Mindfulness Meditation Benefits and Changes Brain Structures in 8 Weeks

Meditation isn't just good for the soul. It affects your body and mind, too. A recent study concluded that mindfulness meditation benefits and changes the brain structures associated with memory, sense of self, empathy and stress in just eight weeks.

Meditation is just a way to relax and maybe calm you down for the moment, right? Wrong. Not only will most regular meditators tell you that meditation makes them feel better emotionally and physically, but now there is also scientific evidence that regular meditation literally changes the body -- specifically, it changes the brain in ways that appear to be beneficial.

In a study published in the January 30 edition of Psychiatry Research: Neuroimaging, Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) researchers concluded that an eight week mindful meditation practice produced measurable changes in participants' brain regions associated with memory, sense of self, empathy and stress. This is the first study to document meditation-produced changes in the brain's grey matter over time. Read more