Harvard Womens Health Watch

Mindfulness meditation improves connections in the brain

POSTED APRIL 08, 2011, 11:15 AM Carolyn Schatz, Editor, Harvard Women's Health Watch

When Im stressed, I listen to a 20-minute mindfulness meditation tape. It always helps me feel calmer and more relaxed. Many meditative practices can do this. But mindfulness meditation is getting a lot of attention because it seems to help with so many physical and psychological problemslike high blood pressure, chronic pain, psoriasis, sleep trouble, anxiety, and depression. Its also been shown to boost immune function and stop binge eating. No one knows for sure whats behind these benefits, but physical changes in the brain probably play a role. Mindfulness meditation is a mental discipline. You start by focusing your attention on your breath, a sensation in the body, or a chosen word or phrase. You note the thoughts, emotions, and background sounds that arise from moment to moment, observing them without analyzing them or making judgments about whats going on around you. If you drift into thoughts about the past or concerns about the future, you bring your attention back to the present, for example, by refocusing on your breathing. It takes practice. A new study, published in the May 2011 issue of Neuroimage, suggests that one effect of all this focusing and refocusing is increased brain connectivity. Researchers at the University of California-Los Angeles compared the brain activity of volunteers who had finished eight weeks of mindfulness-based stress reduction training with that of volunteers who did not do such training. Functional MRI scans showed stronger connections in several regions of the meditators brainsespecially those associated with attention and auditory and visual processing. Unfortunately, the study didnt scan the volunteers brains before mindfulness training, so no one can say for sure that mindfulness training was responsible for the differences.

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At Massachusetts General Hospital, researchers used MRI scans to document before and after changes in the brains gray matterthe processing neurons associated with mindfulness meditation. The density of gray matter increased in regions governing such distinctly different activities as memory, self-awareness, and compassion, and decreased in the amygdalathe part of the brain associated with fear and stress. We covered this intriguing research in the April issue of Harvard Womens Health Watch. At the moment, scientists can only speculate about the relationship between these brain changes and the health benefits associated with mindfulness meditation. But the research adds to growing evidence that meditative practices can alter the body at a fundamental leveleven, it turns out, at the level of our genes. Meditation elicits the relaxation response, a state of deep relaxation first described more than 35 years ago by mind-body pioneer Dr. Herbert Benson, currently emeritus director of the Benson-Henry Institute of Mind-Body Medicine at Massachusetts General Hospital. Since then, Benson and his colleagues at Massachusetts General Hospital and Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center have discovered that relaxation techniques (including meditation and yoga) turn certain sets of genes on and off in people who practice them regularly. Benson, who is the medical editor of Stress Management: Approaches for preventing and reducing stress (a Special Health Report from Harvard Health Publications, which also publishes Harvard Womens Health Watch), says these genes are involved with controlling how the body handles free radicals, inflammation processes, and cell death.

Relaxation response affects gene activity, from Harvards Stress Management Special Health Report
APRIL 2011

Stress management techniques can have a host of health benefits such as better mood and lower blood pressure, but relaxation response techniques may
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also alter the body at a deep, fundamental level by influencing the expression of certain genes. Harvard Medical Schools recently updated Special Health ReportStress Management: Approaches for Preventing and Reducing Stress explains how this is possible and also how a person can learn to identify stress warning signs and develop new tools to better manage stressful situations. The genetic changes associated with the relaxation response were identified several years ago. A study examined the effects of the relaxation response on certain sets of genes and found that the relaxation response can turn certain genes on and off. The genes were involved with controlling how the body handles free radicals, inflammation processes, and cell death. While further research is needed to confirm these findings, the study has enhanced the credibility of the connection between mind and body, and could have important implications for how diseases are treated. The study compared the activity of genes whether the genes were being activated or suppressedin 19 healthy adults who were long-term users of relaxation techniques and in 19 healthy adults who hadnt used relaxation techniques. Those who used relaxation techniques used a variety of methods such as meditation, yoga, breath focus, or repetitive prayer. The researchers found that the activity of certain genes differed between these two groups. In order for the genetic changes to persist, relaxation response techniques have to be done regularly. Also in this report:

Understanding the stress response How to prevent and manage stress The different faces of stress How stress affects the body Your guide to stress relief

