Meditation: Self-Awareness, Empathy, Memory

A new study appears to back up what we already knew: meditation increases self-awareness and

empathy, improves memory, and reduces stress. The study by Harvard-affiliated researches shows that only 8 weeks of meditation can bring about changes in the parts of the brain associated with these attributes.


Reports the Harvard Gazette:

Participating in an eight-week mindfulness meditation program appears to make measurable changes in brain regions associated with memory, sense of self, empathy, and stress. In a study that will appear in the Jan. 30 issue of Psychiatry Research: Neuroimaging, a team led by Harvard-affiliated researchers at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) reported the results of their study, the first to document meditation-produced changes over time in the brain’s gray matter.

Read more here.