IMPROVE COGNITIVE FUNCTION IN MINUTES How Meditation Helps You Maintain Brain Health
M editation has often been touted by New Age gurus as a way to find inner peace and stillness. But what if meditating could reduce the effects of aging on your brain? According to research, taking a few minutes out of your day to meditate may improve cognitive function. As meditation’s popularity has spread, so have studies of the practice. The results of 100 studies examining the cognitive effects of meditation all show evidence of improvements in psychological and cognitive functions. Some of the results are intuitive, such as how meditation helps us deal with stress. But other results are incontrovertible, such as scans showing that meditation causes structural changes in the brain. For people facing age-related changes like memory loss, the results of these tests are especially relevant. The studies point to evidence that meditation can strengthen certain areas of the brain — the prefrontal cortex, the hippocampus, and the amygdala — that weaken as we age.
T oday, more employees work in offices than ever before. But with so many people sitting for long periods at their desk staring into a bright computer screen, we’ve also seen a steady uptick in work-related injuries. While manual laborers often suffer from back problems or bad knees, as an office employee you’re more likely to succumb to a host of injuries we call repetitive strain injuries (RSI). An RSI can manifest in a number of ways, from a back that aches terribly whenever you sit in your office chair, to carpal tunnel syndrome developed after years of typing all day long. As with any kind of injury, the best way to battle pain is preventing the injury in the first place. But how can you do that when you’re forced to work at the office 40-plus hours a week? The first thing you should do is optimize the ergonomics of your workstation. Start with your chair. Make sure it fully supports your back and minimizes awkward postures. Sit with your buttocks all the way back on the seat and your feet flat on the floor, with your knees bent at a 90-degree angle. Ensure your The Prefrontal Cortex Your prefrontal cortex thins with age, which is associated with decreased cognitive function in your later years. However, meditation may reduce this age-related thinning. Dr. Sara Lazar, a neuroscientist specializing in the effects of yoga and meditation on cognitive and behavioral function, reports that long-time meditators don’t show a decline in the thickness of the prefrontal cortex. The Hippocampus Your hippocampus helps you process and form new memories, and it’s very sensitive to stress. In fact, research shows that your hippocampus will shrink in response to stressful situations and chronic stress. The remedy? Meditation. Dr. Lazar’s study showed a positive correlation between meditation and a higher concentration of gray matter in the left hippocampus. The Amygdala Often called the fear center of the brain, the amygdala is triggered by stressful
wrists are straight and are supported by a wrist pad in front of your keyboard. When it comes to those bright screens glaring in your eyes all day, viewing angles are vital. Use monitor risers to put the top third of the screen naturally level with your eyes. If you need to squint, use the zoom function on your applications to make things easier to see. If needed, adjust the brightness of your monitors to reduce eye strain. After everything’s set up comfortably, don’t just sit there all day working away. Make sure to get up from your workstation every hour or so to stretch, take a quick walk, or get a drink of water. These motions may feel like a waste of time, but studies show they can work wonders for your long-term health. Of course, sometimes workplace injuries happen despite all of our best efforts. If you’re suffering from persistent pain in your wrists, neck, back, or legs while you’re sitting in your work chair, don’t suffer in silence. Call the experts at Four Corners Health & Rehabilitation at 352-243-4422 and take the first step toward eliminating pain for good! situations. But unlike the hippocampus, which shrinks in response to stress, the amygdala has been shown to become denser. In one study, people who attended mindfulness meditation classes showed a smaller stress response in brain scans compared to those who did not attend the classes. Meditation may help to decrease the density of the amygdala and therefore increase your ability to handle stress. Of course, in addition to these benefits, there’s a good chance that five minutes of meditation each day will simply make you feel better. People who meditate report an increase in overall well-being. Why not give it a try?
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