How God Changes Your Brain - Andrew Newberg, M. D_ [75]
Engaging in religious and spiritual issues and problems will also stimulate brain function. Reading scriptures, reflecting on meaning, discussing issues with friends, and seriously thinking about the deepest issues facing humanity are outstanding ways of activating complex circuits in your brain.28 In fact, religious and spiritual issues are among the most challenging we face today. Focusing your mind on such problems, grappling with them, exploring different perspectives—all of these help expand and enhance your brain's activity.
There is one mental activity that I suggest you be wary of: videogame playing. The more you do it, the more aggressive you may become and the more your coping skills are reduced.29 Frontal lobe functioning declines, exasperating attention deficit problems,30 dependency issues,31 and addictive behavior in children and adolescents.32 And, as we mentioned in the previous chapter, violent video games clearly stimulate aggressive behavior.33 However, there is no convincing evidence to suggest that nonviolent video gaming causes permanent neurological or behavioral damage.34
But what about computer-based cognitive training programs? Can they improve brain function? Recently, there's been a great deal of publicity about different brain stimulation programs, but there's also been considerable controversy and doubt in the scientific and academic communities. Cognitive-based computer games appear to improve neural functioning, at least for people with cognitive problems, but no one has yet created an effective way to compare one type of exercise to another.35 One learning program, developed a few years ago to aid children in language and reading development, showed initial promise, especially when dealing with serious learning problems, but the improvements have been so small as to have little practical benefit.36 Newer “brain fitness” programs that claim to reduce neurological deterioration have also been heavily publicized, and although the research looks promising,37 we won't know for many years how practical they might actually be, especially for the average aging individual.
THE SIXTH BEST WAY TO EXERCISE YOUR BRAIN
Consciously relax. I'm not talking about taking a nap, or assuming the position of a couch potato in front of a television set. I'm talking about deliberately scanning each part of your body to reduce muscle tension and physical fatigue. And if you add pleasant music, your body will relax more quickly.38 Calming music, by the way, has been shown to sharpen your cognitive skills39 and improve your sense of spiritual well-being.40
Simple, repetitive activities that are pleasurable and meaningful can also take you into a deep state of relaxation. In one of my most recent studies, we found that the ritual practice of counting rosaries lowers tension, stress, and anxiety. Many other religious and spiritual practices calm the mind and allow the brain to rejuvenate, and even activities like knitting will have a similar relaxing effect.
In the next chapter we'll explore several techniques that will help you experience a very deep state of relaxation, which turns out to be the first essential step in any meditation practice. But relaxation does much more than relieve bodily tension. It interrupts the brain's release of stress-stimulating neurochemicals, and stress is the number one killer in America. Lowering stress reduces heart disease, high blood pressure, and pain. And one of the keys to reducing stress involves conscious focusing on the breath. However, when it comes to relaxation, a dozen deep breaths is not as effective as you might think. There's a much faster way to simultaneously relax and raise consciousness, and it comes next on our list.
THE FIFTH BEST WAY TO EXERCISE YOUR BRAIN
Yawn. Go