How does the brain changes after 8 weeks of mindfulness meditation

The Mindfulness Meditation is an ancient practice that we should rediscover, for our weel-being and the mental balance. Mindfulness requires full attention, which means that our mind is in a state of relaxation, but attentive, perfectly in tune with the “here and now”.

Through mindfulness we promote full knowledge and active presence, so our senses are amplified but we get rid of the need to intervene and judge what we are experiencing. We learn to flow. Therefore, systematically practicing transcendental meditation produces very positive changes in our daily lives, in the way we relate to others, we deal with setbacks and even in the way we relate to ourselves.

The inner changes generated by mindfulness meditation are so powerful that many psychologists have included it in their arsenal of therapeutic techniques. In fact, a recent study conducted at the University of Oxford with 1258 patients concluded that “mindfulness therapy is as effective as antidepressants, but doesn’t have the same side effects”. These researchers also found that mindfulness is particularly effective in people who suffer of recurrent depression and, more interestingly, that is very effective in preventing it.

Now a team of Dutch researchers went a step further to show that mindfulness meditation not only acts on a psychological level, but also causes changes in the brain.

A more connected, relaxed and attentive brain

These neuroscientists conducted a systematic review of all studies previously realized on mindfulness meditation, to discover how this practice can change the brain in just 8 weeks.

They based the research on 30 previous studies that analyzed the functional and structural changes that occur in the brain when people began to practice meditation.

It has thus been found that studies reported changes both at the level of that activity, in the volume and the degree of neuronal connectivity in different areas of the brain:

- Prefrontal cortex, an area involved in decision making and emotional adjustment process.

- Amygdala, a structure that serves as protection against enviromental’s dangers and modulates emotional reactions.

- Hippocampus, a structure that plays a key role in learning and memory.

- Insula, a structure related to body representation, which also allows you become aware of emotions, feelings and desires.

- The anterior cingulate cortex, a very important area that is not only involved in the regulation of heart rate and blood pressure, but also in decision-making and empathy.

Changes found in the brain coincide with other experiments in which it was found that meditation helps regulate our emotional state, make better decisions, improve memory and boost concentration.

In fact, researchers at Harvard University and Justus-Liebig University, have studied this practice to understand its action in the brain. Therefore they concluded that mindfulness meditation acts through some fundamental aspects:

1. Helps people to have more control over their mind, helping them, for example, to develop full attention and ignore distractions.

2. Facilitates a greater awareness of the body, allowing people to perceive the small signals sent by the body and be able to cope with stress before it grows too much.

3. Stimulates emotional self-control, in particular the ability to deal with "negative" or unpleasant emotions, making sure that people are using more effectively their experiences.

4. Generates changes in the perception of the "self", as people abandon the idea that their personality is permanent and unchanging, which has a powerful therapeutic effect and promotes compassion towards ourselves.

However, perhaps the most interesting fact is that these changes occur after only eight weeks of systematic practice, which means you don’t have to close yourself in a Buddhist monastery to get all these benefits, it just needs to be consistent. In fact, you can start with these simple activities to transform yourself into a conscious person.

Mindful meditation is for everyone?

Despite the many benefits of mindful meditation some people may not feel comfortable with this practice. In fact, a study of the early 90s indicated that during the first few weeks of practice, some people may suffer loss of motivation or panic attacks.

Another recent study, held at the University of Washington, examined cases in which this type of meditation has been linked with increased anxiety, depersonalization and headaches. Why?

The problem is that mindfulness meditation involves a deep exploration of our "inner space", and not all people are psychologically prepared for this. Be face to face with the suffering and resentment accumulated over the years, bodily tensions, critical thoughts and all those things hidden from consciousness, can be devastating.

So, when people are vulnerable or suffer enormous internal conflicts, they should practice a guided mindfulness meditation under psychological control. Sometimes, venturing into our inner world has some unexpected surprises that not everyone can deal with.

Sources:
Kuyken, W. et. Al. (2016) Efficacy of Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy in Prevention of Depressive RelapseAn Individual Patient Data Meta-analysis From Randomized Trials. JAMA Psychiatry;73(6): 565-574.
Gotink, R. A. et. Al. (2016) 8-week Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction induces brain changes similar to traditional long-term meditation practice – A systematic review. Brain and Cognition; 108: 32–41.
Hölzel, B. K. et. Al. (2011) How Does Mindfulness Meditation Work? Proposing Mechanisms of Action From a Conceptual and Neural Perspective. Perspectives on Psychological Science; 6(6): 537-559.
Kathleen, M. et. Al. (2009) Mindfulness Meditation Research: Issues of Participant Screening, Safety Procedures, and Researcher Training. Adv Mind Body Med; 24(1): 20-30.
Shapiro, D. H. (1992) Adverse effects of meditation: a preliminary investigation of long-term meditators. Int J Psychosom; 39(1-4): 62-67.http://www.psychology-spot.com/2016/11/trascendental-meditation.html

How does the brain changes after 8 weeks of mindfulness meditation

Spontaneous people, secure and relaxed, don’t send messages

The smartphone has changed the way we communicate, especially among the younger generations. In fact, many young people believe that a phone call is too invasive, likely going to someone's house without notice. So, they always send more messages. But the tendency to send messages instead of calling, can reveal a lot about our personality.

