Study Says Meditation Increases Brain Size

Researchers have found evidence that meditation can alter the physical structure of our brains. People who meditate grow bigger brains than those who don't.

So if you want to develop bigger muscles and stronger bones, you pump iron. But what do you do to build a bigger brain? Meditate.

Research has confirmed the beneficial aspects of meditation. In addition to having better focus and control over their emotions, many people who meditate regularly have reduced levels of stress and bolstered immune systems. But this new research is about much more than stress management... it's about meditation changing the actual structure of the brain.

First, in an article in the Jan. 30 issue of Psychiatry Research: Neuroimaging, researchers report that those who meditated for about 30 minutes a day for eight weeks had measurable changes in gray-matter density in parts of the brain associated with memory, sense of self, empathy and stress. Previous studies have also shown that there are structural differences between the brains of meditators and those who don’t meditate, but this was the first to document changes in gray matter over time through meditation. Read more