Mindfulness meditation works structurally on the brain and reduces a biological marker of inflammation, interleukin-6.
Its benefits are touted against the side effects of chemotherapy, in the prevention of diabetes, in the treatment of depression and pain. But how exactly does mindfulness meditation work (mindfulness meditation)? Here is a subject which agitates the brains since the creation of the discipline in the West, in 1975. Carnegie Mellon University provides a track of answer in the journal Biological Psychiatry.
This randomized trial is small, 35 adults unemployed and stressed, but it delivers some interesting conclusions. Half of the volunteers entered a relaxation program, the other half a three-day mindfulness meditation program. At the start and at the end of this training, they had a resting brain scan and provided blood samples.
Better resilience
Mindfulness meditation has structural effects on the brain, the researchers conclude. The volunteers who benefited from it show more connectivity in the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, involved in attention and executive function. This benefit was not observed in the relaxation group.
Mindfulness is also very interesting in terms of inflammation: it reduces the level of interleukin-6, which is an inflammatory marker. “We believe that these brain changes provide a neuro-biological marker of improved executive control and resilience to stress, such that mindfulness meditation improves the brain’s ability to help us cope with stress,” said David Creswell. , co-author of the study. What motivate the most undecided.
But it is still necessary to reach the state of mindfulness meditation.
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