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Tuning out: How brains benefit from meditation

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Re: Tuning out: How brains benefit from meditation

#111

Post by asmala »

thesz wrote: post #109
asmala wrote: post #107

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Hmm, interesting. I can definitely see how age-related changes in the endocrine system could cause certain improvements that are similar to the effects of meditation. And being as it is that I'm still 29, that could be a factor. But if I'm reading you correctly, you seem to imply that all the benefits mentioned could be explained away by age-related hormonal changes. I find that hard to believe based on the strong co…

Long time effects like better anger control could be explained by age related endocrine changes. Short time effects like "staying focused" could or could not be explained by that. I think I have just too little data to explain them at all. All I can do is to speculate. So I begin speculating. Let's say that by meditation you try to calm your mind. You lower your stress hormone, cortisol. By doing that you elevate you…

Your reasoning makes sense. There's a fair amount of recent research (see "meditation" via Google Scholar) indicating that meditation does indeed reduce cortisol levels and hence that could be one pathway for its effects.

That said, mounting scientific evidence indicates that meditation also changes our brain structure in ways that have AFAIK not been observed with exercise.

For me my own experience would seem to confirm this. The benefits I observe from meditation are both qualitatively and quantitatively different from what I gain from exercise (both aerobic and heavy weights).

Re: Tuning out: How brains benefit from meditation

#112

Post by thesz »

asmala wrote: post #111
thesz wrote: post #109

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Long time effects like better anger control could be explained by age related endocrine changes. Short time effects like "staying focused" could or could not be explained by that. I think I have just too little data to explain them at all. All I can do is to speculate. So I begin speculating. Let's say that by meditation you try to calm your mind. You lower your stress hormone, cortisol. By doing that you elevate you…

Your reasoning makes sense. There's a fair amount of recent research (see "meditation" via Google Scholar) indicating that meditation does indeed reduce cortisol levels and hence that could be one pathway for its effects. That said, mounting scientific evidence indicates that meditation also changes our brain structure in ways that have AFAIK not been observed with exercise. For me my own experience would seem to con…

There's the question: are those meditation-induced changes in the brain structure beneficial?

Experienced meditation practicioners can fire almost all neurons in their brains. In MRT it looks like epileptical seizure.

So I stay on the "don't meditate, you'll be safer" side.

Re: Tuning out: How brains benefit from meditation

#113

Post by asmala »

thesz wrote: post #112
asmala wrote: post #111

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Your reasoning makes sense. There's a fair amount of recent research (see "meditation" via Google Scholar) indicating that meditation does indeed reduce cortisol levels and hence that could be one pathway for its effects. That said, mounting scientific evidence indicates that meditation also changes our brain structure in ways that have AFAIK not been observed with exercise. For me my own experience would seem to con…

There's the question: are those meditation-induced changes in the brain structure beneficial? Experienced meditation practicioners can fire almost all neurons in their brains. In MRT it looks like epileptical seizure. So I stay on the "don't meditate, you'll be safer" side.

Interesting and provocative question. I suppose that there's no way of objectively knowing if the changes are beneficial or even safe. (Come to think of it, how would we even define beneficial?)

That said, I find your caution perhaps unwarranted. Many other circumstances are known to cause changes in brain-structure, e.g. growing up bilingual, but I think it would be rather unwarranted to warn against childhood language learning on the basis of this.

Personally I am content with the proof of my own experience; the changes I see in my own psyche and mental performance are entirely positive.

Re: Tuning out: How brains benefit from meditation

#114

Post by gnaffle »

vidarh wrote: post #96
gnaffle wrote: post #92

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I found this to be a good introduction: http://www.urbandharma.org/udharma4/mpe.html

Second Mindfulness in Plain English. It is excellent, and though written by a Buddhist monk it is for the most part careful about separating the (little) material on Buddhism out as mostly contextual information, and point out that it is not necessary for the meditation practice itself. I also recommend a series of podcasts by Gil Fronsdal at Audiodharma called Introduction to Meditation: http://www.audiodharma.org/s…

Thank you, this was a nice podcast series. Added to my recommendations. :)
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