Why is meditation so good for you?
So, why are more and more people using meditation as part of their daily routine? Meditation has a direct effect on your brain and brain activity, so it helps us to stop actively processing information as quickly as we do.
In addition, meditation boosts your emotional and physical well-being and helps delay cognitive decline which happens with ageing.
By measuring beta brain waves before and after meditation, research has shown the health benefits of regular meditation.
Beta waves dominate our normal waking state of consciousness when attention is directed towards cognitive tasks. Beta is a ‘fast’ activity performed by the brain, present when we are alert, attentive, problem solving, judgment, decision making, and engaged in focused mental activity.
Meditation slows down activity in: (1.)
The Frontal Lobe – responsible for learning, decision-making, planning, emotions and self-conscious awareness
The Parietal Lobe – detects and processes sensory information and gives us a sense of our external environment i.e. keeps us aware of our surroundings
The Thalamus – relays motor and sensory information coming from our external environment
A useful meditation technique, which activates the parasympathetic nervous system (calms the entire body), is easy to achieve by following the steps below:
Inhale for a count of 4 seconds
Hold breath for a count of 7 seconds
Exhale for an entire count of 8 seconds (try not to run out of breath too early)
All breathing should be achieved in the abdomen rather than chest.
Another great resource is the new app called Smiling Mind that is designed for young people to use the simple tools of meditation. Smiling Mind is a unique web and App-based program developed by a team of psychologists with expertise in youth and adolescent therapy.
Click here for more information.
References:
Chen KW. Meditation can change you brain for better and longer. Available online: http://yang-sheng.com/?p=10991