WHAT PART OF THE BRAIN DOES MEDITATION AFFECT?

Meditation has measurable effects on three areas of your brain:  gray matter - involved in muscle control and sensory perception, including emotions, memory, speech, seeing, hearing, and decision making.  the prefrontal cortex is responsible for decision making and the amygdala controls emotional response.

Meditation has been linked to larger amounts of gray matter in the hippocampus and frontal areas of the brain.  More gray matter can lead to more positive emotions, longer lasting emotional stability and heightened focus during daily life. Daily mindful meditation practice has been shown to produce measurable changes in the brain regions associated with memory, sense of self, empathy and stress. Meditation can give you a sense of calm, peace and balance that can benefit both your emotional well being and your overall health. You can also use it to relax and cope with stress by refocusing your attention on something calming. Meditation can help you learn to stay centered and keep inner peace. Brain benefits of meditation are:  increases attention span and concentration, decreases anxiety, reduces depression, increases gray matter in the brain, increases white matter in the brain, increases gamma brain waves, improve sleep and speeds up stress recovery.