Whether it comes in the form of a pile of unpaid bills, a contentious argument with your spouse, a worrisome health problem, or a traffic jam, stress is a part of everyday life. While some stress is inevitable, when your body repeatedly encounters a set of physiological changes dubbed the stress response, trouble can brew. Stress may contribute to or exacerbate various health problems, including
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these: high blood pressure, suppression of the immune system, headaches, insomnia, depression, and irritable bowel syndrome. But its possible to dismantle negative stress cycles. This report can help you identify your stress warning signs and learn how to better manage stressful situations. In these pages, youll find a variety of tools you can use to accomplish that task. In addition, youll find a handy four-page portable section that walks you through a variety of quick, easy stress relief techniques. Your job is to decide which tools fit you best and to start using them. Your efforts can reward you richly with better health, greater peace of mind, and a smoother, more joyful course through life. Prepared by the editors of Harvard Health Publications in consultation with Herbert Benson, M.D., Director Emeritus, Benson-Henry Institute for Mind Body Medicine at Massachusetts General Hospital, Mind/Body Medical Institute Associate Professor of Medicine, Harvard Medical School, and Aggie Casey, M.S., R.N., Director, Cardiac Wellness Programs, Benson-Henry Institute for Mind Body Medicine at Massachusetts General Hospital, Associate in Medicine, Harvard Medical School. 47 pages. (2011) ISBN 978-1-935555-60-5
1.

Understanding the stress response

What is stress? The positive side of stress The toll of stress on your body and mind

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Stress in your life

The major life event stress scale Recognizing the early signals Unhealthy responses to stress

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How to prevent and manage stress

Producing the relaxation response Breath focus Body scan Guided imagery Mindfulness meditation Proper nutrition

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Exercise Cognitive restructuring: You are what you think The role of positive psychology Communicating better Social support Nurturing yourself Journals: Easing stress the write way

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The different faces of stress

Gender and stress Age and stress Caregiving and stress Work and stress

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How stress affects the body

Stress and cardiovascular disease Stress and cancer Stress and high blood pressure Stress and the immune system Stress and asthma Stress and gastrointestinal disorders

6. 7. 8.

SPECIAL BONUS SECTION: Your portable guide to stress relief Resources Glossary

Sometimes just thinking about embarking on a program of stress control can be stressful. Rather than freeze in your tracks, start small and bask in the glow of your successes. Give yourself a week to focus on practical solutions that could help you cope with just one stumbling block or source of stress in your life. Pick a problem, and see if these suggestions work for you. 1. Frequently late? Apply time management principles. Consider your priorities (be sure to include time for yourself) and delegate or discard unnecessary tasks. Map out your day, segment by segment, setting aside time for different tasks, such as writing or phone calls. If you are overly optimistic about travel time, consistently give yourself an extra 15 minutes or more to get to your destinations. If lateness stems from dragging your heels, consider the underlying issue. Are you anxious about what will happen after
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you get to work or to a social event, for example? Or maybe youre trying to jam too many tasks into too little time. 2. Often angry or irritated? Consider the weight of cognitive distortions. Are you magnifying a problem, leaping to conclusions, or applying emotional reasoning? Take the time to stop, breathe, reflect, and choose (see Deflate cognitive distortions, page XX). 3. Unsure of your ability to do something? Dont try to go it alone. If the problem is work, talk to a co-worker or supportive boss. Ask a knowledgeable friend or call the local library or an organization that can supply the information you need. Write down other ways that you might get the answers or skills you need. Turn to CDs, books, or classes, for example, if you need a little tutoring. This works equally well when youre learning relaxation response techniques, too. 4. Overextended? Clear the deck of at least one time-consuming household task. Hire a housecleaning service, shop for groceries through the Internet, convene a family meeting to consider who can take on certain jobs, or barter with or pay teens for work around the house and yard. Consider what is truly essential and important to you and what might take a backseat right now. 5. Not enough time for stress relief? Try minirelaxations (ten to fifteen minutes of yoga exercise, for example). Or make a commitment to yourself to pare down your schedule for just one week so you can practice evoking the relaxation response every day. Slowing down to pay attention to just one task or pleasure at hand is an excellent method of stress relief.

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