A study recently released in Frontiers In Psychology on Jan 21, 2015 shows that meditation may actually slow age-related brain atrophy.
Long-term meditators, examined under MRI imaging, were found to have less gray matter loss WIDESPREAD throughout the brain, when compared to controls who did not meditate.
This is the largest study to date looking at effects of mediation on the brain!
The details:
- 50 men and women who were long-term meditators were compared with matched controls of the exact same sex and age, but who did not meditate at all.
- The participants were all imaged using the exact same MRI scanner at the exact same MRI facility.
- Researchers looked at an association between age and both whole brain grey matter and local gray matter (in 9 different cluster location throughout the brain.)
- Age related brain atrophy was significantly decreased in the meditation group across the entire brain, suggesting a strong protective benefit.
- Surprisingly, the protective benefits were constant throughout the ENTIRE BRAIN, not just in a singular focal point.
- Gray matter was found preserved throughout the entire brain as a whole AND in all nine clusters examined in this study.
Researchers suggest that meditation might be protective by:
1) mitigating the effects of stress on the brain over time
and/or
2) it might stimulate brain repair and growth (dendritic branching) over time.
But I believe it goes beyond this.
Did you know that when you meditate, your brain tunes into and resonates at the exact same frequency that the earth has?
This frequency is called the Schumann Resonance and it is the best frequency for healing.
When your brain becomes resonant to the planet that we live upon, it literally gets into “healing mode.”
In deep, restorative sleep your brain gets into the Schumann Resonance as well, and as well all know, deep restorative sleep is absolutely ESSENTIAL for well-being and optimized health.
(Click here for ideas that will help you get the deep sleep you need!)
Your body depends on your brain getting deep restorative sleep to get into healing mode… this is why life is not sustainable without regular sleep, and why studies have found that sleep deprivation actually atrophied your brain.
And this harmony, this resonance is one of the reasons that the healing practice of Earthing is so beneficial.
Beyond electron flow, beyond fresh air and beyond Vit D — synching your brain to the same frequency as Mother Earth gets your body into repair mode as it is supported on the deepest level… on an energetic level… in that Schumann Resonance.
To me, it’s pretty clear that the fact that the brain goes into the same healing mode during meditation that it does during deep sleep and during earth shows the mechanism of action right there…
…and paves the way for the question to be asked: would the practice of earthing preserve brain volume (like the practice of meditation and the practice of sleeping have been medically proven to do?)
The bottom line…
the three best ways to get your brain into the healing zone of this frequency is through:
1 — deep sleep
2 — Earthing
and
3 — meditation!
So now you know… to protect brain volume you can get earthing, get sleeping, or get meditating… or better yet, all three!
More resources:
- Supplements to protect brain volume: What else can you do to preserve brain volume? As I blog about here, Omega 3 supplements like fish oil have been proven to preserve brain volume as well.
- Vitamin D supplementation protects your brain from all angles — treats depression, boosts mood, decreases dementia risk, protects against Alzheimers, and more.
Read my blog posts on the importance of Vitamin D on cognition and mood here!
- The importance of brain health: Want a reason to focus on protecting your brain? Your brain is your most important tool in your healing toolkit!
- The intuitive energy of the brain: Want to know how I *see* the energy of the brain? Hop over here for Part 1 and Part 2 on the energy behind our brain function!
- Chakras and your brain: To go beyond physically supporting your brain through fish oil, earthing, meditation, sleep… we need to understand the seat of the brain, the Third Eye Chakra. Find out how to assess and support your Third Eye Chakra right here!
xoxoxo, Laura
PS — This week, a new holistic lifestyle magazine premiers:
and I’m honored to be featured in a super generous 8 page spread!
Want to read my article, all about intuition, creativity and healing?
The entire magazine is FREE and will be delivered right to your inbox…