We’re messaging more and talking less

Statistics indicate that smartphone users send and receive five times more text messages than phone calls. In fact, it is estimated that an average user spends 26 minutes a day sending messages, but only six minutes talking on the phone.

Certainly, in some cases messages are very effective, but also conceal something antisocial and robotic. In fact, it is very difficult to know exactly what a person feels through a text message. But the sound of the voice quickly reveals the emotional state.

People who send text messages need to maintain control

A study conducted by the Pew Research Center revealed that messages are one of the favorite means for 80% of adolescents to communicate with their friends. But text messages are not only efficient and practical, they also offer a greater sense of control.

Sending messages reduces the complexity of human relationships. In fact, many young people confessed that they do not like talking on the phone because, that way, they can’t control what they want to say and don’t know how long the call will last. Talking on the phone makes them feel insecure.

Curiously, the sense of control generated by text messages is linked to lack of security and self-confidence. One study conducted at the University of Windsor found that using messages rather than calls, causes what is known as “effects of superficiality”, These effects suggests that people are less compromised with what they write.

In fact, researchers at the University of Winnipeg analyzed more than 2,300 college students and found that those who were sending more than 100 text messages a day, reported feeling less confident about their ethical principles in life.

This suggests that sending messages instead of calling, may be the alternative choice for people suffering from anxiety in social situations and who need to maintain the control. On the contrary, those who prefer to call can be more spontaneous, outgoing and with a greater ability to deal with the unexpected.

Text messages allow to establish an emotional distance

In a society increasingly alienated and alienating, many people are afraid to get involved emotionally. Text messages are ideal to create a distance between sender and receiver. This distance drives people away from reality, reduces their anxiety and allows them to say things they would never have had the courage to say face to face.

In fact, more and more couples or friends break the relationships through text messages. This form of communication allows them to quickly get rid of their responsibilities without emotional involvement, without having to bear the consequences that their decisions will have on the other.

In this sense, a very interesting study conducted at the University of North Carolina, has analyzed the mobile phone use and the quality of couple relationships to assess the type of bond that people developed. These psychologists have found that there were couples who exchanged up to 500 messages per day, accounting for 90% of their communication.

They also found a relationship between the number of text messages and the emotional bond:

- Type of bond insecure. These people have not developed a positive image of themselves, are insecure and constantly needing the approval of others. This is why they send many text messages to their partners and friends, because this is a way to find the security they need.

- Type of bond avoidant. These people have learned that expressing their feelings is counterproductive, so they untie from these and establish an emotional distance from others. In this way they avoid being rejected or abandoned. For these people, the text messages, which are always many, turn into a strategy to control the others, as well as being an easier method to maintain the emotional distance that allows them to feel safe.

- Type of bond secure. These people are sure of themselves, they do not need the constant approval of others and are able to establish mature relationships, where there is no room for emotional dependency. It is noteworthy that these people send fewer text messages and prefer to communicate through calls.

Recovering the direct communication

Some psychologists say that the abuse of messaging prevents the new generations from developing the necessary social skills to face life with less stress and anxiety. No doubt, conversation is a skill to be cultivated, because it brings extraordinary benefits and helps us building a strong social network.

For how many emoticons we can use, it is much easier to stimulate a laugh with a call then with a text message. It is also easier to detect sarcasm or anger by listening the voice. Therefore, let’s try to speak as much as possible to avoid text messages whenever we can.


Sources:
Annisette, L. E. & Lafreniere, K. D. (2016) Social media, texting, and personality: A test of the shallowing hypothesis. Personality and Individual Differences.
Smith, A. (2015) U.S. Smartphone Use in 2015. In: Pew Research Center.
Luo, S. (2014) Effects of texting on satisfaction in romantic relationships: The role of attachment. Computers in Human Behavior; 33: 145–152.
Trapnell, P. & Sinclair, L. (2013) Texting Frequency and The Moral Shallowing Hypothesis. In: Universidad de Winnipeg.
http://psychology-spot.blogspot.co.id/2016/07/spontaneous-people-do-not-send-messages.html

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Spontaneous people, secure and relaxed, don’t send messages

Cognitive Offloading: Memory and Internet

Internet is part of our lives. Undoubtedly, it useful in several areas and permits to save valuable time, stay in touch with anyone anywhere in the world and, of course, keeps us informed. But everything has a price, and Internet is no exception and, if we are not careful, the excessive use of the network might cause some cognitive problems that we would never have.

