Pulse Legacy Archive January / February 2012 | Page 12

pulse points
Useful facts and tips for spa professionals.

Harvard Study: Eight Weeks of Meditation Can
Significantly Change the Brain

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ccording to a study conducted by a team of
Harvard-affiliated researchers at Massachusetts
General Hospital (MGH), eight weeks of mindfulness-based meditation can make measurable
changes in brain regions associated with memory, sense of self,
empathy, and stress. The study, which appeared in Psychiatry
Research: Neuroimaging is the first to document meditationproduced changes over time in the brain’s gray matter.
“Although the practice of meditation is associated with a
sense of peacefulness and physical relaxation, practitioners
have long claimed that meditation also provides cognitive and
psychological benefits that persist throughout the day,” senior
author of the study Sara Lazar was quoted on the Harvard
Gazette (news.harvard.edu). Lazar, a Harvard Medical School
instructor in psychology, is also with the MGH Psychiatric
Neuroimaging Research Program. “This demonstrates that
changes in brain structure may underlie some of these reported
improvements and that people are not just feeling better
because they are spending time relaxing.”
To scientifically measure the effects of meditation to the

Results from a mindfulness questionnaire
indicated that meditation group
participants who spent an average of
27 minutes each day practicing
mindfulness exercises showed significant
improvements compared with preparticipation responses. The analysis of
MR images, which focused on areas
where meditation-associated differences
were seen in earlier studies, found
increased gray-matter density in the
hippocampus, known to be important for
learning and memory, and in structures
associated with self-awareness,
compassion, and introspection.
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January/February 2012

brain, magnetic resonance (MR) images were taken of the brain
structure of 16 study participants two weeks before and after
they took part in the eight-week Mindfulness-Based Stress
Reduction (MBSR) Program at the University of Massachusetts
Center for Mindfulness. Participants then met weekly to practice mindful-based meditation and were given audio recordings
for guided meditation practice. A set of MR brain images was
also taken of a control group of nonmeditators over a similar
time interval.
Reports on reductions in stress correlated with decreased
gray-matter density in the amygdala, a region that plays an
important role in anxiety and stress. Although no change was
seen in a self-awareness-associated structure called the insula,
the authors suggest that longer-term meditation practice might
be needed to produce changes in that area.
With more and more spa-goers seeking for evidence-based
science before exploring new treatments, use this study to
further educate your clients on the scientific benefits of mindfulness-based therapies like meditation.