and fear. Studies have shown that people who regularly practice mindfulness have smaller amygdalas, and they also show that the way that the different parts of the brain connect also change.
Sea horses? Not that kind of hippocampus!
A third type of brain change is in an area called the hippocampus. This is another funny word that comes from the ancient Greek word for ‘sea horse’, also because of its shape. The hippocampus is involved in memory, and it is one of the key parts of the brain where memories are formed, shaped, and stored. Studies on this part of the brain show that in people who practice mindfulness meditation, the hippocampus gets bigger and also thicker, meaning that it is likely that mindfulness meditation can help improve your memory and your overall function.
Learning from those who used Mindfulness to ‘live with’ pain
Mindfulness can also change how we experience pain. One fascinating study has shown that in advanced practitioners of mindfulness, the parts of the brain that are involved in processing and creating pain become less connected to the parts involved in perceiving the pain. These advanced mindfulness teachers had not only trained themselves in how they responded to and ‘lived with’ pain, but at the same time they had also changed the way their brain processed the pain.
How do I apply this to my life?
Do we create our own experience, by the way that we respond to our environment? Or, does this in turn, change the way our brains work, which then help us in how we live our day to day lives?
Maybe it is both — maybe our reality is ‘co-created’ in meditation. Maybe practicing meditation changes our brain directly, which then changes our experience. Or maybe, by changing our experience, and the way we relate to ourselves, this in turn changes our brain.
That’s all for now. Stay tuned for next week when we have our final blog in this series, which will look at how mindfulness can change your genes. And remember to tune in to our live and free mindfulness sessions every Mon, Wed and Fri at 19:30pm BST in our StudyStream library with expert mindfulness teachers. We look forward to seeing you there!
Check our the following links below to find out more about the science mentioned in this blog:
