How God Changes Your Brain - Andrew Newberg, M. D_ [78]
THE FOURTH BEST WAY TO EXERCISE YOUR BRAIN
Meditate. I wish I could say that meditation and intensive prayer were number one, because that's where our research has been focused, but being number four is nothing to sneeze at (no, sneezing doesn't help the brain and may even be a symptom of a rare cerebellar disorder68). And when it comes to enhancing spiritual experiences, it certainly takes first place. If you stay in a contemplative state for twenty minutes to an hour, your experiences will tend to feel more real, affecting your nervous system in ways that enhance physical and emotional health. Antistress hormones and neurochemicals are released throughout the body, as well as pleasure-enhancing and depression-decreasing neuro-transmitters like dopamine and serotonin. Even ten to fifteen minutes of meditation appears to have significantly positive effects on cognition, relaxation, and psychological health, and it has been shown to reduce smoking and binge-drinking behavior.69
There's even solid evidence that meditating before taking a test will significantly improve your score. When researchers at the University of Kentucky taught students a forty-minute relaxation and concentration technique, they did better than those who exercised or took a nap.70 Caffeine helped, but not as much. And of course, don't forget to yawn.
Visualization, guided imagery, and self-hypnosis are specific variations of meditation and are equally effective in maintaining a healthy brain. In the next chapter, we'll guide you through the basic steps for establishing a meditation practice that you can integrate into your personal or spiritual life.
THE THIRD BEST WAY TO EXERCISE YOUR BRAIN
Aerobic exercise. Vigorous exercise strengthens every part of the brain, as well as what it is connected to—the body. If you're between the ages of eighteen and ninety, exercise is going to lengthen your life.71 How much should you experience? In general, the more intense the better. For example, running is better than walking, and walking is better than stretching,72 but it is important to find the “right” amount of exercise that feels the best for you. Certain health conditions will also affect the type and length of exercise you can do, so creating a personalized program is a complex but important issue to address.
Exercise can even be viewed as a form of meditation because it involves sustained concentration and a deliberate regulation of body movements and breathing. Studies have even shown that it enhances relaxation73 and spiritual well-being.74
Vigorous stretching, such as yoga, also does wonders for both your body and your brain. Yoga has similar cognitive benefits to other forms of contemplative meditation, and in a recent meta-analysis of 813 meditation studies, the researchers stated that yoga was as beneficial as exercise.75 It can lower the risk of cardiovascular disease,76 help control the symptoms of diabetes,77 lessen the severity of menopausal symptoms,78 reduce chronic back pain,79 and prevent the onslaught of migraine headaches.80
In a study conducted in 2007, researchers at the Boston University School of Medicine found that levels of the neurotransmitter GABA increase after a single sixty-minute yoga session.81 Since people who suffer from depression and anxiety disorders have low levels of GABA, yoga exercise is a valid modality for improving psychological mood. It's even been found to reduce the symptoms of schizophrenia.82 Research has also shown that a few weeks of yoga training enhances a wide range of cognitive skills in children and adults.83
All forms of exercise enhance neural performance84 and rebuild damaged circuits caused by brain