Although the human brain isn’t actually known for being a muscle but is, in fact, a collection of white and grey matter, that doesn’t mean that it has different properties to a muscle. We all know that the less you use your brain, the weaker it will get. Likewise, the more you implement your brain, the stronger and more versatile it can become.
However, using the ‘growth mindset’ term, it’s important to realise that we can physically take control of how our minds work, and the pathways that our brains use to do the things we do every day. For example, if you’re developing a habit of going having breakfast at 7am every day, this forms new neural pathways that will hardwire this into your system, hence why it can become a habit.
Like forming a habit, there are many other ways you can influence and change the core structure of your mind, one of the most notable of which is meditation.
Today, we’re going to explore five was meditation can proactively change your brain, bringing so many positive benefits into your everyday life, all of which are backed up science.
#1 – Controlling Your Focus Levels
There are so many studies out there that describe the benefits that meditation can bring to your levels of productivity and focus. By meditating every day, especially at the beginning of the day, you can help yourself to clear your mind of distracting thoughts, allowing you to stay focused throughout the day, helping you to achieve more.
However, one study went further and proved that these effects aren’t just short-term after completing your practice, perhaps lasting until the end of the day. These events can slowly become hardwired into your brain over time, resulting in your levels of focus lasting years, perhaps even decades.
#2- Increase Information Processing Speeds
Our brains are a little bit like computers in the fact that they can process information, but this ability to process can differ from person to person. Of course, the common misconception that humans only use 10% of their brains is a complete myth, but the percentage of our conscious and subconscious mind couldn’t be truer.
A 2014 study, conducted in Norway, found that the brain’s processing speeds and ability dramatically increased in individuals who were meditating, rather than decreasing, or ‘slowing down’ as most people believe.
#3 – Reduce Levels of Anxiety
Perhaps one of the most common benefits that meditation provides is the reduction in symptoms of anxiety and even depression. Anxiety stems from our evolved genetic response to fight or flight in potentially dangerous situations. Of course, for many people around the world, this response can become uncontrollable.
However, one 2017 study found that meditating just 10 minutes a day can actively change your brain structure in a way that helps your levels of anxiety become less intense and disruptive in their every day lives.
#4 – Actively Reduces Pain Signals
There are so many links and connections that have been associated with mediation and pain relief that it’s hard to know where to begin. In 2017, one study found that as little as ten minutes of meditation can actively increase your tolerance to pain.
Although this particular study focused primarily on young people, so this doesn’t directly relate to people suffering from chronic pain, the individuals who were exposed to sources to pain had dramatically increased tolerance towards it than those who didn’t practice meditation.
#5 – Increases the Mass of Your Brain
That’s right; you read that correctly; meditation can actually increase the volume and physical size of your brain. A human brain is made from grey matter, the foundations of neural cells which connect different areas of our minds.
In 2009, one study found that people who have meditated daily for a long-term period, over the course of several years, discovered that people could ‘grow’ their brains by through intense concentration. While this doesn’t necessarily make you smarter, it is suggested that this can help you to handle your emotions more effectively, and can help improve yo