Cognitive Offloading: Internet makes you doubt of your memory

Using the Internet to search information continually makes that we we doubt more and more of our memory. This is demonstrated by a study conducted by a group of psychologists from the University of California, who have discovered that the more we use the network to find information and encounter data, the less probabilities we will have to use our memory, even if it comes to trivial questions which we already know the answer or can find it by applying logical reasoning.

This phenomenon has been dubbed “cognitive offloading” and refers to the fact that the Internet subtracts us memory gradually since the more we trust the data on the network, the less we trust in what we have learned or in the answers we can find thinking independently.

This study was conducted in several phases, at first people were asked to answer a series of general knowledge questions of medium difficulty. Some of them were permitted access to the Internet while the rest were asked to resort exclusively to their memory.

In a second phase, all participants were allowed to use the Internet, but the researchers made sure that the questions were very simple, so it was only necessary to rely on memory or apply common sense to find the answers. For example, one of the questions was: “Do all the countries of the world have flags with at least two colors?”.

So it was observed that people who used the Internet in the first test, were also more likely to re-use the network to find the answers, instead of thinking, or to resort to their memory.

However, the most interesting results occurred when the participants did not use the Internet. In that case, those who had resorted to the network, committed 30% of errors in more of their responses. Researchers also found that their answers were more impulsive and they thought less.

On the contrary, those who began the experiment based on their memory from the first moment obtained the best results in the final test. This experiment tells us that indeed, the Internet has a major impact on our memory, and this is not exactly positive.

The dangers of using an external “hard disk”

Of course, this is not the first study to evaluate the impact of the Internet on our memory. Previous researches conducted by Columbia University psychologists have found that students remembered less information when they knew they had easy access to the internet. In practice, instead of trying to understand and store the information, we simply rely on an external “hard disk”.

However, the fact that we prefer to use an external “hard disk” is not the only problem. A study conducted at the University of California found that regular internet users show less activation in different areas of the brain during the reading of a text on the Internet, including areas related to short-term memory. This could indicate that the more we use the Internet, the less we store what we read, because we know that it will be available at any time.

Moreover, the problem is that the short and long term memory are skills that must be continually exercised or terminate deteriorating. If we rely on an external “hard disk” our ability to recall information will be reduced more and more, and this can open the door to neurodegenerative diseases. The short-term memory, for example, is crucial for thought. The long-term memory is essential to preserve our identity.

Memory barriers are dissolving

Only a few decades ago, when we couldn’t remembered the name of the protagonist of a film, we called our cinephile friend. Indeed, the tendency to distribute inside the groups the information has always existed, it is what is known as the “transactional memory system” and implies being fully aware that the knowledge to which we want to access is outside our memory, belongs to another person.

But the immediacy that the Internet offers makes the barrier between what we know and what others know (in this case the network), it fades. The distinction between external and internal memory is getting weaker; that is to say that we confuse what we know with what we seek.

Although this “confusión” may seem incredible, an experiment conducted at Yale University found that people who used the Internet to find answers to questions showed higher self-esteem about their cognitive performance. In fact, they identified well with statements such as “I have a good memory” or “I remember very well the details”.

These results led the psychologists to believe that the barrier between internal and external memory, that one you meet on the Internet, is fading. When people look for information on the network have the illusion that the results depend on their skills.

The problem, again, is that this illusion prevent us from developing our cognitive resources. Of course, the solution is not to stop using the Internet, which is a great tool, but use it rationally. Luckily, being aware of the effects of the cognitive offloading and, above all, trying to find other strategies to train our memory, will allow us to keep this ability over the years.


Sources:
Storm, B. C. et. Al. (2016) Using the Internet to access information inflates future use of the Internet to access other information. Memory; 1-7.
Fisher, M. et. Al. (2015) Searching for Explanations: How the Internet Inflates Estimates of Internal Knowledge. Journal of Experimental Psychology; 144(3): 674 – 687.
Sparrow, B. et. Al. (2011) Google Effects on Memory: Cognitive Consequences of Having Information at Our Fingertips. Science; 333(6043): 776-778.
Small, G.W et. Al. (2011) Your Brain on Google: Patterns of Cerebral Activation During Internet Searching. The American Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry; 17(2): 116-126.
source;http://psychology-spot.blogspot.co.id/2016/09/cognitive-offloading-memory-internet.html


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Cognitive Offloading: Memory and Internet