The Brain Benefits of Meditation

I recently listened to an interview with David Vago, PhD, a professor at Vanderbilt University, who studies (among other things) the mind-body connection, including a current project, "Mapping the Meditative Mind." While the interview was wide-ranging, he spent some time talking about the five brain benefits of meditation, which I will try to summarize below.

Once caveat that deserves mentioning - and this is me speaking, not Dr. Vago - is that although meditation has a millenia-old tradition, the research into it is still a young field and we don't fully understand all its benefits, or potential risks. That being said, the evidence certainly seems to indicate that there are substantial benefits to be gained!

But back to Dr. Vago:

He started by pointing to the Default Mode Network (DMN), a network of brain areas that become active when our minds aren't focussed on a specific task. The DMN tends to be highly self-referential, busy with the stories of "I, me, and mine," as Jon Kabat-Zinn might put it. This isn't a necessarily a problem, but can become a source of anxiety loops and rumination, especially if we're prone to depression or anxiety. When people learn to meditate, the DMN become quieter fairly soon, which can be quite a relief when those anxiety loops or ruminative thoughts are strong. In fact, research has shown that mindfulness meditation can alleviate anxiety and depression, so this makes perfect sense to me!

Secondly, Dr. Vago noted that meditation can improve attentional stability and flexibility. If you have had some mindfulness training, you know how we often begin by focussing attention on the breath or another anchor, and then gradually open up to other sensations, thoughts, etc. So again, it's makes sense that both concentration and flexibility increase with mindfulness training.

For those of you getting on in years (as I am) this next point might be kind of exciting: There is data shwoing that meditation can reduce age-related atrophy of the brain. We all know that we need to stay active to keep our muscles from atrophying - apparently meditation has a similar effect on the brain.

The fourth benefit is improved eqanimity. Equanimity is one of those words that get thrown around a lot in meditation-related context and I think it's often misunderstood. It does not mean that we are not emotionally affected by events around us, but that we recover from emotional challenges more quickly. It is an important factor in emotional regulation, and the benefit is measurable even after a relatively short intervention like the 8-week MBSR course.

The last brain benefit Dr. Vago pointed to, and the one that sounds most esoteric, is the "dissolution of the self." This does not mean that we don't exist - rather it means that we learn to get out of our own way, or at least that's how I think about it. The Self here means the part of ourselves that tends to compare ourselves with others, being better than/worse than, feeling inferior, not worthy... It tends to make us feel disconnected from others and the world around us, which can lead to a lot of suffering. Learning to focus less on this Self (and here we actually loop back to the DMN above) can lead to a greater sense of connection, of being less separate from others and the world around us. This may show up as improved interpersonal relations, feeling more connected to the natural world, or even a spiritual experience of being connected to a higher power.

I felt really inspired by this talk. Inspired to keep practicing, to share learnings with others, here and through teaching, and to keep learning. I don't know if the interview I listened to is available online, but there are several talks and interviews with Dr. Vago on YouTube if you'd like to learn more!